What's the Difference Between Travelers Protect, Protect Plus, and Premier Homeowners Policies?

When shopping for homeowners insurance in Central New York, understanding the differences between coverage levels can help you find a policy that addresses your requirements. Travelers Insurance offers three distinct coverage levels:

1. Protect,
2. Protect Plus, and
3. Premier.

Each provides increasing levels of coverage and higher limits for various aspects of your home and possessions.

At the Horan insurance agency, we work with Central New York homeowners to provide information about various coverage options. Our licensed agents can discuss how these different policy levels might relate to your specific situation.

In this article, we'll explore the key differences between Travelers' three coverage tiers, which features come standard with each level, and considerations that might help inform your insurance decisions.

Understanding the Base Coverage Across All Travelers Policies

All three Travelers homeowners policy levels—Protect, Protect Plus, and Premier—include the same fundamental coverage types that form the foundation of your home policy. These include:

• Coverage A (Dwelling): Helps pay for repair, replacement, or rebuilding of your home and attached structures
• Coverage B (Other Structures): Covers 10-100% of Coverage A for detached structures like sheds or fences
• Coverage C (Personal Property): Covers 25-100% of Coverage A for your belongings
• Coverage D (Loss of Use): Helps with additional living expenses while your home is being repaired following a covered loss
• Coverage E (Personal Liability): Provides some protection if someone is injured on your property
• Coverage F (Medical Payments to Others): Helps cover medical costs for guests injured on your property

While these coverages appear in all three policy levels, the limits and extent of coverage increase significantly as you move from Protect to Protect Plus to Premier.

[Please note that policy details and coverage limits are determined by Travelers and subject to change. The information provided here reflects what was available at the time of this writing.]

Key Differences in Special Limits and Coverage Amounts

One of the most notable differences between the three Travelers policy levels is the coverage limits for valuable items. For example:

• Credit card, electronic funds transfer, forgery coverage: $1,000 with Protect, $10,000 with both Plus and Premier
• Fire department service charge: $500 with Protect, $1,000 with Plus, and $2,500 with Premier
• Personal records and data replacement: $1,500 with Protect, $3,500 with Plus, and $5,000 with Premier

Scheduling Coverage for High-Value Items

For high-value items like jewelry, firearms, and silverware, the coverage limits also increase substantially with each tier:

• Money, bank notes, coins: $250 with Protect, $1,000 with Plus, and $2,000 with Premier
• Securities, passports, stamps: $1,500 with Protect, $3,500 with Plus, and $5,000 with Premier
• Silverware: $1,500 (theft) with Protect, $5,000 (theft) with Plus, and $10,000 (theft) with Premier
• Business property on premises: $3,000 with Protect, $10,000 with Plus, and $15,000 with Premier

These increasing limits demonstrate how the higher-tier policies provide more substantial coverage for valuable possessions, which may be particularly relevant for homeowners with collections or higher-value items.

Learn more about Scheduled Personal Property Coverage for your most valuable things.

Additional Packages and Optional Coverages

Beyond the standard coverage differences, Travelers offers optional packages that can be added to enhance your policy's protection. These include:

1. Additional Coverage Package

Available at all levels but with increasing benefits at higher tiers:

• Additional replacement cost protection
• Special personal property coverage
• Loss assessment coverage
• Personal injury coverage

2. Enhanced Water Package

Helps with water damage from:

• Water backup and sump discharge
• Limited hidden water or steam seepage

3. Buried Utility Lines and Equipment Breakdown Package:

• Coverage for underground service lines
• Equipment breakdown for appliances and systems

The Premier level includes many of these enhanced protections that would be optional add-ons with the lower-tier policies. This explains part of the premium difference but also means broader coverage with fewer potential gaps.

Decreasing Deductible and Loss Forgiveness Benefits

One significant advantage of the Plus and Premier policy levels is the Decreasing Deductible and Loss Forgiveness package. These features can provide long-term savings and stability:

• Decreasing Deductible: Your deductible gradually decreases over time when you maintain coverage
• Loss Forgiveness: After a certain period without claims, your rates won't increase after your first covered loss

These benefits aren't typically available with the basic Protect level, making the higher tiers worthy of consideration for homeowners planning to stay in their homes long-term.