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When you compare AAA to Travelers, AAA likely beats out this competitor due to potentially cheaper-than-average premiums and higher J.D. Power rankings for some regional clubs. However, AAA policies, pricing, and terms vary by geographic location while Travelers offers more standardized policy options nationwide.
You'll also need a AAA membership to get roadside assistance or score the best deals on coverage, so you may prefer Travelers if you don't need a car club membership. However, check on availability since these auto insurance providers might not be available in your area.
How we evaluate products
FinanceBuzz researches a number of factors in each auto insurance provider to create our reviews. These factors include cost and discounts, complaints and customer satisfaction, coverage, and ease of use. We also gather information from sources such as Insurify, J.D. Power, AM Best, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), and the Better Business Bureau to ensure we provide the most useful information to our readers.
AAA's pros and cons
- Potentially cheaper premiums than Travelers, depending on your region
- Above-average J.D. Power claims satisfaction ratings for certain clubs
- Extra discount if you have a car club membership
- Not available in all areas
- No roadside assistance benefit without club membership
- Regional variation in terms, pricing, and service
Learn more in our AAA review.
Travelers' pros and cons
- Ample discounts, including those for electric vehicles
- Very low number of customer complaints for its size
- More standardized coverage across the U.S.
- Potentially higher premiums than AAA
- Roadside assistance coverage option for policyholders
- Below-average J.D. Power claims satisfaction rating
Learn more in our Travelers review.
Which company is better?
| AAA | Travelers | |
| AM Best | A+ | A++ |
| J.D. Power claims satisfaction | Varies from 692/1,000 for Automobile Club Group to 706/1,000 for Auto Club of Southern California | 684/1,000 |
| BBB | A+ (Accredited) | A+ (Not accredited) |
| NAIC complaints (private passenger) | N/A | 0.00 |
Independent companies issue ratings of insurers. Understanding those ratings can help you decide which company is best for your coverage needs.
AM Best focuses on financial strength, which is important for knowing whether the insurer will pay out your claims. While Travelers ranks slightly higher than AAA, both companies are financially solid.
The J.D. Power U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study focuses on how satisfied customers are with the overall claims experience. Two of AAA's regional clubs, Auto Club of Southern California and CSAA Insurance Group, had scores exceeding the study's average. Travelers was rated below average and placed in the bottom four insurers.
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) both accept consumer complaints. The BBB assigns companies a rating while the NAIC determines how many complaints each insurer has relative to its market share. While both insurers hold the same A+ rating from the BBB, Travelers has a very low NAIC complaint index, and AAA's NAIC complaint index depends on the regional company.
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Which company is cheaper?
It's important to compare prices if saving money on car insurance is one of your goals. If you're primarily concerned about price, you'll likely find that AAA is the cheaper choice. This is true for drivers of different ages, backgrounds, and circumstances.
However, since AAA prices are regional, I looked at rate information for CSAA Insurance Group, which serves these states: Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Montana, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, D.C., and Wyoming.
Your own local AAA branch may have different pricing structures, so your individual premiums will depend on your driving history and other individualized factors, such as what type of vehicle you drive and what safety features it has.
To give you an idea of what you might be quoted by each company, though, here are the average rates for Travelers broken out by driver type.
| Driver type | Travelers liability-only monthly premium | Travelers full coverage monthly premium |
| Clean driving record | $88 | $186 |
| Speeding ticket on driving record | $109 | $229 |
| At-fault accident on driving record | $114 | $239 |
| DUI on driving record | $143 | $301 |
| Teen driver | $176 | $371 |
| Senior driver (60s) | $64 | $135 |
| Senior driver (70s) | $65 | $136 |
| Data sourced from Insurify | ||
And here are the averages for CSAA.
| Driver type | CSAA liability-only monthly premium | CSAA full coverage monthly premium |
| Clean driving record | $80 | $125 |
| Speeding ticket on driving record | $100 | $157 |
| At-fault accident on driving record | $110 | $172 |
| DUI on driving record | $129 | $202 |
| Teen driver | $121 | $190 |
| Senior driver (60s) | $56 | $88 |
| Senior driver (70s) | $51 | $80 |
| Data sourced from Insurify | ||
Clean driving record
Insurance companies usually view drivers with a clean record as less risky to insure, so they pay less for coverage. However, prices still vary from insurer to insurer. CSAA, for example, is far cheaper than Travelers with average monthly costs of a full coverage policy totaling $125 with AAA versus $186 with Travelers.
Average rate:
Speeding ticket on driving record
A driver with a speeding ticket can expect to pay an average monthly premium of $157 if they get full coverage through CSAA. This is much cheaper than the $229 average monthly premium that Travelers charges for drivers with tickets.
At-fault accident on driving record
Insurers believe a driver with a crash history is at greater risk of future collisions, so anyone with an accident on their record will likely pay more. There's still variation in costs from one insurer to the next, though, as some impose a bigger accident penalty.
CSAA, for example, has an average monthly premium of $172 for full coverage after an accident compared to $239 for Travelers.
