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With all of the auto insurance options out there, is Travelers right for you? It depends.
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Auto insurance comes up once or twice a year for most adults. I don’t know about you, but when my auto insurance policy is about to renew every six months, I start immediately. Should I look into other car insurance companies? Is there a better deal out there? And do I need all of this coverage?
It’s never a bad idea to do a little research. There are plenty of options, whether you’re purchasing auto insurance for the first time or coming up on your policy renewal like me.
So, let’s see if Travelers might be your auto insurance company.
In this article
What is Travelers car insurance?
Travelers is a United States insurance company that offers several types of personal and business insurance products. Honestly, the number of insurance products they offer can be overwhelming if you look at the full list! Travelers has been offering insurance for more than 160 years, though, so there must be a reason that they’re still around and able to offer so much to their customers. Travelers scored 854 out of 1,000 points in the J.D. Power 2023 U.S. auto claims satisfaction survey.
Like most major insurers, Travelers offers the option to get a car insurance quote online. When you visit their website, you’ll see the “Get a Quote” option at the top of their home page.
The little arrow next to it will give you a drop-down menu where you can enter your zip code to get started. Make sure that you have the right insurance product selected, too. In this case, we will get a quote for auto insurance. You can also see here that there’s a phone number you can call if you’d rather get your quote by phone. Or, if you recently got a quote from Travelers, you can pull up that quote again.
Travelers will ask if you’re currently a Travelers customer. If you are, select “Yes” because you can select your current Travelers policies, such as home and condo insurance. You may be eligible for a multi-policy discount with a Travelers policy.
If you don’t have a current Travelers policy, click “No,” and Travelers will take you to the forms.
Before you submit this information, there’s a brief disclosure to review. This is just letting you know that Travelers will obtain information about you and possibly other drivers in your household. They must do this to provide you with an accurate quote for your auto insurance. There are links to their privacy notice and other details that you can click on to dive deeper into that process and learn more about how they gather and use your information.
If you’re comfortable with proceeding, you can start your quote now.
If you click “No, thanks” instead, you won’t be able to proceed with the online quote process. This will prompt a pop-up with a phone number that you can call to ask questions about the quote process and get a quote over the phone.
You’ll be asked for your contact information if you decide to proceed. This is pretty standard for most insurance companies’ quote processes. You can expect Travelers to email you a copy of your quote after you’ve completed the process. You may get a call or text following up on your quote if you provide your phone number.
The next step is to provide information about your vehicle(s). If you know your VIN, you can enter it by clicking on the link. Or if you don’t feel like going out to your car to check, you can just enter its year, make, model, and body style.
No matter which way you enter your vehicle’s basic information, there are other questions that you’ll need to answer yourself.
You can enter information about one vehicle at a time. If you have more than one vehicle, you can add it after you submit the information about the first vehicle. You can add up to 4 vehicles to your Travelers quote.
After you’ve added your vehicle(s), Travelers will ask for information about yourself, the driver.
When you’ve completed entering your information, you can add other drivers. Travelers can give you an auto insurance quote for a policy that includes yourself and up to 5 additional drivers.
One of the nice things about the Travelers’ quote process is that it includes frequently asked questions. Below your list of drivers, you’ll notice the option to expand a drop-down menu to learn more about who you should include in your quote.
Travelers will now ask you about your current auto insurance.
If you don’t have auto insurance currently, you can also select that as an option.
Now Travelers can finally give you what you’ve been waiting for...your quote!
It’s important to understand that this quote is based on car insurance coverage that Travelers has picked out for you. You can click on the “View Details” button to dig deeper into what the quote includes.
Since I already have a car insurance policy with another company, Travelers gave me a quote for coverage similar to what I currently have. If you have a current auto insurance policy and give Travelers that info, the quote you get will be for a policy with similar coverage to your current policy.
Travelers also provide a quote for “better coverage” to view.
No matter your choice, there’s still more to look at. The first drop-down menu under your quote has your discounts. These discounts are what Travelers can offer, based on the information that you provided during the quote process. At the top of the menu, you can see the worth of your discounts.
The next drop-down menu gives you more information about the auto policy coverages and amounts included in your quote. You can click on each coverage type to read a quick overview of what that coverage provides, such as personal property. The middle column is the coverage’s deductible or limit. The last column is how much that coverage costs. This cost is already included in your quote’s price.
