One of the oldest and largest auto insurance companies in the US, Allstate was founded by Sears, Roebuck, and Co. in 1937 and spun off as a separate company in 1993. The auto insurance giant currently ranks fourth in the country in terms of total market share, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

Serving all 50 states and Washington, DC, Allstate insures more than just cars — it also offers coverage for motorcycles, RVs and boats, as well as insurance policies for property, life and even the health of your pet.

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Allstate provides a long list of auto coverage options as well as a hearty collection of possible discounts, but, according to Bankrate, Allstate’s premiums are higher than most other insurance carriers that CNET has reviewed. It also ranks below average in customer satisfaction and received a low rating from repair professionals.

Read on for our full review of Allstate Auto Insurance for 2022.

Pros of using Allstate

Allstate is available in every US state and Washington, DC. Along with insuring your automobile, you can also insure your house, rental, condo or even your phone, while receiving a discount for bundling policies.

The insurance carrier provides a wide range of insurance add-ons that can protect your car’s sound system, reimburse rental cars and provide free roadside assistance. It also doles out bonuses every six months to drivers enrolled in its Safe Driving Club.

Allstate offers a long list of additional discounts, including paperless, automatic payment, multiple insurance policies, good student and new car discounts.  And all members can use roadside assistance (for a fee), whether or not it’s part of their policy.

Cons of using Allstate

Allstate’s high premiums are its most obvious downside. It’s hard to beat low cost, and Allstate doesn’t have that right now.

The insurance provider also receives relatively low ratings for customer satisfaction and claims satisfaction, per the 2021 J.D. Power US Auto Insurance Study. Allstate also has more than twice the level of complaints than the industry average, per the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ complaint index. 

Almost all of the extra protections and benefits at Allstate — such as new car replacement or accidental forgiveness — come with additional costs. The insurance giant has many discounts, but not many extra services for free.

Allstate insurance cost

Allstate currently offers some of the highest premiums out of the auto insurance providers that CNET’s reviewed. With an annual average full coverage rate of $2,438 for drivers with clean histories, Allstate’s rate is more than double that of some competitors and hundreds more than the national average, according to research conducted by Bankrate.

Minimum coverage per year at Allstate costs $558, a bit higher than the industry baseline of $545. A healthy list of discounts can bring down those costs, but Allstate’s base rates are consistently higher than competitors’ right now.

Allstate coverage options

Allstate provides all of the other major coverage types generally provided by auto insurers with a few additional options. Here is a list of the possible protections at Allstate:

• Bodily injury liability protection: This standard insurance coverage is required in most states. It covers bodily injuries caused by the at-fault policyholder or other drivers listed on the policy.
• Property damage liability protection: This insurance coverage is required in all US states where insurance is required. It covers damage to another person’s or organization’s property that is inflicted by any insured drivers. It’s mostly used for damage to other cars, but it can also cover property like buildings, trees, fences or mailboxes. 
• Personal injury protection: This protection covers medical costs and lost wages of the driver and passengers of the policyholder’s car if injury occurs, regardless of fault. It can also cover funeral expenses and essential services like childcare or dog-walking that may be required because of physical injury. PIP is required in 14 states.
• Uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage: This coverage pays for medical expenses for you and your passengers, up to the policy’s limits, when an uninsured or underinsured motorist causes an accident. Insurance carriers are required to offer this coverage in all states, but the consumer may have the option to decline the coverage. Uninsured motorist property damage is available in some states to help cover repairs to your vehicle if damaged by an uninsured driver.
• Medical payments: This protection, which is similar to PIP and commonly known as Med Pay, covers medical costs of the insured drivers and their passengers up to the policy limit, regardless of fault. Unlike PIP, Med Pay doesn’t cover lost wages or essential services. Med Pay is optional in most states, and required in a few. 
• Collision coverage: This fundamental protection covers damage to your vehicle that resulted from a collision between your car and another car or an object.
• Comprehensive coverage: This protection covers damage to your car caused by events other than collisions, such as thefts, vandalism, fires or natural disasters.
• Roadside coverage: Roadside insurance protection includes basic repair assistance such as tows, jump starts, tire changes or unlocking. It’s available to all Allstate members on a pay-per-use basis, starting at $119 for a tow, and it’s included at no additional cost with a policy add-on service that starts at $25 per vehicle.
• Rental reimbursement: If your automobile is totaled or needs repair because of a covered claim, this insurance protection will cover the cost of a necessary rental vehicle up to the policy limit.
• Ride for Hire: Insurance policies for ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft only provide coverage when there is a passenger in the car. Ride for Hire, Allstate’s additional rideshare insurance, adds coverage when you’re waiting for a customer or otherwise driving your rideshare vehicle solo.

