Travelers is the second-largest commercial insurer in the United States and is one of the oldest providers, having been founded in 1853. Its insurance products range from personal auto, home, and recreational vehicles to small to large business insurance. For business insurance, Travelers is the largest provider of workers’ compensation and has around 30,000 employees spread across the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. Continue reading our Travelers business insurance review for the provider’s coverages, costs, services, and customer reviews.
Pros
- Wide range of coverages
- Multiple departments for customers
- Account portal for billing
Cons
- Policy management primarily through an agent
- Cannot get a quote or purchase a policy online
- Limited information for some industry coverages
Standout Features
- Excellent loss control and risk management services
- Customer service advocacy hotline
- Tailored policy package to fit specific industries
- Broad risk appetite and higher limits for small businesses
Financial stability: Rating of A++ (Superior) from AM Best
Travelers Insurance Alternatives
 |  |  |
|---|---|---|
Best for: Businesses that want to compare quotes and buy a policy online | Best for: Businesses that want a traditional insurer but with more convenience | Best for: Small business owners having trouble finding coverage |
AM Best Financial Rating: A- to A+ (Excellent to Superior) | AM Best Financial Rating: A+ (Excellent) | AM Best Financial Rating: A- to A+ (Excellent to Superior) |
Travelers Commercial Insurance Coverage Options
Travelers’ commercial insurance options run the range of all the traditional policies any small business would need.
Coverages
Travelers has the core policies that small businesses need, with many of them having special coverage included. It has some more niche policies, too.
Many of its coverages are available through industry-specific programs. For example, IndustryEdge® is an insurance program Travelers introduced to offer specialized insurance for industries in different sectors. Each program under it has custom coverage to match that specific industry.
Travelers general liability is a standard CGL policy with coverage provided for property damage and bodily injury. It offers Xtend®, which is an endorsement that broadens the coverage for architects, engineers, auto dealers, education, technology, healthcare, and service industries.
Its commercial property coverage is in line with industry standards. It is peril-based and provides protection for property you own, structures you rent, or furniture and equipment inside the buildings. What’s more, Travelers has a dedicated 24/7 emergency helpline for property claims.
A BOP from Travelers automatically includes general liability, property and business income, and an extra expense. Travelers incorporates other specialized coverages depending on the industry, like professional liability for service industries. It also has optional coverages you can add to a BOP, including hired, nonowned auto, cyber liability with data breach, crime, and contractors’ equipment.
Travelers is the largest provider of workers’ comp by market share. Its coverage helps injured employees with medical bills and wage replacement. It has more than 2,000 claim professionals and more than 500 dedicated nurses for its workers’ comp claims. Its return-to-work program is successful, with 67% of injured employees returning to work within 30 days.
Travelers has CyberFirst Essentials® for small businesses. This is offered in conjunction with a BOP. It provides breach notification to customers, credit card monitoring services, public relations consultation costs, defense, and settlement costs if a suit is brought against your business, and more.
Travelers is the largest provider of workers’ comp by market share. Its coverage helps injured employees with medical bills and wage replacement. It has more than 2,000 claim professionals and more than 500 dedicated nurses for its workers’ comp claims. Its return-to-work program is successful, with 67% of injured employees returning to work within 30 days.
Travelers’ umbrella policy is in line with the standards found at other carriers. However, Travelers stands out by offering high limits for all types of small businesses. A limit of up to $25 million is available for this policy.
Travelers EPLI is called EPL+, and its base coverage includes legal defense regardless of negligence. It has several optional enhancements, such as identity fraud expense reimbursement.
Some other types of insurance available from Travelers are:
- Professional liability
- Directors and officers (D&O)
- Kidnap and ransom insurance
- Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) fidelity insurance
- Agribusiness insurance
Travelers covers nearly every industry where small businesses can be found. The main industries The industries covered are subdivided into different sections. For example, agribusiness encompasses operations, such as farms and ranches or wineries, while foodservice includes restaurants. it provides insurance for are:
- Construction
- Energy
- Financial institutions
- Healthcare
- Manufacturing
- Real estate
- Technology
- Transportation
- Agribusiness
- Architects, engineers, and surveyors
- Auto and truck dealers
- Nonprofits
- Retail
- Hospitality and recreation
- Foodservice
Travelers Business Insurance Costs & Quoting Process
While Travelers is a leading and established carrier, its quoting process is more traditional. Also, it provides a lackluster digital experience—at least for its small business customers.
Unlike other traditional carriers, such as The Hartford, Travelers doesn’t publish any average prices for its business policies online. It also doesn’t have any online quote systems in place, so it is impossible to provide an actual estimate for what it may cost to be insured through it.
To get a quote, visit Travelers’ website, select your specific industry, and then enter your ZIP code. Then, you will get a list of one of its 13,000 independent agents in your area. After selecting one, it has a “request a quote” option—but in my experience, clicking that doesn’t do anything. As such, you most likely need to call the number to get a quote.
Travelers Customer Service & Claims Process
The provider maintains a 24/7 line for claims reporting, checking on the status of claims. It has a separate line for customer service, billing, and premium audits—each with different hours of operation. For instance, the billing department is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern time and the premium audit is open the same days, but only from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., both ET.
What’s more, the provider offers a 24/7 customer advocacy line. If you have problems or any questions regarding its service, you can call (866) 336-2077.
To file a claim, you can call Travelers, file online, or work with your agent. To check the claim status, you can call or do it online. Once the claim is filed, it has 24 different claim centers across the US, and all of them are staffed by Travelers employees and not third-party contractors. It also has 48 auto-claim centers to help expedite claims.
Travelers Account Management & Risk Management Service
My Travelers® for Business
It’s worth noting that Travelers has limited online account management. Beyond claims management, you can pay a bill. If you need to change your policy or get a COI, you’ll need to contact your agent.
However, it has a more comprehensive online account management system called My Travelers® for Business. You can view your policy through this feature, create a COI (including adding any additional insureds to it), complete an annual premium audit, and more. However, small business customers do not automatically gain access to this. Travelers states it is available for select accounts, and to find out if you can use this feature, you have to register.
Risk Management Services
One standout feature of Travelers is its risk management services, and the provider has more than 500 risk control professionals with years of experience from different industries. It offers on-site inspections, classes, training modules, pamphlets and guides, and on-demand consulting.
Travelers Business Insurance Reviews
We reviewed several third-party sources to get a feel for how Traveler’s policyholders view the provider:
- Third-party review websites: We read through dozens of Travelers business insurance reviews on different review websites, though none of them were focused on commercial insurance. Sometimes, the lack of complaints says a lot about the company and the level of satisfaction of its customers.
- J.D. Power: J.D. Power conducts a yearly survey of over 2,250 small business insurance customers, and the survey evaluates client satisfaction with their carrier. A 1,000-point scale is used, and Travelers scored 847 for 2022, which places it 7th on the list.
- National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC): Since insurance isn’t regulated on the state level, most state-level insurance commissioners share their data with the NAIC. The complaint index is 1.00, so if a company is below 1.00, its complaints are lower than expected; if it is over 1.00, it is higher than expected.
For 2022, Travelers scored .31, meaning it has significantly fewer complaints than expected for its market share. This score encompasses both personal and commercial lines. If you zero in on commercial auto, commercial liability, commercial property, and workers’ comp, then its score increases to 1.02. While higher than the index, it is very close to the expected score for a company of its size.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Yes, Travelers has insurance for small and large businesses. The industries it covers range from a small retail store to the oil and gas sector.
Yes, Travelers offers insurance for personal auto, home, renters, landlord, travel, boat, and even pet insurance. It insures multiple products both for personal and commercial lines.
You can file a claim online or call (800) 252-2268.
You will need to contact your agent. Outside of paying your bill, Travelers has minimal options for online account maintenance.
Yes, Travelers is a legitimate insurance company, which was founded in 1853 It is currently available in the US, Canada, the UK, and Ireland.
Yes. Travelers is the second-largest commercial insurance company and the largest by the market share for workers’ comp. Thousands of small businesses trust Travelers.
Travelers is available for billing and customer service Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET. Its number is (800) 252-2268.
The NAIC code for Travelers is 25658.
Bottom Line
Travelers has been in the insurance business for more than 165 years and has expanded to offer a wide range of products for both personal and commercial lines of business. While its digital experience for small businesses is lagging behind some of its competitors, it has significant risk management resources to help your business not need to use its insurance. Drawing on extensive underwriting experience, the policies it offers are highly customized to fit the needs of specific industries.
- Workers’ Compensation section: https://www.travelers.com/business-insurance/services/client-advantage
- Auto section: https://www.travelers.com/business-insurance/services/client-advantage