If you click on the “Edit Coverages” option in the upper right corner, you can change the coverage amounts or whether or not the coverage is included in your policy. After making those edits, you can click “Recalculate” at the top or the bottom of your page.
Your coverage selections will be saved as a “Custom Coverage” policy. You can also edit the coverages for your vehicle. Your vehicle coverage is the third drop-down menu underneath your auto policy coverages.
When you’re done setting up your ideal auto insurance policy, you have a few options. If you’re ready to purchase, you can do that now. Otherwise, you can save the quote and return to it later and download the auto-quote summary to review later.
Travelers makes it easy to reach out throughout the quote process if you have any questions. You can chat online with a Travelers representative or call Travelers to speak with someone on the phone. You’ll see the chat option at the bottom of your screen on every page during the quote process, so you can click on it anytime. Also, you can download your full quote as a PDF. This comes in handy if you'd like to revisit the quote sometime in the future, saving you from adding the information all over again.
How much does Travelers auto insurance cost?
Getting an auto insurance quote from Travelers is free, but you should know the cost of auto insurance before purchasing any policy. Insurance companies have you go through the quote process because the price for your insurance policy depends on several factors.
Your location
The area where you live and keep your vehicle can make a difference in your insurance rate. If your vehicle gets damaged or you get into an accident and need to make an insurance claim, you’ll likely be using local repair shops and medical offices. For this reason, insurance providers will consider the average costs of vehicle repairs and medical costs in your area.
Typically, living in a rural or suburban area may get you a lower insurance rate than living in an urban area. If the area where you live has a higher rate of vandalism, theft, or auto accidents, this may also be considered since it affects the likelihood of you making a claim.
Your driving stats
Insurance companies take on a certain risk whenever they sell an insurance policy. Looking at your driving record can help an insurance company estimate the amount of risk they will take by selling you a policy, thus affecting your insurance rate.
Another consideration is why you primarily use your car and how many miles you typically drive per year.
Your vehicle
Getting an insurance estimate might not be a bad idea if you’re in the market for a new vehicle. Insurance rates can vary depending on the cost to repair and replace parts in your car, the vehicle’s safety record, and its likelihood of theft.
Examples of premium costs
With all of those factors, this is what a Travelers quote looks like for a single male renting a home in Chicago, driving an average of 11,500 miles a year in a 2018 Toyota Camry, who doesn't have prior auto coverage.
Minimum coverage includes:
Bodily injury liability coverage: $100,000 per person/$300,000 per accident
Property damage: $50,000 per accident
Uninsured motorist bodily injury: $100,000 per person/$300,000 per accident
Liability coverage requirements vary by state, but chances are that you’ll be required to include this in your auto insurance policy.
The first part of your liability coverage is bodily injury liability coverage. This can help cover the costs of medical bills and other related costs if you cause injury to other people in an accident.
The second part of liability coverage is property damage liability coverage. This can help pay for the cost of repairing or replacing items of property damaged by your vehicle in an incident that was your fault. For example, if you are found to be at fault for a car accident, you may be able to use your coverage to help cover the costs of repairing the other person’s car.
Liability coverage can also help with your legal defense costs if you are sued due to an accident that you caused.
While liability coverage can cover the costs of damage to another person’s vehicle, it can’t help with your vehicle. That’s where collision coverage comes in. It can help pay for repairing your vehicle’s damage if you get into an accident or if your vehicle rolls over.
If you finance or lease your vehicle, you may be required to have collision coverage for your vehicle.
Comprehensive coverage
Since your car can get damaged by situations that aren’t accidents, you may want to have comprehensive coverage included in your policy. It can help pay for repairing your vehicle if it is damaged by a bad storm, hitting an animal with your car, theft, or vandalism.
Like collision coverage, comprehensive coverage may be required if you finance or lease your car.
Also called no-fault insurance, personal injury protection coverage can help pay for your medical expenses, lost wages, and other expenses if you’re involved in an accident. It can also cover these costs for your family members and passengers in your vehicle.
Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage
Theoretically, if you get into an accident caused by the other driver, they would be responsible for your damages and medical costs. However, if they leave the scene of the accident and don’t have the proper insurance coverage, you won’t be able to benefit from their insurance coverage.
In these cases, uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage could replace the at-fault driver’s insurance. It offers coverage for yourself, your family, and any passengers in your vehicle.
