Texas Attorney General Orders Travelers To Stop Airing Auto Insurance Commercial
By Matthew Sturdevant
Texas insurance regulators ordered The Travelers Cos. to immediately halt broadcast of a television commercial that says drivers could lose their homes if they don’t have sufficient auto liability insurance to cover a crash.
The advertisement is misleading and it conflicts with Texas laws protecting a person’s home, according to both the Texas Attorney General’s office and the Texas Department of Insurance which sent cease-and-desist letters Wednesday and Thursday to Travelers offices in St. Paul, Minn. If the property-casualty insurer doesn’t comply by withdrawing the ad, it could be fined up to $20,000 each time the commercial airs.
“Texans are protected by robust homestead laws that insulate homeowners from the losses depicted in Travelers’ advertisements,” Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said. “Because the state already protects homeowners, it is improper for Travelers to scare Texans into buying insurance they may not need. The letter we sent today instructs Travelers to pull down this misleading advertisement immediately or face legal action by the state.”
An attorney for the Texas Department of Insurance also sent a letter to Travelers referencing a phone conversation with company officials in which they agreed to stop broadcasting the commercial by Saturday.
The commercial features a man driving a living room on wheels down a two-lane highway, getting distracted by his phone, swerving into the oncoming lane, then crashing. The voiceover 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 has declined to comment.