Travelers Insurance has indicated it will comply with Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott’s order to stop airing a television advertisement that the AG says is deceptive.
According to the AG’s cease and desist letter, the company’s ad improperly asserted that Texas homeowners need to purchase additional motor vehicle insurance or risk losing their homes if they have inadequate insurance after a vehicle accident.
Abbott demanded that the advertisement be removed from all Texas television media markets as well as any print, multimedia, radio or computer-generated ads that appear in the state.
The consumer advocacy group Texas Watch brought the ad to the attention of the AG’s office and Insurance Commissioner Mike Geeslin, and requested an investigation into the ad, entitled “Driving Your House.” Texas Watch Executive Director Alex Winslow called the ad “deceptive and misleading.”
“Texans are protected by robust homestead laws that insulate homeowners from the losses depicted in Travelers’ advertisements,” Abbott said in a message released by his office. “Because the state already protects homeowners, it is improper for Travelers to scare Texans into buying insurance they may not need.”
In a July 8 letter to James Wenzel in the Office of the Attorney General, Travelers Executive Vice President and General Counsel Kenneth F. Spence III said the company had removed all of the referenced advertisements from the Texas market.
A link to the ad on YouTube from the Texas Watch site has been disabled, but according to Texas Watch the ad contained a voice over that said: “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.”
Allstate was told to pull a similar ad in Texas in 2005 after Texas Watch alerted the AG’s office.
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