What happened on April 1, 1864? The answer is that the first travel insurance company opened its doors on that day. The company was The Travelers Insurance Company and they were originally chartered to insure people traveling, hence the name The Travelers Insurance Company. I don’t know if James Batterson, the founder, ever envisioned in the middle of the American Civil War, how large travel insurance would become with annual premiums exceeding $1,000,000,000. Mr. Batterson, thank you for your foresight. The industry that you started now touches millions of lives a year by helping travelers take the financial worry out of travel.