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View Full Version : Need advice on insurance: State Farm vs Allstate



Dan Mages
10-16-2007, 10:44 AM
Good morning.


Allison and I have shopped around for auto insurance quotes given our upcoming move to CT and found that Allstate is the best price available with State Farm, our current carrier, being about $200ish per year more expensive. The home insurance quotes are virtually identical. The coverage is the same except that State Farm is making me sacrifice my zero deductible on comprehensive and is offering me $100 instead. We have been with State Farm for about 10-15 years each and have been grandfathered in, which is worth a small premium, IMHO. Allstate also offers accident forgiveness and a reduced deductible for each year without an accident, but they were slow to respond to my calls for a quote, which worries me when it comes to them responding to a claim. I have no experience with Allstate, so I don't know if the lower rates are indicative of lesser service. Does anyone here have Allstate? What is your opinion of them? Is it worth paying less and losing our status with State Farm?

Thanks

Dan

David G Baker
10-16-2007, 11:04 AM
I used State Farm as my insurance carrier for over 20 years until their rates went up so far I started shopping around. My home and two vehicles were insured by them. I ended up going with AAA that at the time was quite a bit cheaper for the same amount and type of insurance. I now have Auto Owner's insurance on everything I own and it is about $400 a year cheaper than AAA.
You may be better off seeing an insurance broker and finding a company that fits your needs. Just because an insurance is very visible and advertises a lot does not necessarily make it a better company to use as your carrier.
Allstate was one of the companies that got caught conspiring with the California State Insurance Commissioner to cheat thousands of Los Angles earthquake victims out of millions of dollars on their quake damage claims. I don't know if State Farm was involved, you could do an Internet search and find out.
As far as status with an insurance company goes, status doesn't mean squat. Most insurance companies will dump you at a moments notice for the slightest reason or no reason that you will ever fine out about.
Many insurance companies are now using people's credit scores to determine the rate customers have to pay or whether they will insure them at all.

Nancy Laird
10-16-2007, 11:09 AM
Check out Liberty Mutual. You might notice that when carriers do comparisons, they never compare with Liberty Mutual, as they can't beat LM's rates. I actually considered changing carriers several years ago and compared SF, Allstate, Farmers, Geico, and LM. LM beat all of them. Even Hartford through AARP can't beat our LM rates.

We've been with LM for 26 years, great service, great claims service, monthly billings. We have two cars, a trailer, a motor home, and our house all insured with LM and we couldn't be happier. My only gripe is that they won't provide commercial insurance for our buildings and equipment for our business; we had to go to another company.

Nancy (66 days)

Al Willits
10-16-2007, 11:13 AM
Neither, we've had bad luck with both, we are now with AAA and they have been great to deal with.

Al

Larry Conely
10-16-2007, 11:14 AM
I had Allstate car insurance for 25 years. I moved overseas and did not require domestic auto insurance. When I returned, I was told by Allstate that because I had not been insured for two years, I would be put in their highest risk category at breathtaking rates. I shopped around and went to AAA. I have had AAA since, and have been very happy with their service.

For homes, I use Chubb Insurance, acquired through an independent agent. I am currently having a claim finished and I could not be happier.

Larry

Rick Gibson
10-16-2007, 11:20 AM
No personal experience with either of them but I do no that a former pastor was insured with state farm here in Ontario, his house had been sold and he was moving within a week when a gas explosion took out the house next door completely. His house was severely damaged and actually shifted on the foundation. He had to fight them in the courts and it took about 2 years and in the end he was still out around $20K. Me, after watching his experience I wouldn't go near them if they were free.

Don't know if you have cooperators there or not but check them out. They are not the cheapest but I had a house fire about 15 years ago over $90K in damage and absolutely no hassles getting things straightened out. Where ever you go make sure you get replacement value insurance.

Matt Meiser
10-16-2007, 11:38 AM
I've had bad luck collecting on a claim from State Farm (other driver's insurance) on a cut-and-dry $400 claim when I was in college. They used stall tactics ("we are waiting for this", or "we don't have that") until I was home on break and had time to call them regularly (i.e. every 2 hours, and if it x or y didn't get done by the time promised I'd go to the supervisor.) We have Farm Bureau--they aren't the cheapest, but my parents have had the same agent for 28 years and we've now had him for 7. My parents have had a couple claims which were all handled quickly and to their satisfaction--and they don't tend to gouge or drop you for an occasional oops like some others.

Glenn Clabo
10-16-2007, 11:46 AM
Shifted from Allstate after 20 years...long story...but it is related to your concern...it wasn't fun. Went to Amica and they have been great. DrLOML had her car hit by a student and they talked us out of letting her mother pay...and took over the issue. All new original parts were installed and it didn't take them long to get our deductable from the other company...kept us informed as things progressed and responded very quickly to any question we had. They were just plain great to work with.

