Travelers Pulls Ad After Texas Attorney General Sends Cease and Desist Letter

Travelers Insurance has removed a television ad from all Texas media following complaints from Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott's office.

The office on July 8 told Travelers Insurance to cease and desist the airing of what the office called a deceptive television advertisement. The ad indicates that Texas homeowners should buy additional motor vehicle insurance or risk losing their homes if they have inadequate insurance after a vehicle accident, according to a letter the office sent to Travelers.

"Our office received a letter late yesterday from Travelers informing us they have removed the offending ad from all Texas media, as a result of our demand letter," Thomas Kelley, a spokesman with the Texas Attorney General's press office, said in a July 9 e-mail.

The office had asked the ad be removed from all Texas television media markets as well as any print, multimedia, radio or computer-generated ads that appear in the state.

Attempts to reach Travelers for comment were unsuccessful.

The ad was entitled "Driving Your House" and shows a man driving his home through a desert environment when suddenly he has an accident and the home and contents are damaged, Abbot said in a statement.

"The narrator strongly suggests that without additional vehicle insurance, a driver's home could be at risk from uncovered liability after a car crash," Abbott said. "A particularly misleading portion of the ad 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. Travelers, take the scary out of life.'"

The Travelers ad was similar in message to a 2005 Allstate Insurance commercial in response to which the attorney general sent a cease-and-desist letter, he said, noting Allstate pulled that ad.

The top five writers of homeowners multiple peril based on direct premiums written for 2009 were: State Farm Group, with 28.8% market share; Farmers Group, with 13.5%; Allstate Group, with 13%; USAA Group with 8% and Travelers Group with 4.9%, according to BestLink, which provides online access to A.M. Best's Global Insurance & Banking Database.

Travelers Group has a current Best's Financial Strength Rating of A+ (Superior).

(By Caroline Saucer, editor, BestWeek: [email protected])