Millennials are credited — or blamed, depending on your point of view — with accelerating the pace of disruption in the insurance industry. Thanks to their habits of buying online, on mobile devices and at all hours, start-ups like Lemonade began selling insurance online, conducting all transactions electronically, using chatbots to answer customer questions and customizing the product offerings to be “just enough” insurance primarily for the millennial market.

Now, a more established carrier is targeting the millennial insurance market with TraverseSM, from the Travelers Companies, announced today. It's described as “a personal insurance product targeting millennials and insurance customers who may not need a traditional home or auto policy.”

Travelers says Traverse is meant to serve as an alternative to renters insurance by including personal liability coverage that meets most landlord requirements. It also offers identity theft coverage and protects things like mobile phones, laptops, musical instruments, jewelry and even some vacation experiences — all items of importance to millennials who may not have accumulated much furniture or household goods.

“We asked millennials about the types of insurance that would meet their needs, and we built a completely new insurance product,” Beth Maerz, Vice President of Customer Experience and Innovation for Personal Insurance at Travelers said in a statement.

Related: Stages of financial life different for millennials

|

Mobile, digital and customizable

Maerz says Traverse is easy to buy online, is mobile as a completely digital platform, and is customizable so customers can purchase the coverage that fits their lifestyle.

From the Traverse website, betterwithtraverse.com, Customers can buy policies, make policy changes and submit claims all online. The package is currently available in New York and typically costs between $8 and $32 per month with no deductible.

There are three options to choose from, all of which include personal liability and identity theft protection:

  • The “I love my stuff” option: This coverage protects the personal belongings of your choice, including mobile phones, musical instruments, jewelry and watches, personal electronics, cameras, sporting equipment and handbags.
  • The “I love my experiences” option: This vacation continuation coverage provides reimbursement if you incur added costs due to transportation delays, flight cancelations or unsatisfactory home-sharing accommodations.
  • The “I love it all” option: This package includes both the “stuff” and the “experiences” options.

Clearly, traditional insurance carriers do have the ability to be creative and meet their customers' needs as they change. It will be interesting to see how well millennials respond to the new product from Travelers and how competitive it is when compared with industry disruptors like Lemonade or Metromile.

Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader

Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.

Danielle Ling

Danielle Ling is an experienced video journalist and business reporter. As associate editor, Danielle manages all multimedia and reports on industry news and risk-related coverage, managing all weather-related content. A University of Maryland and Philip Merrill College of Journalism alum, Danielle previously served as a video journalist for Verizon FiOS 1 News NJ, Push Pause. Connect with Danielle on LinkedIn or email her at [email protected].

Personal Lines
Personal Lines