Benjamin Dahl
10-16-2007, 11:51 AM
I have State Farm and have been happy with them. in my case they were cheaper than a few others I checked. The one time I had a claim, related to my house, they responded quickly. could be that I have a responsive agent as those other stories sound bad. I had a number of friends drop SF after their response to the Katrina events.
Ben

John Shuk
10-16-2007, 12:02 PM
I have Allstate and it has been fine for me here in NY. Insurance companies have different rules and practices for every state though. $200 a year is a substantial difference though. I can't see the service being that extremely different.

Ken Fitzgerald
10-16-2007, 12:41 PM
I've been with State Farm for over 30 years. They have been great to deal with and their premiums have come down over the years and we get discounts because we have house, and both vehicles insured with them.

Greg Stanford
10-16-2007, 1:42 PM
My Mother's home was severly damaged by Katrina. Alstate paid. Mom's in her home now. People who had State Farm are still in FEMA trailors.

Joe Pelonio
10-16-2007, 1:46 PM
I've been with State Farm for over 30 years. They have been great to deal with and their premiums have come down over the years and we get discounts because we have house, and both vehicles insured with them.
Same here, we have the house, cars, life, and business. I checked into others a couple of years ago and with all the discounts we get, no one else was close on changing any of them except life but that one is paying for itself with the dividends now. My daughter has just her car to insure, and looked around but found that by getting a small life policy from State Farm the discount for having both made the total premiums less than the next best on just the car.

Paul Greathouse
10-16-2007, 1:54 PM
About 20 years ago we ran into a string of bad luck with auto accidents and Allstate dropped us for frequency of auto claims. That scared the heck out of me, I thought there would be no way one of the other "Big Name" insurance companies would pick me up after being dropped by Allstate.

I found a young State Farm agent, who had just opened a new office. He signed me up with State Farm and I have never looked back. Piece of mind is worth more to me than any yearly premium could ever be. State Farm has taken care of me on auto and home claims and I have never had a problem. Like someone said above, get replacement value insurance.

In addition, a couple of years ago, hurricane Rita passed through our area. There was quite a bit of damage. Everyone I talked to that had State Farm were happy with their claims but several of the Allstate customers and some people insured by the smaller companies were not very pleased. Not much chance of you seeing a major hurricane up on the east coast but it is still a good comparison between the two companies. Hope this helps.

Scott Brihn
10-16-2007, 4:19 PM
IMHO you never know how good the service or coverage really is until you need it. Like most companies there are "good" agents and "less than good/bad" agents. As a result I typically evaluate three factors in the following order; the company (investment track record), the agent (if I can get a sense of their credibility) and price (for apples to apples coverage).

I was with State Farm for 12+ years until they made a number of bad investment decisions (3-4 years ago) and asked for a 32% premium increase. As a result I immediately switched everything to an alternative carrier.

Additionally, IMHO achieving "status" with a particular insurance company is overrated and typically a difficult value proposition to prove.

Dennis Peacock
10-16-2007, 4:57 PM
I used to be with Farmers as well as AllState. AllState kept going up EVERY year for no known reason. We would ask, they just said, that's the way it is. We dropped them and went with Farmers. Things were fine for the 1st 2 years, then rates started climbing. We have since switched to Farm Bureau insurance and enjoying lower rates, stable rates, and excellent service.

Rich Konopka
10-16-2007, 7:47 PM
Hi Dan,

Moving to CT?? I have had Allstate for 20 years and recently checked out auto with Geico and it was a tad cheaper but not much. I recently received a notice from Allstate that they are not writing new policies in CT. Did you get a new quote fro Allstate for CT? Also, have you looked into an umbrella policy?

Ron Jones near Indy
10-16-2007, 7:57 PM
I, too, am with Auto Owners. Great service--long time agent friend. Quick settlement on homeowners claim from last year's hail storm. My neighbors with State Farm were not happy with the settlement or the service.

Stephen Nelson
10-16-2007, 8:30 PM
I am a former Allstate agent and still have them as my carrier, the best advice I can offer you is to go to the dept of insurance website and check the complaint record for them, the really true test is how well they settle their claims.

Jim Becker
10-16-2007, 8:44 PM
Progressive/Drive has been OUTSTANDING. And my rates are better than even AAA has been able to cobble up, especially since I pay my six month premium in full and get a substantial additional discount as a result. Their claims service is also at the top of the business...my experience in May was better than I could imagine it would be...and they cheerfully paid out $25K to make my vehicle as good as new and are still pursuing the other company for my deductible.

Greg Cuetara
10-16-2007, 9:36 PM
Just some food for thought. When you are looking at insurance make sure to ask the question 'what type of parts do you use?'. Most insurance carriers including geico and progressive use all aftermarket parts and when they pay out for a claim it is all based upon aftermarket parts. Sometimes for an older car that you don't care about it is not a big deal at all. If you have a new car you may want to get OEM parts back onto the vehicle. When I was looking there were very few companies who would allow you to buy OEM parts if you made a claim. I used to live in Colorado and was with Country Companies Insurance. IMHO the best company out there for insurance. The people were great and the agents were very attentive. I had a friend who totalled her 3mo. old car and they bought her a new car. The problem is that country companies is a farm insurance company and only accessible to farmers in the midwest and regular people in colorado.

Good Luck with you decision. Like I always say, I hope that I keep giving them my money and never have to talk to them again. Insurance is something you want and need but hope to never use.

Matt Meiser
10-16-2007, 9:43 PM
Greg, at least 10 years ago when I lived in Illinois for a year, Country Companies was just the name of Farm Bureau Insurance in some states. I lived in an apartment in a suburban part of Peoria and had them.

Dan Mages
10-16-2007, 10:30 PM
Hi Dan,

Moving to CT?? I have had Allstate for 20 years and recently checked out auto with Geico and it was a tad cheaper but not much. I recently received a notice from Allstate that they are not writing new policies in CT. Did you get a new quote fro Allstate for CT? Also, have you looked into an umbrella policy?

Yup. I called the agency directly and they were happy to give me a quote. An umbrella policy is under consideration.

Dan

Dan Mages
10-16-2007, 10:32 PM
Thanks for all of the advice. Unfortunately, there are horror stories and high praises for all agencies. I think in the end, we will stick with the devil we know...

Dan

Stephen Nelson
10-17-2007, 6:54 AM
Greg check your policy wording, in Tx as I believe most other ststes as well the term like, kind and quality (LQK) gives you the right to demand OEM replacement parts.Your right that most will substitute after market parts if allowed to.

Jon Lanier
10-17-2007, 9:10 AM
We have State Farm, I've never had anything else ... since I was 17. We have the house and both cars on SF. I happen to marry into SF, at least I feel like I did. My mother in law works for the Newark Office, brother in law works in the Newark office and one of Karen's Uncle is an agent.

We don't get discounts because of that, but I do hear of the inside workings. I'd say, like most companies, the agent can make the difference. We've moved around quite a bit and have had some good agents and then some we'd consider bad. Changing agents when you live in the same area can be difficult, but being firm it'll happen. The agent we have now and how he treats us is great! With State Farm there have been a few years where we actually get money back because the claims that year did not reach expectations. Don't know who else would do that?

Scott Donley
10-17-2007, 11:13 AM
we actually get money back because the claims that year did not reach expectations. Don't know who else would do that?USAA does also.

Cliff Rohrabacher
10-17-2007, 2:29 PM
is the one and the only insurance company that is client centered - Period.

Jim Becker
10-17-2007, 9:03 PM
Most insurance carriers including geico and progressive use all aftermarket parts and when they pay out for a claim it is all based upon aftermarket parts.

Progressive paid for 100% Toyota parts for my $25K claim in May without my asking for it. The work was also done by a prominent local Toyota dealer (although not my local dealer), even though I was using their Concierge service, and everything is warranted for as long as I own the vehicle.

Cliff, I do have Chubb for my homeowners and umbrella...not inexpensive but the most comprehensive on the planet it seems...

Phil Thien
10-17-2007, 9:29 PM
When Miller Park (home to Milwaukee Brewers) was severely damaged during construction (due to crane accident), it took Chubb a while to pay up. And apparently only after thread of lawsuit.

I know it is comparing apples to oranges. But any company that is responsible for payment that drags their feet is suspect.

Rich Konopka
10-18-2007, 6:45 AM
Yup. I called the agency directly and they were happy to give me a quote. An umbrella policy is under consideration.

Dan

The umbrella policy is great all around liability protection. You can reduce your liability coverage on your auto and use the umbrella to cover you for the auto and home. It generally pays for it self but check into it. It also puts the insurance company and its lawyers on your side in case you are ever sued.
Their money is going to be paid out before yours.

Cheers

Stephen Nelson
10-18-2007, 9:20 AM
ALL insurance companies are profit centered.

Ed Garrett
10-19-2007, 2:23 PM
I’d say neither. They are both dumping customers like mad in Florida, including many who’ve never made a claim. Notice that the big insurers focus their marketing on assuring you that they will always be there for you, that they are big, strong, stable, etc. I say they try to drum this into us because their reliability is actually questionable. I got dumped by Allstate in the mid-90’s. I’d never made a car or house claim. I’ve never had an accident or even a ticket. After hurricanes they routinely seek loopholes and delays to avoid paying claims. I recommend shopping around for smaller/better companies. I did, I saved a huge amount of money, and I haven’t been dumped again.

Sincerely,
Ed Garrett
Tallahassee

Sam Starr
10-21-2007, 8:56 PM
I have been working with Aflac for 25 yrs they do not sell car insurance but I know a little about the business. the best rates I have found are with a company called Erie Insurance. Hope this helps.