Allstate Homeowners Insurance Review

Simple, easy-to-use website and digital tools. Allstate's online quote generator is one of the best in the business and most homeowners will be able to get a quote online within minutes. Allstate has numerous other digital tools that will prove helpful for insureds when it comes time to file a claim.

Wide range of discount opportunities. Most Allstate policyholders will be able to find a discount that fits their profile — Allstate offers discounts for everything from being over 55, having storm-resistant shutters, paying through automatic payments and bundling homeowners with auto insurance from Allstate.

Decent customer satisfaction ratings. Allstate also has solid ratings from consumer sentiment sites. They earned a score of 3 out of 5 on J.D. Power's 2019 U.S. Home Insurance Study, putting it not quite in the highest tier, but above many of its competitors, including Progressive, Farmers, Nationwide, Travelers and Safeco.

Slightly below-average claims satisfaction scores. While its overall customer satisfaction scores were solid, Allstate falters somewhat when it comes to claims satisfaction. Allstate scored slightly below industry average on the 2019 J.D. Power U.S. Property Claims Satisfaction Study, which measures customers' happiness when it comes to the entire claims process.

Policy offerings are limited. Allstate has all the standard coverage options most homeowners will need, but doesn't appear to include replacement cost contents coverage and endorsement offerings are fairly limited.

While the price of a homeowners insurance policy with Allstate will vary depending on factors like your ZIP code, your home's age and construction type, and the amount of coverage you purchase, you can expect to pay in the ballpark of $1,450 annually for coverage with Allstate, according to Policygenius data. That makes Allstate cheaper than the average quoted policy according out Policygenius data.

Rates are particularly impacted by your home's replacement cost, or the insured value of your home. Below is the average cost of homeowners insurance at different levels of coverage with Allstate.

Average annual homeowners insurance premiums for each coverage level were calculated according to Policygenius data.

Discounts

A great way to save on homeowners insurance is to take advantage of discount opportunities, and Allstate shines when it comes to available discounts.

Common discounts include protective devices discounts, claims-free discounts, and new home-buyer discounts. Allstate offers all of those discounts, plus a multi-policy disount if you bundle home and auto with Allstate and a significant discount if you make your payments through auto-pay.

• Multi-policy discount - Save up to 25% when you bundle home and auto through Allstate
• Claim-free discount - You’re eligible for a claim-free discount if you switch to Allstate and you have no recent home insurance claims
• Loyalty discount - Savings build the longer you stay with Allstate
• Easy pay discount - When you put your insurance payments on auto-pay
• Protective device discount - Save if you have burglar alarms, sprinklers, or fire alarms, and save even more if your alarms automatically alert police or fire departments
• Home buyer discount - Save if you recently purchased your home, of if it was constructed recently
• 55 and retired discount - Save if you're over the age of 55 and you're retired
• Smoke free discount - Save if you and the other residents of your home are non-smokers
• Storm shutter discount - Save if your home is equipped with storm shutters
• Roof discount - Save if your home's roof is hail resistant

Homeowners insurance protects your most valuable financial assets: your home. You'll want to be sure you're insuring your home, your personal possessions, and other important assets with a company that will be able to pay out your claim if the worst should happen.

Allstate, while it isn't quite as old as some of its competitors, has been in the game for nearly a century. It scores well with with A.M. Best, the leading insurance company credit rating agency, and homeowners should have no worry that Allstate would be able to pay out for a claim.

• Year founded: 1931
• Standard & Poor's rating: AA-
• Moody's rating: Aa3
• A.M. Best rating: A+

Standard & Poor's measures companies' creditworthiness and is used primarily by financial investors and other market stakeholders. S&P is also valuable in measuring the long-term financial stability of insurance companies. An AA- rating puts Allstate in the top tiers of insurers rated by the agency.

Moody's is very similar to Standard & Poors, except rather than measuring a companies ability to remain financial stable and creditworthy, Moody's measures what the expected losses would be if a company were to go into default. It's particularly valuable in analyzing the value of stocks and bonds with certain companies. An Aa3 rating isn't the highest possible score you can receive from Moody's, but it still puts Allstate near the top of the heap.