Travelers also offers additional coverage options that could be beneficial for some drivers:
Loan/lease gap insurance
Rental coverage
Roadside assistance
New car replacement
Accident forgiveness
Ridesharing (only available in Colorado and Illinois)
In addition to discounts like the new car discount and safe driver discount, Travelers features certain programs you may be eligible to enroll in.
Affinity program
The Travelers Affinity Car & Home Program offers exclusive savings opportunities to Travelers’ customers. This program is available to employees or members of participating employers, credit unions, and association groups. To learn more about the program and to find out if you are eligible, you have to call Travelers.
Intellidrive
Travelers offer this program that can help determine your insurance premium (the cost of your auto insurance) depending on your driving habits. If you enroll in the program, you’ll use a smartphone app to monitor your braking, speed, and more while driving.
If you display safe driving habits, you could shave off up to 30% of your auto insurance cost.
Premier Responsible Driver Plan
For every six months that you are accident- or major violation-free, you will receive a $50 earned credit up to $500 that will be applied toward your deductible in case of a covered loss. This means minor violations are forgiven under the plan.
Who is Travelers best for?
People who want to bundle their insurance policies
Since Travelers offers several insurance products, it may be worth considering if you need homeowners' or renters' insurance. However, if all you’re looking for is auto insurance, you may be able to find more affordable coverage elsewhere.
People who are eligible for the Affinity Program
The exclusive savings may be worth exploring if you’re an employee or a participating company or organization member.
Who shouldn’t use Travelers?
People who don’t qualify for many discounts
When it comes to insurance, finding the best price often comes with finding out which company offers the best discounts, such as driver training and good student discounts. If you don’t qualify for the discounts offered by Travelers, you may find that your insurance quote is higher than quotes from some of their competitors.
While CarInsurance.net is easy to use, a few of its competitors streamline the data input process by connecting to your current insurance provider, saving you time and effort.
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Features
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Services
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Pros and cons
Pros
Travelers offers plenty of opportunities to save. Some highlights include the new car discount and the early quote discount. These discounts can save you up to 10% just for owning a car less than three years old and getting an auto insurance quote before your current policy expires.
Travelers makes it easy to get your questions answered during the quote process. All you need to do is click on the chat function or call to speak to a representative by phone. You can also search for an independent agent if you prefer to work with someone directly.
Cons
Travelers only offers ridesharing insurance in two states: Colorado and Illinois. This is an important coverage option if you drive for companies such as Uber, Lyft, or Doordash.
You can’t find everything you need to know on the Travelers website. You’ll probably want to be aware of all the discounts you’re eligible for before deciding. Unfortunately, you can only learn about savings opportunities from the Affinity program if you call Travelers.
Customer service after hours, 12-month rate guarantee
GEICO
Geico is another top insurance company for auto and other insurance products. Like Liberty Mutual, it offers several coverage options at competitive rates. GEICO also offers rideshare insurance, which can replace your auto insurance policy if you are a rideshare driver.
Liberty Mutual is an insurance company that offers both personal and commercial insurance products. Offering several coverage options, the company is one of the only insurance companies to lock in rates for 12 months.
This is a tough question to answer because it depends on where policyholders live, the vehicle you drive, and other factors. An insurance representative can help you choose the best coverage options for your situation.
How do I add discounts to my policy?
During the quote process, you may find that some discounts are automatically applied based on your answers. You can also speak with your insurance representative to see if there are additional discounts that you may be eligible for.
While CarInsurance.net is easy to use, a few of its competitors streamline the data input process by connecting to your current insurance provider, saving you time and effort.
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Cost
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Features
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Ease of use
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Services
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The bottom line
With all of the auto insurance options, is Travelers right for you? The best answer I can give you is that it depends. Travelers does offer an assortment of auto insurance coverage options that can add up to a strong policy. The downside to their coverage is that you may not get it from them if you need coverage for being a rideshare driver.
Travelers can also be a great option if you want to enroll in their Intellidrive program and if you qualify for the discounts that they offer. If not, the price might be higher than that of another comparable insurance company.
Overall, finding the best policy starts with getting a quote. As someone who hates giving out their phone number, I appreciated that Travelers didn’t require it during the quote process. Getting a quote only takes 5 to 10 minutes, so at the end of the day, it’s worth seeing what Travelers can offer.
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