Corporate Owner & Structure
- Current Owner (Life Insurance Policies): MetLife (and its spinoff Brighthouse Financial).
- Note: In 2005, Citigroup sold "Travelers Life & Annuity" to MetLife. In 2017, MetLife spun off much of its retail life insurance business into a new independent company called Brighthouse Financial.
- Current Owner (Travelers Brand/P&C): The Travelers Companies, Inc. (Publicly traded: NYSE: TRV).
Early History (1864–1990)
- 1864: James G. Batterson founds The Travelers Insurance Company in Hartford, Connecticut.
- Origin: Batterson was inspired by European accident insurance. The company's first "policy" was a verbal agreement insuring a local banker for two cents against accident while walking home from the post office.
- 1865: The company charter is amended to allow the sale of Life Insurance, making it the first company in the U.S. to offer both accident and life insurance.
- 1897: Travelers issues the first-ever automobile insurance policy to Gilbert Loomis (a mechanic).
- 1919: Travelers issues the first aircraft liability policy (insuring President Woodrow Wilson).
- 1969: Travelers issues the first accident policies for space travel (insuring the Apollo 11 astronauts).
Mergers, Acquisitions & The "Citi" Era (1993–2005)
- 1993: Primerica acquires The Travelers Corporation for $4 billion.
- Detail: Primerica, led by Sandy Weill, adopts the "Travelers" name for the combined company because of its strong brand reputation.
- 1998: Travelers Group merges with Citicorp to form Citigroup.
- Context: This was the largest corporate merger in history at the time, creating the first true "financial supermarket" (combining banking, insurance, and investments).
- 2002: The Spinoff.
- Citigroup spins off the property and casualty (P&C) business into a separate public company called Travelers Property Casualty Corp.
- Crucial Detail: Citigroup kept the "Travelers Life & Annuity" division. This is where the Life and P&C businesses were permanently separated.
- 2004: The St. Paul Merger.
- Travelers Property Casualty merges with The St. Paul Companies to form St. Paul Travelers. (They later dropped "St. Paul" to become "The Travelers Companies").
The Sale of "Travelers Life" (2005–Present)
- 2005 (January): Citigroup sells Travelers Life & Annuity to MetLife for approximately $11.5 billion.
- Impact: This effectively ended the existence of "Travelers Life" as a separate brand. All policies were absorbed into MetLife's systems.
- 2017: MetLife spins off its U.S. retail life insurance business into a new, separate company called Brighthouse Financial.
- Status Today: Many older Travelers Life policies are now serviced by Brighthouse Financial.
Contact & Home Office Information
1. For Current "Travelers" (Auto/Home/Business):
- Headquarters: 485 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10017
- Operations Center: One Tower Square, Hartford, CT 06183
- Website: travelers.com
2. For Old "Travelers Life" Policies (Inquiries):
- Primary Contact (MetLife): 200 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10166
- Secondary Contact (Brighthouse Financial): 11225 North Community House Road, Charlotte, NC 28277
- Action: You likely need to contact MetLife or Brighthouse Financial customer service to service an old Travelers Life policy.
Sources of Information
- MetLife Investor Relations: Press releases from Jan 31, 2005, detailing the acquisition of Travelers Life & Annuity from Citigroup.
- The Travelers Companies History: Official corporate timeline detailing the 1864 founding and the 1993/1998 mergers.
- SEC Filings (EDGAR): 2005 8-K filings by Citigroup and MetLife confirming the sale transaction.
- Brighthouse Financial Prospectus: Details the spinoff from MetLife and the inclusion of legacy Travelers blocks of business.
