Travelers Auto Insurance
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Brad Larson
Licensed Insurance Agent
Brad Larson has been in the insurance industry for over 16 years. He specializes in helping clients navigate the claims process, with a particular emphasis on coverage analysis. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Utah in Political Science. He also holds an Associate in Claims (AIC) and Associate in General Insurance (AINS) designations, as well as a Utah Property and Casual...
Licensed Insurance Agent
UPDATED: Nov 28, 2023
It’s all about you. We want to help you make the right legal decisions.
We strive to help you make confident insurance and legal decisions. Finding trusted and reliable insurance quotes should be easy. This doesn’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own.
Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything legal and insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by experts.
UPDATED: Nov 28, 2023
It’s all about you. We want to help you make the right legal decisions.
We strive to help you make confident insurance and legal decisions. Finding trusted and reliable insurance quotes should be easy. This doesn’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own.
On This Page
The Verdict
Travelers auto insurance offers comprehensive protection at a high cost
Travelers is one of the most well-known auto insurers in the nation, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best.
Focused on commercial insurance.
Most of 3_4″Travelers business comes from commercial lines of insurance for businesses and corporations, not individuals.
That may be a drawback if you want an insurance company with a focus on serving people rather than companies.
It’s also why its services and prices may seem a little lacking when it comes to personal auto insurance.
Travelers is primarily geared towards commercial policies, since that’s where it makes the most money.
Has big company presence.
As the tenth largest auto insurer in the nation, Travelers car insurance has agencies and offices all around the country.
The company provides all the usual perks that come with choosing a large corporation for insurance, like 24/7 claims service and a knowledge than an agent is almost always nearby.
The perks aren’t cheap.
Insurance from Travelers isn’t cheap.
Given the focus on commercial products, the company charges 33.5% higher premiums than average.
But coverage and discounts are various.
The wide variety of discounts Travelers car insurance offers can mitigate the high cost of its insurance.
From standard products like liability coverage to specialized offerings like ride-share insurance (where you drive for Uber or Lyft, for example), you’ll find a product for your vehicle.
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The Competition
Travelers competes with Nationwide Insurance
Owing to its size as the tenth largest auto insurer, Travelers competes with the household names of the insurance industry.
That includes Nationwide, a company similar to Travelers in terms of its size and products.
Hot tip. Check out our in-depth review of Nationwide.
Nationwide is cheaper. Car insurance from Nationwide costs $40 to $59 less than average, according to the experts over at Credio.
That gives the company a bit of an edge over the pricey policies Travelers offers.
Great at claims. Nationwide excels at claims management, coming in at a tie for third place with several other companies listed on the 2016 J.D. Power rankings for best claims experience.
Travelers sits lower on the list at 11th place.
Fewer discounts. Nationwide offers fewer ways of cutting your rates than Travelers.
Even though Nationwide is cheaper upfront, choosing it over Travelers means missing out on discounts for hybrid and electric car, students away at school, and insuring multiple vehicles.
The Question Everyone Is Asking
If I get ridesharing insurance through Travelers, what does it cover?
If you drive for Uber, Lyft, or another company, your regular car insurance policy won’t cover you when you’re picking up or ferrying around your customers.
In fact, not telling your insurer that you drive for one of these services could lead to your insurance getting canceled, according to Torr Leonard of Answer Financial.
That means you need special ride-sharing insurance companies like Travelers offer.
You’re covered until you pick up a customer. Getting this insurance doesn’t cover you when you’re not driving for a ride-share company.
It also doesn’t cover you when you have a customer in the car because most major ride-share providers handle that when you’re driving a passenger.
Instead, rideshare insurance from Travelers covers you from when you open up the app until you pick up a customer.
The Strengths
Travelers is strong because of its wide range of discounts
Lots of ways to save. Travelers cuts you discounts for everything, from installing an anti-theft device to tracking how you drive through its IntelliDrive usage-based insurance program.
It also lower rates by 10% for hybrid car owners, as Reviews.com points out.
Hot tip. Usage-based intelligence (UBI) car insurance may be able to save you big money, depending on how you drive. Check out our guide to UBI.
Agent-driven service. Travelers writes insurance through its network of over 13,000 agents, according to AutoInsurance.org.
That means when you can have a face-to-face conversation with a person when purchasing a policy, not some random call center representative.
Comprehensive, customizable coverage. The coverage offered by Travelers includes options for new car replacement, accident forgiveness, gap coverage, and more.
You can add many of these protections onto your standard liability, comprehensive, and collision insurance to get just the right amount of coverage for your needs.
