Travelers Auto Insurance Review

Company Background Information

The Travelers Companies is a global insurance provider and sells various insurance products through a network of over 14,000 brokers to individuals, corporations, governmental agencies and other organizations. The company was founded in 1864 in Hartford, Connecticut and initially focused on serving customers who were having trouble with receiving claim payments from other insurance companies on the East Coast. It went through multiple acquisitions and mergers in the 90s including being purchased by Primerica, Citibank, and most recently MetLife.

Travelers was rated 4 out of 5 for claims satisfaction in the most recent 2013 J.D. Power claims satisfaction survey, and it is ranked 9th among the largest auto providers in the United States. The company is also rated A+ by A.M. Best for its strong financial consistency and stability and was given an “aa” credit rating. It now ranks in the top 150 of the Fortune 500 list of the largest companies in America.

Pros of Travelers Car Insurance

• Many different types of insurance offered
• Discounts for multiple policies
• A large and established financially secure insurance company

Cons of Travelers Car Insurance

• A few negative reviews posted online regarding customer service
• Auto insurance is not available in every state

Discounts

Travelers provides many of the same discounts found at other major insurers including:

• Accident forgiveness – the company will forgive accidents if a customer does not have an at-fault accident for 5 years.
• Hybrid vehicle discount – owners of hybrid cars are eligible for up to 10% off their premiums.
• Safe driver discount –safe drivers who have no accidents or claims are rewarded with lowered premiums.
• Multiple car and multiple policy discounts - for adding multiple cars or purchasing multiple policies.
• New vehicle discount – new vehicles can get a discount on collision coverage if they are less than 3 years old.
• Paid in full – premiums are discounted when they are paid in full instead of monthly.
• Home owners' discount – home owners can receive a discount or condo owners.
• Good student discount – teenagers and young adults with good grades can qualify for this.
• Student away at school discount – parents with a child 100 miles away or more at school can qualify for this discount.
• Driving training discounts – policy holders who take an eligible course can receive this discount.

IntelliDrive Program

The IntelliDrive Program is similar to some of the other programs offered by other insurance companies that track a driver’s skill using a data gathering device. For the IntelliDrive program Travelers sends the driver a small device that is plugged into the diagnostic port and transmits information on the mileage, vehicle speed, time of the day or night the car is driven, braking technique and other data.

The program rewards safe drivers and drivers who do not drive very often with reduced premiums. There are two discounts for the IntelliDrive program – a sign on discount where drivers immediately save up to 10% and a low mileage discount where drivers can save up to 30%. The threshold to qualify for the low mileage is 13,000 miles per year and all of the data that is sent can be seen by the customer online.

Types of Insurance Offered

Travelers sells personal, financial, and business insurance products and within these categories are dozens of different specific insurance products.

For auto insurance Travelers offers the following common options: bodily injury, property liability, uninsured motorist coverage, comprehensive coverage, collision coverage. Additional auto insurance options include rental reimbursement, towing, GAP coverage, repair coverage, and more.

ConciergeCLAIM

Travelers’ ConciergeCLAIM service is an expedited vehicle repair service that intends to offer an easier and faster process for getting a vehicle fixed and back up and running following an accident. The ConciergeCLAIM service consists of these steps:

• ConciergeCLAIM is called as soon as possible after the accident
• The representative meets the customer at a local ConciergeCLAIM center for a vehicle inspection
• ConciergeCLAIM handles the paperwork for repairing the vehicle and the customers leaves in a rental car
• ConciergeCLAIM updates the customer on the progress of the repair and all the other details are handled by them
• The repairs are guaranteed by for as long as the vehicle is owned by the customer even if they move out of state

Customer Reviews

Customer reviews of Travelers vary online. Travelers does not have as many negative reviews as some of the other large insurance providers and has a number of positive reviews to counter them. In the negative reviews customers reported unexpected increases in premiums, trouble receiving claims reimbursements on time, claim payouts that were lower than expected, denials for lost wage claims, and other various complaints. These complaints should not be taken to represent most customers, as the J.D. Power claims satisfaction survey resulted in a strong 4 out of 5 rating, suggesting that many customers were satisfied with the ConciergeCLAIM service and customer support.

Recommendations

Although there are a few complaints online involving some customers who have had a negative experience, the reviews by J.D. Power suggest that Travelers is a good choice for auto insurance seekers for its combination of good customer support and discount options. Travelers has financial stability, a large number of insurance products and several discounts which allow the company to offer competitive rates. If you are interested in comparing rates from multiple insurance providers including Travelers and others, just enter your zip code on the page and you will receive live quotes.

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