Secured with SHA-256 EncryptionAllstate vs. Farmers Auto Insurance
Allstate and Farmers are both major auto insurance companies with comparable coverage offerings and easily recognizable advertising campaigns (Allstate has the Mayhem character while Farmers has its Hall of Claims).
As you compare Allstate vs. Farmers, you’ll find that although both are great insurance providers with strong reputations, there are many differences between the two when it comes to rates and discounts, customer satisfaction, and reviews.
Which Car Insurance Provider is Best?
If you’re deciding on a car insurance provider, it’s best to compare Farmers vs. Allstate by researching each company’s ratings and reviews.
To help you with your research, we’ve gathered information on each insurer based on its:
We’ve then evaluated each company’s coverage and benefits, pricing and discounts, financial strength, and customer experiences.Use the information included in the following comparison review to choose the best insurance company for your needs.
The next step is to request quotes from both companies.
Allstate vs. Farmers: Coverage Compared
When looking at Allstate and Farmers, it’s easy to see how similar their insurance choices are.
Both have a wide range of coverage options from which to choose including the basic standard choices of liability, collision, and comprehensive.
However, it’s worth noting that Allstate has slightly more to offer when it comes to extra choices with its inclusion of sound system and vet bill coverage.
As a driver, you need to decide if these coverage options are a benefit for you and worth the extra costs.
Read more: Allstate vs. State Farm | Auto Insurance Comparison
What Do Their Customers Think?
After creating a policy that covers the right amount of insurance for your needs, chances are your interaction with your insurance company will be relatively limited.
Aside from short calls or visits to your representative to change minor policy details, most of your future communication with the company will only take place during the claims process.
For this reason, ratings and reviews formulated by market research companies like J.D. Power place a lot of weight on the claims process.
Claims Satisfaction
The J.D. Power Claims Satisfaction Report gives consumers a good understanding of how insurance providers rate against their competition.
The report compares Allstate vs. Farmers and other well-known insurance companies using three key performance indicator (KPI) categories that relate to the claims process:
- Communication
- Ease of Service Interaction
- Timeliness
In J.D. Power’s 2017 Auto Claims Satisfaction Study, Allstate and Farmers both received a 3-out-of-5 rating for overall satisfaction. Allstate came out just above Nationwide and just below State Farm, while Farmers is ranked slightly lower, just above Automobile Club Group and just below Metlife.
| Overall Satisfaction | Claims Reporting Process | Representative Handling the Claim | Repair Process | Rental Car Process | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allstate | 3 out of 5 stars | 3 out of 5 stars | 3 out of 5 stars | 4 out of 5 stars | 3 out of 5 stars |
| Farmers | 3 out of 5 stars | 3 out of 5 stars | 3 out of 5 stars | 3 out of 5 stars | 3 out of 5 stars |
When comparing Allstate and Farmers, Farmers comes out ahead in this study with an overall customer satisfaction rating of 3 out of 5, placing the company higher than Allstate, which received a 2 out of 5.
The J.D. Power auto insurance study also gathers information to rate insurance providers in areas other than the claims process such as the company’s ability to handle customer complaints, how well it communicates essential information to policyholders, and how well it responds to inquiries from consumers.
Farmers received scores of 3 out of 5 in all five individual categories that make up the company’s overall customer satisfaction rating:
- Policy offering
- Pricing
- Local Agent
- Call Center Representative
- Insurer Website
Allstate received a 2 out of 5 in most categories, except for local agent and call center representative, both rating 3 out of 5.
Complaint Ratio
The California Complaint Ratio Study tabulates the number of justified complaints insurance companies receive each year and compares these with the company’s total claims exposure, or written policies.
Using these two numbers, a complaint ratio is formulated. The median complaint ratio in this study is 5.6, meaning that a company with a ratio above that number has received an above-average number of complaints during that year.
Since California has the largest population in the United States, this study is a good overall indicator of how each company deals with complaints across the country.
In this particular study, Allstate is ranked 11th out of 50 providers, while Farmers is ranked 8th. In 2016, Allstate received a total of 50 justified complaints in California.
With an approximate claims exposure of 1,978,516 policies, the company’s complaint ratio is calculated at 2.5 per every 100,000 policies.
In 2016, Farmers was assigned a slightly lower complaint ratio of 2.4. This is based on a total of 32 justified complaints and a claims exposure of 1,345,327.
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners also tracks customer complaints in a national database.
Its ratios correlate with the California Study, giving Farmers a slight edge over Allstate. Farmers had 49 complaints and a ratio of 0.7 (complaints vs. premium dollars) while Allstate had a ratio of 1.03, just slightly above the national median of 1.00.
Comparing Financial Strength
Although not often considered by most customers, evaluating a company’s financial strength is an integral part of researching insurance providers.
If a major disaster or other significant event were to occur that resulted in a high volume of claims, consumers need to know that their insurance company will be able to honor its policies. A comparison of Farmers and Allstate’s financial strength can be made by obtaining credit ratings from one of the five major rating agencies: Moody’s, A.M. Best, Standard & Poor’s, Fitch, or DBRS.
Allstate Company Ratings
Allstate’s superior credit ratings support its good financial standing. The company has a rating of “Aa3” from Moody’s, indicating a very stable outlook. A Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of “A+” and an Issuer Credit Rating (ICR) of “aa” from A.M. Best signify that Allstate is in excellent financial standing.
Read more: Allstate Life Insurance Review
Farmers Company Ratings
Farmers have been given an FSR of “A” from A.M. Best and a Long Term Credit Issuer Rating of “A.” These are considered excellent ratings. Moody’s affirms the good standing of Farmers with an FSR of “Baa2.”
All of the ratings assigned to both Allstate and Farmers indicate their ability to pay out a large number of claims should the need occur.
Allstate vs. Farmers: Pricing and Discounts
Essentially, the cost of car insurance is dependent on several factors in which small differences in the driver’s age, location, gender, and past infractions can have an outsized effect, and lead to a considerably higher rate.
However, many insurance companies offer discounts to customers with a clean driving record, a car with extra safety features, multiple vehicles, or bundled policies.
When comparing Allstate and Farmers’ discount offerings, Allstate comes out ahead by quite a bit by offering a much larger variety of discounts to its policyholders.
It’s important to note that Farmers modifies its discounts by state, so make sure you investigate all available options when obtaining a quote.
Here’s a breakdown of the discounts offered by each company:
| Allstate | Farmers | |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Vehicle | NO | VARIES BY STATE |
| Multiple Policy | YES | VARIES BY STATE |
| Vehicle Safety | YES | VARIES BY STATE |
| New Vehicle | YES | |
| Teen Driver | NO | VARIES BY STATE |
| Good Student | YES | VARIES BY STATE |
| Student Away from Home | YES | VARIES BY STATE |
| Completed Driver Training Course | YES | |
| Completed Safe Driving Course | NO | VARIES BY STATE |
| Safe Driver | YES | VARIES BY STATE |
| Homeowner | NO | VARIES BY STATE |
| Length of Membership | YES | |
| Paperless | YES | VARIES BY STATE |
| Pay in Full | YES | VARIES BY STATE |
| Automatic Payment | YES | |
| Anti-Theft | YES | VARIES BY STATE |
| Hybrid | NO | VARIES BY STATE |
The above information comparing Allstate vs. Farmers is meant to help you in making an informed decision when you choose an automobile insurance provider.
Use these details to determine which company offers the best policies, prices, and discounts to meet your personal insurance needs.