About Allstate

Allstate provides insurance for a variety of needs, not just automobile insurance, including renter’s insurance, home insurance, condo insurance, motorcycle insurance, business insurance, life insurance and roadside insurance.

Allstate was founded in 1931 and is currently “the largest publicly held personal lines property and casualty insurer in America, serving more than 16 million households nationwide.” Allstate holds 18 percent of the U.S. auto insurance market, and is also the second largest homeowners’ insurer in the U.S. based on premiums collected, according to Insurance Journal. Starting in 1993, Allstate Corporation became a publicly traded company, and in the year 2015 they held approximately $104.7 billion in total assets.

allstate

Our Rating

When evaluating insurance companies, research and ratings companies employ various methods to arrive at each company’s rankings for different factors. Factors can include customer satisfaction, policy offerings, claims processing, interactions with agents, policy prices, and more.

Pros

  • Good estimation satification

  • Customers are Happy with Claims Processing

  • High company stabiltity

Satisfaction Rating

Claims Rating

Shopping Rating

Offerings Rating

Stability Rating

Company Stability

Allstate was rated high on financial strength by 3 top research and insurance review companies According to a 2017 J.D. Power Insurance Shopping study, Allstate scored a 4 out of 5 for Overall Satisfaction, scoring higher than Nationwide, State Farm, and Geico among others. They also scored a 4 out of 5 on Policy Offerings (which take the variety of options offered, the degree to which their needs were met, and the ease of obtaining a new policy into consideration), Pricing (value of cost in regards to coverage), and on how well their interactions with Call Center Representatives were.

A.M. Best gave high marks of A+ (second highest in 16 categories ranked) for Allstate Insurance, Allstate Life Insurance, and Allstate Assurance Company.

Moody’s also gave top notch ratings of Aa3, the 4th highest in 21 categories, for Allstate Insurance, and A1, the 5th highest in 21 categories for Allstate Life Insurance and Allstate Assurance Company.

Standard and Poor’s followed suit with ratings of AA-, 4th highest in 22 categories, for Allstate Insurance, and A+, 5th highest in 22 categories for Allstate Life Insurance.

Allstate was rated in a J.D. Power Study on several factors for various types of insurance In the J.D. Power 2017 U.S. Insurance Shopping Study, responses from more than 16,400 insurance shoppers were collected over a period of nine months, allowing the creation of over 50,000 customer evaluations of the most well-known insurance companies. Allstate insurance ranked 19th out of the 22 top insurers compared in the J.D. Power study, up a notch from their position in 2012’s study, using a combination of factors including customer satisfaction, ease of claims processing, distribution channel, policy offerings, and price value

am.best_ moodys standerd JD Power

For Allstate, the J.D. Power study revealed cumulative customer ratings to be:

3 stars out of 5 stars possible, or an average rating, for areas of:

  • Local Agent Interactions

  • Policy Offerings

  • Overall Customer Satisfaction

2 stars out of 5 possible, or a below average rating, for areas of:

  • Policy Pricing

  • Call Center Representative Interactions

Satisfaction with the Allstate Claims Process

From automobile insurance specifically, Allstate ranked 11th in the J.D. Power U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study out of the 26 top insurers compared, which included ratings for overall customer satisfaction, first notice of loss (or FNOL, the initial claims reporting process), claim servicing, the estimation process, repair process, rental car experience, and the fairness of claim settlement. Claim processing ratings for Allstate averaged at 864 on a 1,000-point scale, falling within the “average” category in the study.

Satisfaction with the claims experience affects customer retention and referrals, as well, says the study. Delighted claimants (who rated their satisfaction scores at or above900 on a 1,000-point scale or higher) reported they’d definitely be renewing their policies at 84 percent, as well as definitely recommending their insurer at 83 percent. Those who had poor experiences (rating the claims experience at 549 or lower on the scale) comprised only 12 percent who would definitely renew and 7 percent who would recommend.

Claims processing was measured in the study for customer satisfaction filing a claim with their most recent automobile collision. The claim processing procedure with Allstate was rated higher when conducted via human interaction over digital technology. According to J.D. Power, when a claim is filed with a human first, customers rate their claims processing overall satisfaction at 882 on a 1,000-point scale. When filing through the Allstate website, customers rated the claims process at 848. Only 7 percent of overall customers said they preferred web or app methods for claim reporting. According to Mark Garrett, director of insurance industry analytics at J.D. Power, “While technology offers a customer more options, what we find is that even when customers file a digital claim they still want to talk with someone to get an explanation of the process, what to expect along the claims pathway and the timing. Even the younger generations, which are most comfortable using digital channels, still want to talk with someone. We see the biggest gains in satisfaction when technology is used as a complementary channel for receiving status updates.”

