The General vs. Travelers: Which Company is the Best Fit for You?

Quick Facts

• In general, Travelers offers significantly cheaper rates than The General
• Travelers offers more affordable premiums for policyholders who drive fewer than 6,000 miles yearly
• Travelers offers more affordable average prices for residents of suburban areas

The General or Travelers: Which Company has the Cheapest Car Insurance?

Are you in the market for a new insurance policy? You've probably seen commercials and billboards from companies offering huge savings, but exactly how much money can you save by switching?

You might be considering The General or Travelers as potential options, but between the two, which carrier will save you the most?

Looking at the national average rates for both carriers, Travelers is quite a bit cheaper than The General, with premiums averaging $167 a month compared to $241 with The General.

Even so, Travelers may not be the most affordable or best option for each driver out there. After all, car insurance companies can offer drastically different rates to every driver depending on rating factors like your age, where you call home, your credit score, or even your driving record (among other things). So, at the end of the day, rates from each company will differ quite a bit from person to person.

Wanting to know if The General or Travelers is really the right carrier for you? Keep on reading to see how average prices can change based on all of the factors we've mentioned above.

The General vs. Travelers: Average Car Insurance Rates by State

The General and Travelers only compete against each other in two states, with Travelers offering less expensive rates to the average driver in all of them. Missouri has the most noticable difference, where Travelers premiums are $181 cheaper than insurance prices at The General.

There's a lot more that goes into your car insurance cost than just the state you live in. Continue reading to learn more about how other variables will affect your rates.

Which is the Best Company For Young Drivers?

Teen drivers will almost always have the most expensive insurance premiums of any group out there on the road. That's typically because teen drivers are statistically much more likely to get into an accident that results in a car insurance claim, making them much riskier to insure.

But that doesn't mean that teen drivers have to just accept sky-high auto insurance rates. As you can see above, teens who use Travelers save almost 20% per month compared to those who use The General.

However, both carriers will reduce premiums once you turn 25. Travelers offers the steepest decrease, with 25-year-olds paying less than a third of what 18-year-old drivers are charged. The General's average rates drop over 45% during that same period.

Which is the Best Company for Retired Drivers?

Once you approach retirement age, you'll normally enjoy the lowest car insurance prices you'll ever find. You've been on the road for years, and all that experience pays off when it comes to your monthly rates for auto insurance.

So, which company offers the best prices to retired drivers? Travelers gets the edge here, with average premiums coming in at around $132 monthly compared to The General's $195.

Which is the Best Company for Married Drivers?

You may not be aware, but insurance rates tend to be more expensive for single policyholders than they are for married drivers. That's because policies for married policyholders usually cover multiple vehicles, which quite a few companies will give you a discount for.

For those who are single, the difference in average premiums between these two carriers is significant, with Travelers prices coming in at a third less than The General's. The advantage is also clear for married couples - Travelers offers the cheapest average rates.

The General or Travelers: Average Rates by Gender

You may not know, but men generally pay more for car insurance than women do. That's because women are less likely to get into accidents and get speeding tickets, which lowers the chances of filing a claim with insurance.

On average, women see prices about $30 a month less expensive with The General, and more than $10 cheaper with Travelers when compared to their male counterparts.

When it comes to the most affordable premiums for each gender, Travelers comes out as the lowest option for both genders. On average, women save about $64 per month and men save around $85 with Travelers compared to the average The General policyholder.

The General vs. Travelers: Compare State Minimum vs. Full Coverage Rates

*State minimum value indicates liability-only policies at each state's minimum bodily injury and property damage (BI/PD) limits

**Full coverage indicates state minimum BI/PD limits with collision and comprehensive coverages added to policy.

It's no secret that insurance can be pretty complicated. Everyone needs auto insurance, but there are so many different limits and coverages that it can be hard to find the right policy for you.

The two most common policies that drivers look at fall into two categories -- liability coverage (which covers the other party's property damage and injuries if you cause a collision) and full coverage (which includes two additional coverages -- collision and comprehensive -- in addition to liability coverage).

Looking specifically at state minimum liability insurance, Travelers has the significant edge, with average monthly rates coming in at $108. If you want a full coverage policy with the same state minimum limits, Travelers again has the edge, with policies averaging about $225 a month to The General's $329.

Is The General or Travelers Better for Drivers with Spotty Records?

It's no secret -- drivers with good records end up getting the best deals on their car insurance. But that's not to say you can't save money if you don't have the best driving record, either.

It's no secret secret that speeding tickets and at-fault collisions lead to higher premiums, but which carrier -- The General or Travelers -- has the cheapest prices for drivers with less-than-perfect records?

Which Company is Best for Drivers with Speeding Tickets?

Policyholders who use The General for their auto insurance can usually expect their monthly bill to go up around 20% after getting a speeding ticket. Travelers policyholders can expect a less drastic increase of about 20%.

That being said, Travelers has more affordable premiums for drivers in both categories -- their rates are around 33% cheaper for drivers with clean records and 33% more affordable for those with a ticket.

Which Company is Best for Drivers After an Accident?

After an accident, drivers who have their insurance through The General can expect to see around an $87 -- or about 31% -- rise in their auto insurance prices. Drivers who use Travelers for their insurance will see a monthly bill around $45 (or 26%) more expensive after reporting an accident to their car insurance company.

At the end of the day, drivers who use Travelers end up with the cheaper prices after an accident, with average rates coming in at $173 compared to The General's $279.

