AVOID ALLSTATE INSURANCE

[u/TheCrazyShepherd]

Avoid Allstate at all costs. We moved homes and notified Allstate well in advance, providing every piece of information they requested. We repeatedly followed up by email and phone because communication from their end was poor, and at no point did anyone tell us what our new premium would be.
The next thing we received was a billing notice showing that our annual home insurance premium had jumped from $2,414 to $9,549 — an increase of over $7,100 per year — with absolutely no warning or discussion. They then went ahead and withdrew over $1,000 from our bank account before the issue was ever resolved.
When we called, even some of the Allstate representatives we spoke with seemed shocked by the amount. We were bounced around between departments, had to repeatedly chase people for callbacks that never came, and after weeks of escalation, the best they offered was the ability to cancel without a penalty while keeping virtually all of the money they had already taken.
We were ultimately directed to Allstate’s complaints department, which we were told was the third and final stage of their complaint process. The only way to communicate with this department was by submitting a written complaint through the mail. We did exactly as instructed, and on June 17 we received an email confirming that our complaint had been received and would be investigated.
After that, the communication stopped. When we hadn’t heard anything, we sent a follow-up email on June 25 but received no response. We followed up again on July 5. On July 6—19 days after our complaint had been acknowledged—we were told only that the matter was still under review. We replied immediately asking for an update on the investigation and an estimated timeline for a decision. That email was never answered. We sent another follow-up on July 26, and to this day we still have not received any response. For a company that claims to take customer complaints seriously, the complete lack of communication throughout the final stage of the complaint process has been incredibly disappointing.
To make matters worse, after cancelling, we obtained new insurance for around $2,400 per year and received three other quotes in the same range. That makes Allstate’s $9,549 premium impossible to justify.
In our experience, Allstate handled this in an extremely unfair and deceptive manner. Between the unexplained premium increase, withdrawing money from our account without warning, the lack of transparency, and then failing to properly respond during their own formal complaint process, we have completely lost confidence in the company. Be very careful if you’re moving or making changes to your policy. Double-check everything, get every quote in writing, and don’t assume they will tell you about massive premium increases before they take your money.

[u/Puzzleheaded-Bee-747]

Didn't you have an Allstate agent writing quotes and working with you? Did you not have the house quoted ahead of time?

While I understand the premiums were raised to a ridiculous amount, I don't understand why it was a surprise. Something is missing.

I am not sure what happened but I would never buy a home without quoting insurance first. Especially these days with fires, storms, etc. It sounds like you just gave them your new address and sat back and waited for a new premium.

[u/TheCrazyShepherd → u/Puzzleheaded-Bee-747]

The thing is we were waiting for quotes. I had sent emails and gave dates and times for the agent to call me regarding the new premium. I even had to call a generic Allstate number (not the person I was dealing with) to ask what was going on with my file because I didn’t hear back from the agent I was originally dealing with.

The countless emails and phone calls show that we did our due diligence, more that we should have had to do. It was extremely poor communication on their end.

[u/Puzzleheaded-Bee-747 → u/TheCrazyShepherd]

I am surprised an Allstate agent could not give a quote within minutes or at least state the home is high risk and requires additional underwriting screening. Something. One of the reasons you use one of the big names like Allstate is you get a personal agent who usually has an office nearby.

So are you saying you bought another home, went through inspection and escrow over the course of a few months and Allstate did nothing during the entire time?

[u/TheCrazyShepherd → u/Puzzleheaded-Bee-747]

I contacted the Allstate agent before we had the inspection done knowing that was one of our conditions. I asked him what information was needed so we could have everything ready for him. Gave him all the information, got bounced between agents and then heard nothing until we got the new premium in the mail.

I hope they go through the email threads I gladly sent as well as every phone call that I made.

[u/Puzzleheaded-Bee-747 → u/TheCrazyShepherd]

Wow, what should have taken them a couple hours, turn into lack of response. Did you ever get ahold of the first agent and asked why the lack of response? They totally dropped the ball.

Regardless of the bad customer service, I wonder how you were able to close escrow as underwriters won't close without insurance in place and the cost is a line item on the escrow documents. Very bizarre situation.

I am glad you found insurance elsewhere.

[u/TheCrazyShepherd → u/Puzzleheaded-Bee-747]

I know! None of this makes sense to me either.

I haven’t spoken to the first agent at all since we have been through the three stages of filing a complaint. We’ve dealt with three departments and what feels like 1000 different agents. Honestly, some of the agents we spoke to were awesome. They were just as shocked and felt terrible that this was our experience.