Allstate Auto Insurance Review: Car Insurance Ratings You Need to Know

When you think of Allstate, the phrase “You’re in good hands” spoken in the dynamic bass voice of its spokesperson, Dennis Dexter Haysbert, often comes to mind. Or maybe you prefer the now-sidelined-but-hopefully-coming-back-soon Dean Winters portrayal of “Mayhem.”

Either way, it’s easy to visualize the blue hands logo of Allstate Insurance Company. Offering auto, home, life, and a host of other insurance products, Allstate has received many awards showcasing its commitment to employees and the community, including “One of the World’s Most Ethical Companies” and “Top 50 Companies for Diversity.”

Allstate is the third largest auto insurer in the country, though it’s not always the cheapest. In this review of Allstate auto insurance, you’ll learn about the coverages that set it apart, how it compares in claims satisfaction and customer service, and which discounts are available to get the best rate for Allstate car insurance.

Allstate Auto Insurance Pros:

Agents in every state
24/7 claims center
Lots of options for discounts

Allstate Auto Insurance Cons:

Prices depend on how you purchase the policy
Higher-than-average customer complaints

ALLSTATE CAR INSURANCE REVIEW: COVERAGE

Allstate has a wide selection of coverage choices to help you create a policy that is just right for your situation.

A few of the basic options are listed below:

Medical Payments Coverage: This type of coverage pays the medical expenses that you, a family member, or other occupants of an insured vehicle may incur.
Underinsured Motorist Coverage: This coverage pays property damage and bodily injury expenses if you’re in an accident where the at-fault person has no insurance or if the accident exceeds their coverage limit.
Comprehensive and Collision Coverage: This coverage is expressly for your vehicle and includes accidents and theft. Many lending institutions require this type of coverage on financed vehicles.
Liability Coverage: This all-important coverage protects you against claims that may ensue following an accident in which you’re at fault, involving your vehicle or a vehicle you’re driving.

To set itself apart from its competitors, Allstate offers some coverages you may not find everywhere.

Sound System Coverage

Most auto insurance companies only cover the manufacturer installed stereo system that came with the car. If you decide to do an upgrade to a sound system or add audio or video equipment, this coverage will pay to replace the parts stolen or damaged as the result of a covered claim.

New Car Replacement

If you buy a new vehicle that is two model years old or less and opt for this coverage, Allstate will pay for a model year newer if your car is totaled in a covered accident. Normally, you’d get a check for the book value of the car, which includes depreciation.

Allstate Safe Driving Bonus

Every time you go a policy term (six months) without an accident, Allstate will reward you with a Safe Driving Bonus. This means you’ll get a bonus check in the mail to use however you want.

Vanishing Deductible

Allstate also has a program called Deductible Rewards, which provides $100 towards your deductible for every year you go without filing an insurance claim. The max you can earn is $500, which can help you save even more in premiums if you choose to increase your deductible to offset the additional savings.

Allstate Car Buying Service

Allstate has partnered with TrueCar to offer its customers competitive pricing on new and certified pre-owned vehicles. According to the website, customers can save an average of $3,133 on new cars and have access to discounts on used cars for additional savings.

Rideshare Coverage

Rideshare drivers working with Lyft and Uber can protect their vehicle with coverage that fills the gap between turning on the app and picking up your fair. This coverage is offered in 47 states and the District of Columbia.

Mexico Car Insurance

With the ability to drive in Mexico using your U.S. driver’s license, it’s a popular destination for travelers. Just because you can legally drive doesn’t mean you’re automatically covered. With Allstate Mexico car insurance coverage, you can drive in Mexico with confidence knowing if an accident happens, you’re covered.

ALLSTATE AUTO INSURANCE REVIEW: DISCOUNTS

With standard coverages and various options for additional coverages, it’s easy to see why Allstate is in the top five auto insurers in the country. The company doesn’t stop there. Allstate also has a wide range of discounts to make their rates more affordable, since they aren’t the cheapest option available:

Anti-lock brakes and other safety features
Anti-theft device
Automatic payments
Early signing
Good student
Multi-car
Multi-policy
New car
Pay in full

There are two other discount opportunities drivers can take advantage of that offer big discounts for certain driving habits.

Drivewise

While Allstate isn’t the only company offering a safe driving and insights incentive for tracking your habits, the Drivewise program can save drivers 40% or more. This is more than other companies, which usually max out at 30% or 40 percent.

Drivewise from Allstate is a good idea for safe drivers who don’t use hard braking measures or accelerate quickly. The mobile app does more than track your driving habits, it also includes:

Crash detection
Driving challenges to earn points towards rewards
Driving insights for all drivers in the household
My trips to review past trips and get valuable feedback based on your driving
Phone activity tracking to find out how often you use your phone while behind the wheel

Using your smartphone, Drivewise from Allstate can detect a crash, which is a great free safety feature if you drive an older car or don’t subscribe to manufacturer-based systems like OnStar. You’ll receive a notification if a crash is detected and provide a link to call 911 and 24/7 roadside assistance if needed.

