What’s Better for Auto Insurance – Farmers or Allstate?

Last Updated on June 16, 2023

Farmers and Allstate are two of the most popular car insurance companies in the United States. Which one is better?

Farmers and Allstate offer competitive prices in most states. However, rates vary widely depending on your location, driving history, age, and other factors.

Both Farmers and Allstate also offer similar insurance products and services. Plus, they have similar ratings from J.D. Power and other organizations.

What’s better for car insurance – Farmers or Allstate? Let’s take a closer look.

About Farmers

Farmers, like Allstate, is one of the top ten largest car insurance companies in the United States. The Los Angeles-based car insurance giant has a 3% market share nationwide, while Allstate has an 8% market share.

Farmers operates through captive agents, which means Farmers insurance agents only represent one company instead of multiple companies. You can also obtain car insurance through Farmers online.

Farmers tends to be middle of the road for pricing, although the company has strong customer service ratings and claims satisfaction scores.

Farmers also has a unique feature called incident forgiveness, which goes above the accident forgiveness offered by most other insurance companies in the United States. Incident forgiveness can forgive accidents and things like speeding tickets. With Farmers, a single mistake may not lead to higher insurance premiums – whether it’s an at-fault accident or a speeding ticket.

About Allstate

Allstate is America’s third-largest insurance company, with approximately twice the market share as Farmers. Allstate is available in all 50 states.

Allstate is a publicly traded company. And, like Farmers, Allstate operates through captive agents, which means Allstate agents only represent one company instead of multiple companies. You can also obtain Allstate car insurance online.

Allstate is well-rated for claims satisfaction. It offers average to high pricing compared to most competitors. However, Allstate is also known for offering an extensive range of discounts: they offer more discounts than Farmers, Progressive, and other major providers, including discounts for students, good drivers, and more.

Farmers Versus Allstate for Car Insurance Rates

Like other top 10 insurers in the United States, Farmers and Allstate have competitive rates. You should receive a similar quote from either Farmers or Allstate.

Research shows that the two companies have slight differences in premiums by age and gender, however.

Farmers charges high rates to male and female teenage drivers, for example, often charging $1,000 or more per year above Allstate.

However, Farmers offers lower rates to adult and senior drivers, often beating Allstate by hundreds of dollars for older adults.

If you’re a young driver, you may want to request a quote from Allstate – especially if you’ve been frustrated with the higher premiums offered by other insurers.

Meanwhile, older drivers may be able to save money by requesting a quote from Farmers instead of Allstate. Research shows that Famers charges older adults hundreds of dollars less per year, on average, than Allstate.

Obviously, insurance premiums vary widely by state, ZIP code, gender, age, and other factors. Compare quotes from both Farmers and Allstate to ensure you’re getting the best policy for your needs.

What Makes Farmers Unique?

Farmers offers a full spectrum of insurance products, including homeowners, renters, life, business, and other types of insurance. If you need multiple insurance policies, then you can bundle and save with Farmers.

Some of the features that make Farmers unique include:

Signal: Farmers has a driver tracking program called Signal. Signal monitors your driving habits, phone use, heavy braking, excessive speed, and mileage, then offers a discount based on this data. This telematics program is not available in all states, but it allows some drivers to obtain a significant discount on car insurance in recognition of their safe driving.

Incident Forgiveness: Most companies offer accident forgiveness, but Farmers offers incident forgiveness in certain states. Farmers’ incident forgiveness lets you avoid having a single speeding ticket or accident raise your rates. Although it’s not available in all states, Farmers’ incident forgiveness lets you eliminate one incident every three years.

Rideshare Coverage: Most major insurers in the United States offer rideshare coverage, and Farmers is no exception.

What Makes Allstate Unique?

Allstate has a few unique offerings unavailable through Farmers or other insurance companies, including:

Drivewise: Allstate has a driver tracking program called Drivewise. You install a driver tracking system in your vehicle, then receive a discount based on your driving habits. If you’re a safe driver, for example, and driver tracking data backs up that claim, then you can save 15% or more on car insurance.

Ride for Hire: Allstate’s Ride for Hire program covers Uber, Lyft, and other rideshare drivers for as little as $15 to $20 per year, filling the gaps left by Uber and Lyft’s insurance coverage.

Safe Driving Bonus: Allstate has a strong safe driving bonus designed to reward drivers for their behavior. You can choose how to receive this bonus. Some drivers choose a bonus check in the mail for every six months without an accident, for example. You can also lower your deductible, dropping it $100 for every six months you go without an accident (up to a maximum deductible waiver of $500).

Farmers Versus Allstate: J.D. Power Rankings

J.D. Power ranks America’s largest insurance companies by price, claims satisfaction, customer service, and other metrics. Both Farmers and Allstate appeared on the J.D. Power Auto Claims Satisfaction Study in 2019.

Farmers ranked higher than Allstate on the overall rankings, although both companies scored an identical 3/5 for overall satisfaction. Farmers placed 13th overall, while Allstate placed 20th (out of 25 total companies)

Farmers scored 3/5 in all seven categories, including overall satisfaction, first notice of loss, estimation of process, repair process, rental experience, claim servicing, and settlement.

Allstate, meanwhile, received an identical 3/5 rating in all seven categories, although the company placed seven spots lower than Farmers in the overall rankings.

J.D. Power describes a 3/5 rating as “about average.”

Only five companies scored lower than Allstate on the 2019 J.D. Power rankings, including CSAA Insurance Group, Esurance, MAPFRE, Mercury, and National General.

Farmers Versus Allstate: Financial Strength

It’s important to compare insurance companies by not just their customer satisfaction, but also their financial strength.

A.M. Best has awarded Allstate a financial strength rating of A+ (Superior), which is among the highest financial strength ratings available. Only a select few insurers qualify for this rating.

Farmers, meanwhile, has a slightly lower financial strength rating, scoring an A (Excellent) rating in the latest audit.

Final Word: Should You Go With Farmers or Allstate?

Farmers and Allstate are two of America’s largest car insurance companies. They’re competitively priced and offer similar insurance products. They also have similar ratings from J.D. Power and other ranking organizations.

Since both companies are available in all 50 states, consider requesting a quote from both Farmers and Allstate to ensure you’re paying the best rate for car insurance.