DUI on driving record
CSAA charges an average monthly premium of $202 for full coverage for a driver who has a DUI history, while Travelers charges $301. While both charge substantially more than they do for drivers with a clean record because of the added risks a DUI presents, CSAA is the cheaper choice.
Teen driver
Teens, unsurprisingly, pay more for insurance. A combination of a lack of driving experience and fears about irresponsible behavior results in higher premiums for these young drivers across all companies. But the average full coverage premium for CSAA is just $190 compared to $371 for Travelers.
Senior driver
Older drivers will also find that CSAA costs less than Travelers. Average full coverage premiums for those in their 60s, for example, are $88 for CSAA and $135 for Travelers. Drivers in their 70s who sign up for CSAA can expect average premiums of $80 while Travelers customers in their 70s pay an average of $136. Neither company offers senior discounts.
Discounts
Both Travelers and AAA offer a variety of opportunities to reduce premium costs, including standard discounts for good students, safe driving, and vehicle safety devices. However, remember that AAA discounts can vary by regional club.
Each also has some unique discount opportunities that not every insurer offers. For example, AAA offers a discount if you're a member of an eligible car club. Since AAA membership comes with many benefits — including complimentary towing, lockout services, and travel discounts — it may be worth joining to score the savings. Plus, AAA has a military discount.
Travelers, on the other hand, offers a discount for hybrid and electric vehicles. So, if you have a green vehicle and want the reward of lower insurance premiums, Travelers may be the right insurance company for you.
| Discount | Does AAA have it? | Do Travelers have it? |
| Loyalty | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-policy/bundling | Yes | Yes |
| Multiple vehicle | Yes | Yes (select states) |
| Airbag | Yes | No |
| Anti-lock brakes | Yes | No |
| Anti-theft | Yes | No |
| Safe driver | Yes | Yes (select states) |
| Good student | Yes | Yes |
| Away-from-home student | Yes | Yes |
| New car | Yes | Yes (select states) |
| Pay in full | Yes | Yes (select states) |
| Automatic payments | Yes | Yes (select states) |
| GAP insurance | Yes | Yes |
| Senior | No | No |
| Military | Yes (in some regions) | No |
| Defensive driving course | Yes | Yes |
AAADrive vs. Travelers IntelliDrive
Like most insurers, AAA and Travelers offer drivers the opportunity to sign up for telematics, or usage-based programs, that track their driving performance and provide savings for responsible driving behaviors. AAA's program is called AAADrive, and Travelers' is called IntelliDrive.
You can enroll in AAADrive online, call your AAA club, or speak with an insurance agent. You'll need to download the AAADrive app within 15 days of enrolling and provide basic details as well as give consent to receive SMS messages and enter your mobile phone number. The program then records data about your location, motion activity, and risky driving events. Depending on your driving, you could save up to 25% when you renew.
Travelers' IntelliDrive works in a similar way and allows you to save up to 30% at renewal if you demonstrate safe driving behavior. The factors measured include your speed, the time of day you drive, your acceleration and braking habits, and phone use while driving.
Both programs can help you save considerably on premiums, but the catch is that you must exhibit safe driving behavior to keep your insurance costs from potentially rising.
Coverage
Both AAA and Travelers provide full-service auto insurance coverage, meaning you can choose to get more than just the required minimum liability insurance. Types of car insurance available through both AAA and Travelers include:
- Bodily injury and property damage liability insurance
- Collision coverage
- Comprehensive insurance
- Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage
- Medical payments coverage
- Rental car reimbursement
- Rideshare insurance
- New car replacement
- Accident forgiveness
- Guaranteed asset protection (GAP) insurance
Travelers does offer slightly more coverage options, though. For example, you can opt for roadside assistance as part of your Travelers policy while you would need a AAA car club membership to get that benefit if you go with AAA car insurance.
FAQs
How do I contact AAA?
To ask questions, get a quote, or update or renew your existing AAA insurance policy, use AAA's search tool to locate and get contact information for your local club. You can also ask an insurance agent or visit your local AAA club.
How do I contact Travelers?
You can contact Travelers via phone or use the MyTravelers app. The telephone number for quotes is 1-866-522-1881, while the number for billing questions is 1-888-564-5043. You can also call 1-800-252-4633 to file a claim or check your claim's status. If you need technical support, call 1-877-754-0481.
Is Travelers insurance better than AAA?
Travelers has higher average monthly premiums than CSAA, a California-based AAA club. However, it has certain benefits and advantages, including offering roadside assistance as a policy option instead of requiring a separate club membership.
The right choice will depend on whether you're focused on ways to lower your car insurance or another area where Travelers shines. This includes having more consistency nationwide and a very low number of complaints with the NAIC.
Bottom line
Finding the best car insurance requires deciding what you're looking for in an insurer and comparing different companies to see which is the best fit.
AAA may offer more affordable coverage with good opportunities for discounts, but there's regional variation in prices and offerings, and you'll need a club membership for roadside assistance. Travelers, on the other hand, tends to cost more, but it has benefits like a very low number of customer complaints on passenger policies with the NAIC.
Ultimately, the right choice for you will depend on your goals and which provider offers the best value based on your personal driving history and coverage needs.
Average rate:
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