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Auto Insurance
Truck parked outside Allstate insurance office Corey Coyle / Wikimedia Commons

Allstate Auto Insurance Review

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Allstate is probably best known as an auto insurance company, but it also offers insurance in a number of other categories, including home, renters and life.

Additionally, the company has a financial services branch for retirement and investments.

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As an auto insurer, Allstate has been around since 1931 and is the third-largest national company, offering auto coverage in all 50 states.

If you’re thinking about getting your auto insurance from Allstate, we’ve got the resources to help you make an informed decision.

Allstate auto insurance review: summary

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Overall, Allstate auto insurance has a number of checks in the pro column.

*You can find insurance coverage everywhere in the country. *You can easily get a free quote online or over the phone. *Other insurance offerings mean you can bundle your policies and it has brand-name recognition.

But one major knock against Allstate’s auto insurance is its price. In March 2021, U.S. News & World Report analyzed car insurance rates from across the country, and Allstate came in as the most expensive company.

The average rate at Allstate is $1,787, which is 35% higher than the national average. Every category of consumer the study looked at pays more for insurance through Allstate, but 25-year-old drivers will find it especially expensive.

Allstate’s best selling points are its variety of policies and opportunities for savings it offers consumers. It has most standard coverage options, including liability coverage, personal injury protection, collision coverage, comprehensive coverage and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage.

Extra coverage options

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Allstate offers the following add-ons.

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  • Rental reimbursement coverage. If your car is damaged in a covered claim, this coverage reimburses you for the cost of a rental car or extra transportation expenses.

  • Roadside assistance options. Stranded at the side of the road with a dead battery or an empty tank? Your insurer will come help you out.

  • Accident forgiveness. Your rates won’t go up after your first accident, even if you’re at fault.

  • Sound system insurance. Just in case your custom system is damaged or stolen from your vehicle.

  • New car replacement. If your car is two model years old or less, this coverage will pay to fully replace it with a new one if needed.

  • Milewise program. If you don’t get out on the road that much, this option allows you to pay per mile instead of the usual flat rate.

  • Ride-hail insurance. If you drive for a ride-hailing program like Uber or Lyft, Allstate’s Ride for Hire coverage will cover you the whole time you have the ridesharing app on, but it’s only available in some states and provides limited coverage between rides.

Allstate also offers a safe driving bonus and deductible rewards, which give you money for six months of accident-free driving and $100 reductions on your collision deductible for full years with no driving violations. You can earn up to $500 of your deductible this way, with the first $100 applied when you sign up.

Allstate also offers discounts and savings when you use its car-buying service, which provides you with insight into what other people have paid for the same type of car, including any incentives and fees.

Finally, Allstate is so sure you’ll be satisfied with its claims process that if you’re not happy with how it was handled, it will give you a six-month credit on your car insurance premium. The claim satisfaction guarantee comes standard on all policies in the states where it’s available.

A caveat on cost

Auto insurance companies calculate what you’ll pay in premiums based on a bunch of different factors. Some, like your age, gender, marital status and education level, are personal characteristics.

Then, they’ll consider the type of coverage you need, your claims history and whether you have a current policy.

Finally, most states will allow auto insurers to also factor in your credit score.

Since every insurer has its own formula it uses to calculate a car insurance quote, even if you provide the exact same details to a few different companies, you probably won’t receive the exact same quote twice.

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Allstate ratings for customer satisfaction

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Allstate car insurance customers rate their satisfaction as very good. In J.D. Power’s 2020 U.S. Auto Insurance study, the report indicated that Allstate was one of three national auto insurance companies that earned significant gains in customer satisfaction, mainly due to its growth in the digital channel.

Customers in Florida in particular singled out Allstate auto insurance as their top choice.

The claims process with Allstate has an especially high level of customer satisfaction. Allstate scored an 876 (out of 1,000) on J.D, Power’s survey, ranking higher than other big-name insurers like GEICO, Liberty Mutual and Safeco.

Complaints about Allstate auto insurance online mostly centered around customer service issues with a specific Allstate agent and pricing.

Here’s how Allstate ranks on a few different consumer opinion trackers:

  • J.D. Power: 3/5
  • Consumers Advocate: 4.4/5
  • Consumer Affairs: 3.9/5
  • Consumer Reports: 72/100

Allstate insurance features

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Part of what consumers like so much about Allstate is its digital offerings.

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Allstate’s website provides a bunch of tools and resources for topics ranging from retirement planning to what type of insurance coverage you need to operate an ATV or golf cart.

Allstate’s mobile app allows you to pay your bill, manage your policy, check the status of a claim, call for roadside help or even find interactive maps to help you navigate to safety in an emergency. The app also houses the Drivewise feature, which tracks driving behaviors as part of a discount plan.

If you also have your homeowners insurance policy through Allstate, its Digital Locker app can help you make an inventory of your possessions, which can be helpful if you ever need to make a claim on that policy.

Allstate discount options

Allstate has a long list of discount options for drivers of a wide variety of ages, driving records and demographics.

  • Retired seniors. For those 55 and up who are retired, you can save up to 10% on your premium.

  • teenSMART. Young people between the ages of 16 and 21 who complete Allstate’s teenSMART program are eligible for a discounted rate.

  • Automatic billing. Signing up for Allstate’s EZ pay plan will automatically cut a cool 5% off your premium.

  • Prompt payments. Just keeping on top of your monthly premium payment will lock you in a discounted rate when you renew your policy.

  • Your car type. Both newer models and economy cars will get you discounts on your Allstate auto insurance.

  • Bundling your policies. If you use Allstate to insure more than one vehicle and you’re a homeowner who pays electronically, that will grant you a reduced rate.

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Allstate pros and cons

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Here are Allstate’s major strengths and weaknesses.

Pros

  • Availability. You can get Allstate auto insurance in all 50 states.

  • Customer satisfaction. Allstate customers generally rate their satisfaction with the company’s claims process as positive.

  • Accessibility. For high-risk drivers, finding auto insurance can be a challenge. Allstate offers nonstandard auto insurance for those who may have trouble finding insurance coverage.

  • Discounts galore. Allstate offers a number of discounts on its policies, ranging from 2% to 45% off your rate. There’s something for most drivers on Allstate’s list of discounts. You can get a small price reduction for opting for paperless billing, paying your policy on time or having a car with electronic stability control. And you’ll get a bigger discount for taking driver’s ed, bundling your policies or having a newer vehicle.

  • Other savings opportunities. Allstate also runs a few unique programs that offer drivers even further discounts on their premiums. The Drivewise program gives users a significant discount for downloading and using an app that tracks your driving behavior. Safe drivers will see money knocked off their premiums.

Cons

  • Pricing. Allstate’s baseline is one of the priciest options out there for auto insurance.

  • Mixed reviews. While Allstate’s claims process has high customer satisfaction ratings, third-party agencies like Consumer Reports and J.D. Power did find they have a mixed bag of reviews.

The verdict

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Do we recommend Allstate auto insurance? It depends. If you prefer to have your insurance through a large national chain with brand-name recognition where you can bundle your various insurance policies, Allstate has some great offerings.

Our only hesitancy to whole-heartedly recommend this auto insurer is its pricing. If you can lock in some discounts on your rate for safe driving, by using Allstate’s Drivewise program or staying claim free, then you’ll be — as Allstate’s slogan says — in good hands.

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Sigrid Forberg Senior Associate Editor

Sigrid is a senior associate editor on the Moneywise team, where she has also worked as a reporter and staff writer.

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