Travelers buys its red umbrella back from Citi and rebrands…sorta.
The Travelers Companies (profile), spun off from Citigroup in 2002 and acquired by the St Paul 
Companies in 2004, reacquire their iconic red umbrella from Citi. In addition the company, previously know as St Paul Travelers, has dropped the St Paul from their name and changed their stock symbol TRV.
I say good for you Travelers (and Citi, too, for giving it back). It is a huge improvement over their
previous logo (right) which uses what looks like a red, feathered shield. I have to think management must agree since I can’t recall ever seeing any branding efforts supporting that logo and thus a need for a stronger identity (I will admit though, I do not follow the insurance industry with that much gusto). To me there is still a good bit of equity in that red umbrella and its association with Travelers. Even as a basic icon, it represents the concept of insurance better than a rock, a pair of hands, a duck and even Snoopy.
I guess the only critisism I have is the lack of originality, but I guess if it ain’t 
broke (well at least before you broke it), why fix it. The original Travelers logo, from before the Citibank merger, looks pretty much the same, save for a font and a color change.
