Allstate Homeowners Insurance Review

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The Details

The Good

Simple, easy-to-use website and digital tools. Allstate's online quote tool is one of the best in the business. Most homeowners will be able to get a quote online within minutes. Allstate has numerous other digital tools that will prove helpful for policyholders 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 things like centralized fire alarms and security systems, applying for homeowners insurance a week in advance of your policy start date, paying policy premiums with automatic payments, and bundling your home and auto insurance.

Exceptional customer satisfaction ratings. Allstate also has solid ratings from consumer sentiment sites, evidenced by their 4 out of 5 rating on J.D. Power's 2020 U.S. Property Claims Satisfaction Study. Allstate’s high marks put them above many competitors, including Chubb, Progressive, Safeco, State Farm, and Travelers.

No longer a captive agency insurance company. One of our criticisms of Allstate in the past has been that you can only purchase Allstate homeowners insurance directly through Allstate, making it more cumbersome to make apples-to-apples policy comparisons with other insurers. Thankfully, that is no longer the case. In fact, homeowners in every state can now compare and purchase Allstate home insurance with Policygenius.

The Bad

Slightly above-average premiums. Depending on factors such as the state you live in, the risks of your home, and other criteria, you could end up paying more than industry average for homeowners insurance with Allstate. However, there is a wide variety of discounts that you can leverage to take the sting out of your monthly cost.

The Breakdown

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 $1,680 annually for coverage with Allstate, according to an analysis of quotes submitted with Policygenius. That puts Allstate at slightly above the average cost for quoted policies.

Average annual rates are based on a single-family home with around $300,000 in coverage.

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 homebuyer discounts. Allstate offers all of those discounts, plus a multi-policy discount if you bundle home and auto with Allstate. You also get a significant discount if you make your payments through auto-pay.

• Multi-policy discount. Save up to 25 percent on your premiums when you bundle your home and auto insurance with 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

• Early signing discount. Save up to 10 percent on your premium when you sign a new policy seven days before your current one expires

• Easy pay discount. Earn savings when you put your insurance payments on auto-pay

• Homebuyer discount. Save if you recently purchased your home, or if it was constructed recently

• Loyalty discount. Your savings build the longer you stay with Allstate

• 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

Homeowners insurance protects your most valuable financial asset: 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.

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

• Year founded: 1931

• Standard & Poor's rating: AA-

• Moody's rating: Aa3

• A.M. Best rating: A+

Mainly used by financial investors and other market stakeholders, Standard & Poor's measures companies' creditworthiness and long-term financial stability. An AA- rating puts Allstate in the top tiers of insurers rated by the agency.

Moody's is similar to Standard & Poors, except rather than measuring a company's financial stability, they analyze the value of stocks and bonds with certain companies and what the expected losses would be if a company were to go into default. 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 policyholders can use to gauge the financial health of a company. Unlike S&P and Moody's, A.M. Best focuses exclusively on the insurance industry. 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 an above-average 4 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: 4 / 5

• BBB: A+

• Consumer Affairs: 4 / 5

• Consumers Advocate: 4.7 / 5

• Trustpilot: 1.6 / 5

• NAIC complaint index: 0.6

J.D. Power provides studies that rate insurance companies across policy offerings, price, clarity of billing and policy information, and other criteria. An overall satisfaction score is reflected here and used for our ranking. In their 2020 Property Claims Satisfaction Survey, they rate Allstate an 882 out of 1000, which translates roughly to a 4 out of 5. This means they’re in the upper echelon of home insurers with fair and satisfying claims processes.

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 complaint index. A score of 1 is the baseline average, and a score of 0 means there weren't enough complaints to count. Allstate’s score of 0.6 means they’ve barely received any complaints.

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 occurrence deductible

• $300,000 in liability 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

Optional coverage

There’s also a variety of optional coverages you can add onto any policy, including valuable add-ons such as electronic data recovery coverage for recovering lost personal computer data, like pictures or videos; green improvement reimbursement, which covers the cost of replacing damaged items with more energy-efficient appliances; and identity theft restoration, which covers legal fees, lost income, and other costs if your identity is stolen.

You can also select water backup coverage, protection for business-related items stored in your home, sports equipment protection, yard and garden coverage, and musical instrument coverage.

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. In a big departure from last year, Allstate now sits above most competitors when it comes to claims satisfaction.

One caveat: Allstate only sells its policies through its own agents, which basically means you can only apply, or get a quote, through them. So, if you were to compare a variety of quotes through an independent agent or third-party broker, you won’t see a quote from Allstate among them. Instead, you’ll have to contact an Allstate agent or use their online quoting tool. This can be an inconvenience for some shoppers.

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 Allstate 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.

Allstate also made a big turnaround with their claims process. Last year, the carrier scored slightly below industry average on the J.D. Power 2019 U.S. Property Claims Satisfaction Study, which tracks how well real policyholders are kept in the loop, how easy it is to reach a representative, and the fairness of settlements. Now, as of 2020, Allstate sits among the top seven companies for property claims satisfaction.

Payment methods

• Quick card pay (payment through your debit card and directly into your bank account)

• Mobile e-payment

• Direct deposit

• Check

Policygenius offers insurance policies from many of the nation's top insurers, who pay us a commission for our services. However, all editorial choices are made independently.