Which Company is Best for Drivers with a DUI?

If you get a DUI charge on your record, it's probably going to cost you more than a simple ticket or even a collision. On average, Travelers will climb your prices about 38% after a DUI, while The General's average premiums increase by nearly 25%.

How does Credit Score Impact The General and Travelers Rates?

You may not have known, but your credit score can be used as one of the factors to determine your monthly insurance rates. This isn't true for everyone (Hawaii, for example, has banned the use of credit score as an auto insurance factor) but it does affect several drivers out there.

Auto insurance companies argue that someone with bad credit is less likely to pay their bills on time, which makes them riskier to insure. Because of that, policyholders with bad credit will often be forced to pay more.

So, which carrier offers the best prices for drivers with poor, average, or good credit?

Which Company is Best for Drivers with Good Credit?

Which Company is Best for Drivers with Bad Credit?

Is The General or Travelers Better for Drivers who Work from Home or Have Short Commutes?

Did you know that the amount of time you spend in your car have a sizable impact on your monthly premiums? Generally, the more milage you put on your car each year, the more you can expect to pay for car insurance.

As you can see in the table above, annual mileage doesn't have much of an impact on how much The General charges. However, there's a small difference in monthly rates for Travelers, with drivers who put 6,000 miles on their vehicle every year paying around $5 less each month compared to those who drive 12,000 miles annually. Still, for drivers in both categories, Travelers is the less expensive company.

The General or Travelers: Compare Rates for Urban, Suburban, and Rural Drivers

Where your home is can have a large impact on your monthly insurance payment. Typically, those who live in rural areas will pay less than policyholders in urban areas because of the small number of cars that are on the roads where they live.

Travelers tends to offer the most affordable prices for drivers in all areas, regardless of if they're urban, suburban, or rural.

For drivers in urban ZIP codes, Travelers's average rates are about $106 less than The General. People who live in suburban areas pay around $65 less with Travelers compared to The General. Those in rural areas can expect to save about $53 with Travelers compared to The General.

The General vs. Travelers Discounts

No matter why you might be in the market for a new auto insurance policy, you're always going to want to save as much money as you can, and the best way to do that is by utilizing as many car insurance discounts as possible.

But with what seems like a million different discounts out there, it can be challenging to nail down the carrier that has the most discounts for your unique driver profile and to find all the discounts you can take advantage of.

Luckily, we did the hard work for you and compared all of the different discounts offered by The General and Travelers so that you can easily see which company offers the most discounts and, therefore, the largest savings.

Travelers knocks The General out of the park when it comes to the sheer number of discounts available, offering 25 different discounts to The General's 25.

A couple of those are overlapping for things like discounts for being a defensive driver, group discounts, and paid in full discounts. Travelers also offers discounts for ABS, advance quote, alternative fuel, and more.

On the other hand, The General has a few proprietary discounts of their own for things like homeowner discounts, liability only discounts, and star level discounts.

Final Thoughts: Is The General or Travelers Best for You?

You've seen the effect certain variables have on your insurance and the different discounts carriers offer. That's all well and good, but when it comes down to it, which company is the right one for you and your specific profile and needs?

Travelers might be best for you if....

• You value the experience that comes with a large national car insurance carrier.
• You already have a great credit score.
• Your home is located in the suburbs.

The General might be best for you if...

• You have a more unique driver profile than those we mentioned above.

Hopefully, this guide helps you get a better idea of the difference between The General and Travelers. We also hope we've given you the information you need to make the best decision about your auto insurance.

But, at the end of the day, there's only one way to know for sure that you're getting the best possible deal on insurance -- comparing quotes from several companies, not just The General and Travelers. Luckily, sites like Compare.com make it easy for you to do just that. Just enter your ZIP code below and get free quotes from dozens of the top auto insurance carriers in your area, all in just a few minutes.

The General vs. Travelers FAQs

Is The General or Travelers cheaper?

Travelers is the more affordable of the two companies when looking at national average premiums, with policies averaging $167 per month with Travelers and $241 for The General. However, that doesn't mean Travelers will be the cheapest company for everyone, since there are multiple different factors that come into play when it comes to your car insurance bill.

Who is better, The General or Travelers?

Unfortunately, the real answer is "it depends.". Neither carrier is necessarily "better" for everyone -- it all comes down to what your unique insurance profile looks like.

Why do The General and Travelers offer me different rates?

Car insurance carriers use lots of different variables when determining the prices they charge. Factors such as age, where you live, your driving record, gender, and sometimes even things like your credit score can all be taken into consideration. Both The General and Travelers calculate premiums using different variables, so it's likely they'll offer different rates. The best way to determine which company is the lowest for you is by comparing personalized quotes from a range of different companies.

How do I know if The General or Travelers is right for me?

The only way to find the auto insurance carrier that's right for you is by getting quotes from a handful of carriers and finding the one best suited for your individual budget. Luckily, Compare.com does all the hard work for you. Just enter your area information and you'll get quotes from dozens of your local top insurance companies for free. That way, you can guarantee you're getting the best rate. And maybe you'll find that the best company for you isn't The General or Travelers at all, but another you hadn't even thought of!

Methodology

All of the data referenced in this article has been gathered in collaboration with Quadrant Information Services. We analyzed more than 2.5 million rows of carrier-reported data to calculate the average rates referenced above. All rates are based on an insurance profile of a single-vehicle policy for a driver that owns a 2016 Honda Accord. For more information on how we calculate rates, please reference our data methodology.