Milewise

If you don’t drive much or are one of the lucky ones to work from home without a commute, Milewise from Allstate may be a good idea to save big on auto insurance. Milewise is pay-per-mile car insurance, so you only pay a set amount for every mile you drive.

Allstate uses a variety of factors to determine your per-mile rate, estimating that driving 1,000 miles per year can save about 72% on car insurance costs. Milewise is a telematics system similar to Drivewise, which tracks your:

Driving behavior
Maps of trips
Weekly spending

Milewise is only available in 13 states currently: Arizona, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

ALLSTATE CAR INSURANCE REVIEW: CLAIMS AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

In the 2020 J.D. Power U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study, Allstate comes in eighth place with 876 out of a possible 1,000 points. The study includes 24 auto insurance companies across the country. Allstate has a score just below average for purchase experience on the U.S Shopping Study.

Though it’s an acceptable and above average score, Allstate has a high number of customer complaint insurance reviews with the Better Business Bureau. After 223 customer reviews, the auto and home insurance company only received 1.15 out of 5 stars.

According to Consumer Affairs, Allstate has 4 out of 5 stars after 1,489 ratings. It has the best score with Consumers Advocate, which gives Allstate auto insurance 4.4 out of 5 stars with 12 customer reviews. Ratings and reviews on Yelp and Google vary for Allstate based on location, but customer reviews for auto and home are generally around 4 stars or better. However, these ratings have a lot to do with how the local agency handles customer service and the claims process.

The final determination we use for claims satisfaction is the complaint index with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. The NAIC has a National Complaint Index of 1.00 and Allstate Property & Casualty Company (their standard auto insurance company) has an index of 1.93. This means Allstate auto policyholders are almost twice as likely to file a complaint against them.

Allstate Claim Satisfaction Guarantee

With Allstate’s Claims Satisfaction Guarantee, you’d think they’d have better overall customer claims satisfaction. The Claim Satisfaction Guarantee is only offered in select states but is free with all standard Allstate auto insurance policies.

If for some reason you aren’t happy with an auto claim, Allstate will give you a credit on your six-month policy for the car involved in the accident. To learn more details or to find out how to qualify, reach out to an Allstate agent.

ALLSTATE AUTO INSURANCE COST

A multitude of variables can influence car insurance premiums, including the make and model of the vehicle, where you live, and your age and gender.

For comparison purposes, let’s look at the following scenarios:

Single Female (Age 25) – One car, one violation and one no-fault accident in the preceding 3 years, work driving use – 12,000 miles per year – living in Miami-Dade County, Florida
Single Male (licensed 9 to 15 years) – one car (Toyota Camry), no violations, driving around 12,600 – 15,000 a year living in San Francisco County, California.

For scenario one, which is located in Florida, Allstate pricing comes in at number 12 out of 20 companies with the minimum mandated insurance costing $1,924 and complete coverage reaching $5,442. Both figures are about halfway between the highest cost of Direct General Insurance Company ($4,866 and $9,036 respectively) and the lowest cost of United Services Automobile Association ($576 and $2,442 respectively).

Option two involving the single male residing in California brings similar result with Allstate resting again in the middle of the pack. The lowest premium for the minimum required insurance is courtesy of Lova at $567 and the highest belongs to Viking at $1,990. The Allstate quote estimate comes in at $1,230 which is close to the median of $1278.50.

Why are Allstate Auto Insurance Prices Different?

One thing that also stands out about Allstate is the fact that their insurance pricing differs based on how you purchase. Allstate offers several ways to purchase car insurance and other products like homeowners from buying it online to speaking with a local agent. All quotes come with 24/7 support, online chat, and mobile app options.

If you purchase your auto insurance online with Allstate, the price includes 24/7 customer support. If you’d rather speak to a local agent, you have access to personalized protection plans and assistance, which could mean more coverages and discounts opportunities.

FINANCIAL STRENGTH

Individuals looking for car insurance may often overlook researching the financial strength of their potential company. In the advent of a large disaster, you need to know that your insurance company is able to pay the filed claims.

The Insurance Information Institute provides tips on how to understand the rankings that companies receive from the five independent rating agencies (Moody’s Investor Services, A.M. Best, Standard & Poor’s, and Fitch).

A quick look at a few of the ranking companies provides good results for Allstate’s financial strength. Moody’s Investors Service has given Allstate an A3 senior ranking in both debt rating and insurance financial strength with a stable outlook.

A.M. Best provided a Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A+ (Superior) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) of “aa-” with a stable outlook. Allstate received an AA- financial strength rating on its core insurance operating subsidiaries from Standard and Poor’s. Finally, Fitch Ratings lists Allstate Insurance Company as an A+ company, with low chance of defaulting and high quality of investments.

With this info in hand, you should be able to get a clear picture of this reliable company that has been servicing clients for over 85 years. Use this background research to help you search for dependable, affordable car insurance.
Compare Allstate with Other Top Companies: