Texas Consumer Group Criticizes Travelers TV Ad [The Hartford Courant, Conn.]

July 08--A new television commercial for The Travelers Cos. auto insurance is "misleading and deceptive," a Texas consumer group alleges in a letter to state regulators.

The advertisement, titled "Driving Your House," also has been broadcast in Connecticut and shows a man driving down a two-lane highway in a living room on wheels. His phone rings, he leans over to answer it, then turns back to notice he's in the wrong lane facing an oncoming SUV. He swerves off the road, crashes, and sails through the air along with his cat as home furnishings shatter on the road.

The voiceover says, "Without the right auto insurance, a crash might impact more than your car. Make sure you're properly covered, so when you're driving your car, you're not risking your house."

The idea is that a driver could be sued after a car crash and end up owing so much money in liability that he has to sell his house. It's one in a series of commercials by the property-casualty insurer in its most recent campaign featuring the slogan, "Travelers. Take the scary out of life." But the Texas constitution prohibits the forced sale of a home in most circumstances, including liability from a car crash.

"This ad is deceptive and misleading," said Alex Winslow, the executive director the consumer group Texas Watch. "During our nation's current economic crisis, it is shameful that an insurance company would prey on the fears of families who are already concerned about being able to make their mortgage payments just to sell more overpriced insurance."

Texas Watch sent a letter Tuesday asking Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott and Texas Insurance Commissioner Mike Geeslin to force Travelers to take the commercial off Texas airwaves. Both the attorney general's office and the Texas Department of Insurance are reviewing the commercial.

"It's a high priority and we expect to communicate with the company promptly," said Jerry Hagins, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Insurance.

The commercial could be a violation of either Texas Department of Insurance codes regarding advertising by insurers, or of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act governing advertising and enforced by the attorney general's office.

Travelers declined to comment.

This isn't the first time an insurance company has come under fire in Texas for a commercial that suggested drivers could lose their homes because of insufficient liability coverage. In September 2005, the Texas attorney general's office issued a cease-and-desist order to Allstate after the insurance company aired a commercial featuring a family moving out of their home because of auto-collision-liability expenses.

Allstate voluntarily pulled the advertisement.

"It is not true that you need to cushion your auto insurance in order to somehow protect your home because liability would extend to your home because of an auto accident," Tom Kelley, a spokesman for Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. "In other words, our state is pretty clear about protecting one's home."

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