Available almost everywhere. Due to its size, Travelers writes and serves policies across the country.
That means you can get its insurance or find an agent almost anywhere in the nation, as noted by Ryan Henley of Trusted Choice.
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The Weaknesses
Travelers is weak because of its high premiums
Pricey policies. Insurance from Travelers doesn’t come cheap.
Their rates range 33.5% higher than average according to Eric Stauffer of Expert Insurance Reviews.
Middling customer satisfaction. Travelers isn’t terrible at customer service – but it’s not that great either.
Customers graded the company three out of five stars in overall satisfaction for the 2016 U.S. Auto Insurance Claims Satisfaction Study from J.D. Power, meaning it was perceived as offering about average customer satisfaction.
Focused more on commercial than personal insurance. Travelers ranks as the second largest commercial auto insurer in the nation according to the Insurance Information Institute.
Since most of its profits come from insuring businesses, Travelers has less of a reason to lower its rates for personal lines of auto insurance.
Why You Need This Service
You should use Travelers if you have a clean driving record and low premiums
To see whether Travelers car insurance is right for you, see if you meet the following criteria:
- You have a clean driving record with no accidents or moving violations that lead to higher premiums.
- You’re willing to try new programs like usage-based insurance to lower your rates.
- You want comprehensive coverage options.
Don’t go with Travelers if:
- You want a bare-bones cheap insurance policy, like the state-required minimum liability insurance.
- You live outside of the 42 states they offer coverage.
The Company’s History
Travelers once insured space travelers
A long, well-traveled history. Travelers traces its lineage back to 1864 when it began insuring customers against the dangers of steamboat and rail travel.
The company has since expanded its offerings to cover home, auto, and life insurance.
Astronauts need insurance too. There are even a few major events in history where you find Travelers’ name popping up.
In 1969, Travelers took its policies into space by insuring the Apollo astronauts.
Travelers car insurance works best if you don’t live in these eight states
Covers most of America.
Travelers offers its insurance in 42 states as well as Washington D.C.
However, the company isn’t present in these states:
- Alaska
- Hawaii
- Louisiana
- Michigan
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
- West Virginia
- Wyoming
International coverage. If you’re traveling out of the country, Travelers also provides coverage through its umbrella insurance program.
While your regular auto insurance policy won’t provide protection abroad in many cases, this type of coverage will.
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What the Company Does
The car insurance company offers everything you need to cover your vehicle
Travelers offers all the standard types of car insurance like liability, comprehensive, and collision coverage.
It also provides additional kinds of specialized protection.
Liability
Covers others, not you. Required by almost every state in America, liability coverage pays out for any property damages and medical expenses that result from a car accident where you’re at fault.
However, it only covers other people’s bills, not your own.
Get more than the minimum. You’re liable for any damages that exceed your liability policy.
That means if you skimp on coverage to shave a few dollars off your premiums, you could be on the hook for a lot of money if you’re ever in a serious wreck.
Collision
Does what the name says. This type of insurance will cover any damages to your vehicle after it’s in a collision.
Weigh the costs. If you drive an older or less valuable car, collision insurance may not be worth it.
Depending on the price of the policy, you may end up paying more for comprehensive insurance than your car is worth.
If you paid $750 per year for collision coverage on a car worth only $1,500, after three years you’ll have paid the company more than it would ever pay out for your vehicle.
That’s something to consider in light of the high rates Travelers charges.
Comprehensive
Covers almost all non-wreck costs. This coverage pays out if your car gets stolen, vandalized, or otherwise damaged from something other than a collision.
Safer car, lower rates. Travelers offers discounts for installing anti-theft devices on your car because it lowers the risk of Travelers having to pay if your car gets stolen.
Ridesharing
Coverage for your side hustle. Travelers offers rideshare insurance in Colorado and Illinois.
If you drive for Uber or Lyft, this type of insurance will cover you from when you open the app until you pick up a passenger.
Let your employer know in advance. Don’t try driving for Uber, Lyft, or any other company without first informing Travelers.
If you don’t, the company can cancel your personal insurance policy.
Gap insurance
Pays off your car note. Your insurance company usually only covers the current value of your car after a wreck, not what you paid for it.
If you financed your vehicle, this can leave you paying off a car loan long after the car is gone.
Gap insurance protects against this situation.
If your car gets totaled, it pays off the remaining difference between the actual value of your vehicle and the loan’s remaining balance.
What People Love About It
People love Travelers because of its customizable coverage
Personalized protection. The multiple kinds of coverage Travelers offers means drivers can pick and choose the protections they need, as told by Consumer Advocate.
