Travelers’ Auto Coverage to Return

Insurance giant Travelers Group Inc. said it will resume selling auto coverage in the state in the next few weeks as part of a nationwide expansion, ending a nine-year absence from the California market. State Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush authorized the company to sell auto insurance through two subsidiaries, TravCal Indemnity and TravCal Secure. Coverage will be sold by independent agents as well as through agents of Primerica Financial Services, another subsidiary of New York-based Travelers Group. TravCal Indemnity and TravCal Secure, which are based in the Sacramento suburb of Rancho Cordova, said they expect to employ a combined total of 250 to 300 workers within five years. The company began to pull out of the state auto insurance market in 1988 after voters approved Proposition 103, which imposed more stringent government regulations on the industry as well as a rate rollback. Travelers shares rose 6 cents to close at $67.44 on the New York Stock Exchange.