Travelers Insurance: Company Overview

About Travelers

For more than 160 years Travelers Insurance has been protecting homes, cars, valuables, and businesses. Today they have the reputation of being one of the best property and casualty companies in the industry and are the only one in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company has 30,000 employees and 13,500 independent agents and brokers in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Brazil. In 1864, a stonecutter, James G. Batterson, and several other townsman in Hartford Connecticut began organizing a company to introduce accident insurance to the U.S. James E. Bolter, a local banker, asked Batterson how much he’d charge to insure his four-block home. Batterson said it would cost “two cents.” Today, the two-cent “premium” is Traveler’s treasured souvenir. The following year, Travelers began selling life insurance and in 1897 they issued their first automobile insurance policy. In 1889, they offered liability insurance to employers (workers compensation). By 1901 Travelers Insurance offered health and liability insurance. In 1903, they opened an insurance school and the following year organized a corps of safety engineers. In 1919, Travelers offered aircraft liability insurance with a full aviation program. During World War II, Travelers underwrote the Manhattan Project, the building of the first atomic bomb. In 1956, they established a weather research center and two years later offered life insurance to women at lower rates than men.

The Traveler’s logo of the protective red umbrella was introduced in 1960. In 1968 Travelers used modified RVs as a mobile claim office to assist policyholders after disasters. In 1969, they issued accident policies for space flight and lunar exploration. In 1997, they launched an insurance policy to protect people who do their personal banking online. In 1999, they offered identity fraud expense reimbursement coverage. On April 1, 2004, Travelers merged with the St. Paul Companies Inc., forming one of the largest casualty insurers and financial services firms. In 1993, Travelers was acquired by the Primerica conglomerate, which renamed itself Travelers Group and in 1996 bought the casualty and property insurance businesses of the Aetna Life and Casualty Company. A year later, Travelers bought Salomon Brothers Inc and merged the investment bank with its own Shearson-Smith Barney to form Salomon Smith Barney Holdings Inc, which became one of the largest Amerian securities firms. In 1998 Travelers merged with Citicorp to form Citigroup, which spun off in 2002 into the property and casualty insurance business to form Travelers Property Casualty Corp. Today these companies share one name, The Travelers Companies, Inc.

In 2006 Travelers Insurance began offering a discount to drivers of hybrid vehicles and still does today. In 2016, Travels created the first predictive model to help injured employees avoid chronic pain and opioid use. From 1995-2018, Travelers has made the Fortune 500 and from 2008-2017 they made Barron’s 500. From 2006-2018, they made Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Company list. In 2019, they made Forbes Most Just Companies list. From 2014-2017 the NAIC awarded them the largest U.S. workers’ compensation and commercial auto carrier. The culture at Travelers is just as impressive. Travelers have been ranked as a military friendly company, employer and brand by Viqtory for several consecutive years. The company made it to the Best for VETS Index from 2019-2019 and was ranked as a top veteran-friendly company in U.S Veterans magazine, 2014-2017. Travelers also won best employers by Forbes (2015-2018) and by Glassdoor (2018-2019). It was voted best employers for diversity (Forbes, 2019) and for Women (Forbes, 2019). The Human Rights Campaign Foundation awarded Travelers Insurance as Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality (2016-2019) and the Amerian Association of People with Disabilities voted it as the Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion (2018).

Travelers Facts & Ratings

Travelers Mobile App Rating

The Travelers Mobile app is available for iOS and Android. This award-winning mobile app can help manage insurance and banking accounts, request roadside service, file and track claims and pay bills.

Common Questions about Travelers

Travelers Insurance Products

Travelers Auto Insurance Coverage

Discounts

Travelers Auto Insurance Rates by State

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Travelers Auto Insurance Rates by Homeownership

Travelers Contact Info

Methodology

The statistics listed on this page are from our own in house reporting. We track and record quotes that carriers have provided based on various criteria. The rates and averages shown on this page should only be used as an estimate.

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