You can add features such as new car replacement, accident forgiveness, and other coverage as needed.
Solid representatives. Consumers note that Travelers’ agents and representatives are “friendly and straightforward,” as one reviewer noted in their post on the company’s Better Business Bureau page.
Great discounts. Travelers has multiple ways of saving on your car insurance premiums.
A few of these include safe drivers getting a discount of up to 23% if they haven’t had a rates-raising incident in five years, owners of vehicles fewer than three years old getting their rates cut up to 10%, and putting more than one car on your policy will get you a multi-vehicle discount of up to 8%.
You can get an idea of what discounts you may qualify for by going through this easy-to-use checklist:
- I plan on bundling my auto insurance with my home or other insurance through Travelers for up to 13% savings
- I will be insuring multiple cars on my policy for savings up to 8%
- I have insurance on my home or condo for savings up to 5%
- I have had no auto insurance claims for the past three years for up to a 10% discount, or for five years for up to a 23% discount
- I have had no gaps in my insurance coverage for a discount of up to 15%
- I own or lease a hybrid or electric car for up to a 10% discount
- I plan on paying my policy in full upfront for a 7.5% discount, or by using automatic payments for a 2-3% discount
- I will have a student away at school on my policy for up to a 7% discount
- I will have a driving-age student with at least a B average on my policy for up to an 8% discount
- I will take a drivers education course for up to an 8% discount.
- I will be shopping around for a new policy before my old one expires for a 3-10% discount
Biggest Consumer Complaints
The biggest consumer complaints about Travelers are how it handles claims
Lowball offers. A few people noted that Travelers pitched them lower payouts than they expected following an auto accident.
One complaint on the BBB stated that these offers were sometimes “several thousand dollars” below what their car was worth.
No communication. Many reviewers on Consumer Affairs were angry about unresponsiveness and a lack of communication during the claims process.
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Key Digital Services
Travelers’ website and app offers great functions to manage your car insurance
Solid website. Travelers’ website lets you pay your bills, file or track a claim, find repair shop recommendations, and get a quote.
Actually a good app. While most insurance apps often seem slapped together with limited functionality, Travelers Mobile offers a surprisingly good experience.
It currently holds a four out of five star rating on Google Play, and three out of five stars on the iTunes store.
The app has all the same features offered on Travelers’ website with the exception of getting a quote.
It also lets you get roadside assistance, view and download your insurance cards, and contact your claim professional.
How to Start Their Services
Schedule a meeting with an agent if you want to start using Travelers
You can get a quote on a policy by visiting Travelers’ website or by calling 1-866-216-8157.
However, the best way to get a policy is by scheduling a face-to-face meeting with an agent by using Travelers agency locator.
That way, you can get a feel for whether they’re the type of person you want managing your policy.
Apply early and save. Travelers offers an early quote discount.
If you reach out to an agent and get a quote before your current policy expires, you can get a discount between 3-10%, depending on how early you start shopping around for a new policy.
Know in advance if you can save money. Since Travelers rates are on the higher side because of its commercial focus, it helps to take stock of which discounts you may be eligible for before applying.
Go through this checklist prior to requesting a quote so you can see which ways you could save on Travelers auto insurance.
How to Cancel
Make sure you have a new insurance provider before calling to cancel
Just call 1-800-842-5075 to cancel your policy.
Make sure you have a new auto insurance provider lined up though because any gaps in coverage could cause your rates to spike.
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FAQ
The answers to the most frequently asked questions about Travelers auto insurance
Travelers is a great option for your commercial insurance needs
Travelers provides great discounts and comprehensive policies for auto insurance.
However, the tradeoff is that its premiums are high, and its customer service is just average since the company is focused more on commercial lines of insurance.
If you are a safe driver who’s already low rates could be dropped even further with some great discounts for safe drivers and things as simple as paying your claims on time, Travelers is worth a look for you.
Do you use Travelers auto insurance?
How has the company worked out for you?
Any great tips (or nightmares) to share with the rest of us?
Let us know in the comments below.
Enter your zip code below to view companies that have cheap insurance rates.
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Brad Larson
Licensed Insurance Agent
Brad Larson has been in the insurance industry for over 16 years. He specializes in helping clients navigate the claims process, with a particular emphasis on coverage analysis. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Utah in Political Science. He also holds an Associate in Claims (AIC) and Associate in General Insurance (AINS) designations, as well as a Utah Property and Casual...
Licensed Insurance Agent
Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything legal and insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by experts.