Allstate discounts

Allstate offers a bevy of discounts for its auto insurance, from breaks for good students to bonuses for paying your premium in full or setting up automatic payments. 

These discounts can help reduce the cost of your auto insurance bill, though the exact savings aren’t advertised.

• Anti-lock brake discount
• New car discount
• Anti-theft device discount
• Automatic payment plan discount
• Multiple policy discount
• Homeowner discount
• Paperless documents discount
• Early signing discount
• FullPay discount
• Responsible payer discount
• Safe driver discount
• Smart student discount
• Drivewise policy credit 

Allstate members who participate in the Drivewise or Milewise programs are also eligible to enroll in Allstate Rewards, an incentive program that gives points back for safe driving. Those points can be redeemed for merchandise, gift cards or travel items such as car rentals and hotels.

Customer satisfaction and complaints

Allstate ranks below the national average in J.D. Power rankings for both customer and claims satisfaction. While average ratings are 834 for customer satisfaction and 880 for claims satisfaction, Allstate scored 825 and 870, respectively, in the 2021 J.D. Power US Auto Insurance Study.

You’ll also find this insurance provider near the bottom of major auto insurance carriers in the Crash Network Repair Guide ratings. Based on responses from car repair professionals who work with insurance companies, the guide awarded Allstate a D+ grade in its latest Insurer Report Card.

When it comes to average customer complaints, Allstate doesn’t fare much better. Its NAIC complaint index of 1.59 means that the auto insurer receives about 50% more complaints than the industry average.

Drivewise telematics program

Like most other major auto insurance carriers, Allstate provides a telematics program called Drivewise that monitors driver and car behavior through Allstate’s mobile app. Drivewise gauges safe driving habits, as well as provide features including automatic crash detection and reporting, trip data and personalized feedback on your driving. If you’d prefer to keep the details of how, when and where you use your car private, Drivewise is not for you.

If the app measures positive driving behaviors, you’ll get a discount on your insurance premium. Drivewise offers an initial percentage off your rate when you sign up, then another discount after six months, depending on how you drive.

Milewise pay-per-mile program

Allstate’s Milewise program puts a spin on auto insurance premiums by charging drivers a lower daily base rate combined with a per-mile fee. If you are an infrequent or low-mileage driver, Milewise could provide an easy way to save money on premiums.

With Milewise, drivers get the exact same coverage as with a standard payment policy, but only pay a variable premium based on how much they drive. Like Drivewise, you can manage your Milewise account and track your miles using the Allstate mobile app.

Milewise is currently available in 22 states and US territories:

• Arizona
• Delaware
• Florida
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Minnesota
• Missouri
• New Jersey
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• South Carolina
• Texas
• Virginia
• Washington
• Washington, DC
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin

Other Allstate features we like

Allstate’s Deductible Rewards program takes $100 off a policy deductible for every year with no accidents, up to a maximum deductible discount of $500. Allstate also offers an accidental forgiveness add-on that will keep your premiums the same and retain your discounts even if you are responsible for an accident. And with Allstate’s new car replacement add-on service, if a car less than two years old is totaled, Allstate will cover the complete cost of a comparable new car.

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