A.M. Best is the most reliable credit-rating tool insureds can use to gauge the financial health of a particular company. Unlike S&P and Moody's, A.M. Best is focused exclusively on the insurance marketplace. A good score with A.M. Best means a company is more likely to fulfill their financial obligation to you when it comes time to file a claim. With a score of A+, Allstate has the second highest rating a company can receive with A.M. Best.

As you research homeowners insurance options, it's crucial to know what actual customers and consumer sentiment sites are saying about their insurer.

Allstate scored a solid 3 out of 5 with leading consumer insights company J.D. Power. It also has decent ratings with several other sites, including Better Business Bureau, Consumer Affairs and Consumers Advocate.

• J.D. Power: 3 / 5
• BBB: A+
• Consumer Affairs: 4 / 5
• Consumers Advocate: 4.7 / 5
• Trustpilot: 2 / 5
• NAIC complaint index: 0.89

J.D. Power provides studies that rate insurance companies across policy offerings, price, clarity of billing and policy information, interaction, and claims. An overall satisfaction score, "based on how customers view every experience of their experience with homeowners insurance providers," is reflected here and used for our ranking.

The Better Business Bureau ranks companies across a large swath of criteria. While consumers can submit ratings to the BBB, these scores are not taken into account in their rating, although tangential metrics that take into account customer experience are.

Consumer Affairs is a platform that lets consumers directly rate companies, while Consumers Advocate rates companies based on stability, reputation, and policy coverage.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners tracks the number of complaints submitted to state insurance departments with their national complain index. A score of 1 is the baseline average, and a score of 0 means there weren't enough complaints to count.

Like many of its competitors, Allstate offers several tiers of homeowners insurance coverage that provide all of the primary coverages: dwelling, other structures, personal property, additional living expenses, liability, and guest medical protection coverage.

Allstate's Basic, Standard and Enhanced coverage options offer varying degrees of protection at varying price points.

Basic

• Dwelling coverage
• Other structures coverage
• Personal property coverage
• Additional living expenses coverage
• Personal liability coverage
• Guest medical protection coverage

Standard

• Everything that's included in the basic coverage option
• Increased coverage limits for other structures, personal property and additional living expense coverage
• Lower per occurence deductible
• $300,000 in liability coverage
• Includes identity theft coverage

Enhanced

• Everything that's included in the standard coverage option
• Increased coverage limits for other structures, personal property and additional living expense coverage
• $500,000 in liability coverage
• Includes coverage for green improvements to your home

Note: The information above represents potential policy options and may not be available for every applicant. Speak to a licensed expert for a personalized look at your coverage options.

Allstate's appealing online interface and easy-to-use tools help it shine in the customer experience category. It's also available in every state. But in terms of claims satisfaction, Allstate lags behind some competitors.

State availability

Allstate homeowners insurance is available in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Digital tools

• Allstate mobile app
• Online application
• Instant quote for some users
• Online and mobile bill pay and policy management
• Online and mobile claims filing

The application

Allstate’s application process is about as easy as it gets and can be done online in its entirety. You simply plug in your ZIP code, personal information, and home address and Allstate will then autofill the bulk of questions related to your home, such as its age, number of floors, and foundation type.

You'll also have to answer some personal questions, like names of anyone else who lives in your home, the breed of dog you have if you have a pet, and some details about your insured history. Allstate will then generate several quote options at the different tiers of coverage offered. However some applicants won't be able to receive an instant quote online and will be directed to a local agent instead.

Ease of claims

Allstate’s website provides a transparent and complete picture of how their claims process works. They list a few different options for filing claims: by contacting your agent directly, calling Allstate’s claims division, logging into the Allstate website and filing a claim, or by using the Allstate mobile app.

You can then track your claims online, over the phone or on the mobile app using your specific tracking number. An Allstate claims adjuster will determine the value of your loss and give you a damage estimate. The adjuster will also explain the payout offer.

While the claims process is as straightforward with Allstate as it is with any other major insurer, Allstate scored slightly below industry average on the J.D. Power 2019 U.S. Property Claims Satisfaction Study, where real policyholdeers rated the process in terms of how well they were kept in the loop, how easy it was to reach a representative and the fairness of the settlement.

Payment methods

• Quick card pay (payment through your debit card and directly into your bank account)
• Mobile e-payment
• Direct deposit
• Check