Travelers Insurance Review 2020

Travelers is one of the most enduring and well-known names in insurance. It’s among the nation’s largest providers of home and auto insurance policies. If you’re looking for an in-person experience with an agent and want to buy multiple products from one provider, Travelers might be a good fit.

Travelers auto insurance

Travelers auto insurance earned 4.5 stars out of 5 for overall performance. NerdWallet’s ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula looks at factors such as account pricing and discounts, website transparency and financial strength. Other factors include ease of filing a claim and complaint data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and more.

Based on these ratings, Travelers is among NerdWallet’s Best Car Insurance Companies for 2020.

» MORE: Car Insurance Quotes: What You Need to Know

Beyond the standard coverage options, Travelers has additional auto insurance options available.

• Gap insurance protects your auto lease or loan. If your car is totaled before it’s paid off or the lease is up, Travelers pays the difference between your loan’s balance and the car’s value when it’s totaled.
• Ridesharing insurance is available from Travelers in Illinois and Colorado for people who drive for companies like Uber or Lyft. Ridesharing companies usually pay for some liability when drivers are en route to pick up a passenger and until drop-off, but not in between rides. This coverage is not available in all states.
• IntelliDrive uses an app to track your driving speed, the time of day, and braking and acceleration habits for 90 days. It’s available in 31 states. At renewal, you can get a discount of up to 20% for good driving — or your rates could go up if you have risky driving habits (except in certain states). Note: This program is only available in select states.
• Premier New Car Replacement can benefit you if your car is totaled and is five years old or newer. This coverage pays to replace the car with a brand new one, plus includes gap insurance to pay off any loan or lease balance when the car is totaled. If your car’s glass needs to be repaired, enrolling in this program means you could have a lower deductible.
• Travelers’ Responsible Driver Program offers two types of forgiveness: One accident and one minor violation are forgiven every 36 months, so your rates won’t go up after a crash or ticket.
• The Premier Responsible Driver Program includes the above accident and violation forgiveness perks, as well as a decreasing deductible ($50 off for every six months accident-free, up to $500 off your deductible). If your car is totaled, your deductible is waived in this program.

» MORE: Compare car insurance rates

Traveler’s auto insurance discounts:

• Multi-policy discount.
• Multicar discount.
• Home ownership discount.
• Safe driver discount.
• Discount for having no gaps in coverage.
• Discount for owning or leasing a hybrid car.
• New car discount.
• Discounts for paying electronically, upfront or on time..
• Discount for getting a quote before your policy expires.
• Discount for drivers in high school or college that maintain a “B” average or better.
• Student away at school discount.
• Driver training discount.

Travelers homeowners insurance

Travelers offers homeowners insurance with all of the standard coverage options, plus additional features you can buy, including:

• Contents replacement cost: Pays to replace your items with new ones, rather than paying the depreciated value of your old items, if they are stolen or damaged by an event your policy covers.
• Valuable Items Plus: If your extra-valuable belongings are stolen or damaged, this extra coverage guarantees you can replace them. It can cover items like jewelry, computers and musical instruments.
• Coverage for water backup pays if your house is damaged when water backs up through your sewer or drain, or overflows from your sump pump.
• Identity fraud coverage pays up to $25,000 for costs related to restoring your identity if you are the victim of identity theft, with no deductible.
• Green home coverage will help repair, replace or rebuild with green materials after you file a claim.

Traveler’s home insurance discounts:

• Multi-policy discount.
• Recent home buyer discount.
• Discount for customers who haven’t made a claim within a certain time period.
• Safety device discount.
• Green home discount.

Travelers complaints and customer satisfaction

Travelers had fewer than the expected number of complaints to state regulators for auto and home insurance relative to its size, according to according to three years’ worth of data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

According to J.D. Power Studies, Travelers ranks about average in customer satisfaction scores for car insurance, but less than average for home insurance claims.

More about Travelers

Website: Travelers’ login portal lets you access all of your insurance information, pay bills, track claims and more. Elsewhere on the website, you can get advice on topics from driving in icy conditions to preventing flood damage.

Mobile app: You can pay bills, file a claim, call for roadside assistance and view policy documents with Travelers’ mobile app, available on iOS and Android.

Voice assistant: If you have a device that uses Amazon’s Alexa virtual assistant, you can manage your Travelers account with Alexa.

Recap: Travelers pros and cons

Auto insurance ratings methodology

NerdWallet’s auto insurance ratings reward companies for customer-first features and practices. Ratings are based on weighted averages of scores in several categories, including financial strength, consumer complaints, website transparency and affordability. Using our editorial discretion, we also consider customer satisfaction surveys. These ratings are a guide, but we encourage you to shop around and compare several insurance quotes to find the best rate for you. NerdWallet does not receive compensation for any reviews. Read our editorial guidelines.

Methodology: Insurer complaints

NerdWallet examined complaints received by state insurance regulators and reported to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners in 2016-2018. To assess how insurers compare to one another, the NAIC calculates a complaint index each year for each subsidiary, measuring its share of total complaints relative to its size, or share of total premiums in the industry. To evaluate a company’s complaint history, NerdWallet calculated a similar index for each insurer, weighted by market shares of each subsidiary, over the three-year period. Ratios are determined separately for auto, home and life insurance.