Other ratings included overall customer satisfaction at 882 on the 1,000-point scale when customers are able to file their claim with their agent, but only 858 if they are transferred to a call center and 824 if they are instructed to call the call center themselves.

Costs of the claims matter too. 2/3 of customers renewed their auto insurance policy following the filing of a claim, but only 28 percent of those did so after their insurance premiums increased.

For these areas, Allstate scored as follows:

3 stars out of 5 possible, or an average rating, for areas of:

Overall customer satisfaction, first notice of loss (FNOL), claim servicing, rental car experience, fairness of claim settlement

4 stars out of 5, or an above average rating, for areas of:

Estimation process, repair process

For example on pricing according to the Allstate site, a 30-year-old single male homeowner with a good driving record in Phoenix, Arizona will pay approximately $588 on an average 6-month policy for a 1997 Cadillac Deville with Allstate automobile insurance. The same driver with a 2012 Honda Accord would pay around $985 for an average 6-month policy.

Meanwhile, a 45-year-old married female renter with the same car in Phoenix with a 2012 Honda Accord $850 for an average 6-month policy with Allstate automobile insurance.

Some of the discounts offered can make a difference, however, including

  • Paying in Full: the 30-year-old was given this option for a savings of up to $101 on the total policy
  • Easy Pay Plan: the 30-year-old could save up to $49 on the total policy if automatic payments were selected, with bank account number and routing number provided
  • Allstate® eSmartSM: the 30-year-old was given this option for a savings of up to $34 on total policy when agreeing to paperless document viewing
  • Early Signing Bonus: the 30-year-old could save up to $84 off the total policy if he agreed to pay at least 7 days before the beginning of coverage date
  • DriveWise App: the 30-year-old driver could save up to $20 off total policy and earn points toward brand name purchases by signing up for this app and keeping it open to monitor his driving

Complaints Reported

The National Insurance Commissioners’ website reports Allstate complaints fall below the industry mean

Allstate insurance companies varied in the number of complaints reported according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ website, but were found to generally be below the industry mean for complaints by comparison. Some states showed zero complaints, but that could be because that state does not report the information to the NAIC. Some companies also did not write business for a certain state during the year in question. Additional information can be found here on the NAIC website.

To give a few examples, we found the following complaint information on the NAIC website:

For 2017, Allstate Assurance Company had only 2 complaints, 1 each in the states of Oklahoma and Minnesota, and only 1 from 2016 for Minnesota.

For 2017, Allstate County Mutual Ins Co had 21 complaints, all in the state of Texas, and in 2016 had a total of 15 complaints also from Texas.

For 2017, Allstate Fire and Casualty Ins Company had a total of 395 complaints, down from a total of 470 in 2016, in the following states:

State Complains
Arizona 6
Colorado 15
Connecticut 21
Florida 122
Georgia 24
Iowa 1
Kansas 12
Louisiana 1
Maine 2
Michigan 5
Missouri 2
Montana 2
Nebraska 7
New Hampshire 2
New Mexico 7
New York 8
Ohio 24
Oklahoma 1
Oregon 2
Pennsylvania 3
Rhode Island 6
South Carolina 21
Texas 84
Utah 1
Washington 11

Value for Price

Insurers are focusing on factors other than price since average premiums have increased

Since most automobile insurance premiums have risen recently by 2-3 percent annually, insurance companies have come to focus more heavily on factors other than price to create new business. Instead, components such as agent recommendations, brand reputation, product, and service now comprise the core focus. The J.D. Power study found that the most recent key performance factor, or KPI, i.e. the factor having the greatest influence on customer satisfaction, was the insurance company’s ability to ensure their customers thoroughly understand the coverage they’re purchasing. According to Insurance Journal, A.M. Best is is also changing their insurance company credit rating methodology, with Allstate under review with positive implications.

The Allstate Drivewise App helps you save money whether you have policies with Allstate or not

Drivers with Allstate insurance can earn policy credit including a 3 percent discount just for signing up, while all safe drivers can earn reward points toward top brand product purchases. For details, check out their website!

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