Allstate vs. State Farm Home Insurance: Which Is Better? - NerdWallet (2024)

Allstate and State Farm have a lot in common. They’re two of the largest home insurers in the U.S., with policies available across most of the country, and they each offer a wide range of coverage options to choose from. They’ve been around for a while, too — State Farm was founded in 1922, while Allstate sold its first policy in 1931.

The main difference between Allstate and State Farm home insurance is how each company covers the structure of your home. State Farm generally includes an additional cushion above your dwelling limit in case rebuilding is more expensive than expected. Allstate offers similar coverage but charges extra for it.

Read on to learn about other differences between Allstate and State Farm homeowners insurance, including rates, consumer complaints and policy perks.

Availability

State Farm and Allstate homeowners policies are available across most of the U.S. However, Allstate isn’t selling new homeowners policies in California, Connecticut, Florida or New Jersey, while State Farm isn’t offering new coverage in California, Massachusetts or Rhode Island.

Coverage

State Farm and Allstate have many coverage options to choose from, but State Farm’s default policy tends to be a bit more generous; it includes an extra 20% of dwelling coverage on top of the amount you select.

Dwelling coverage is the part of your policy that covers the structure of your home. It reflects how much it would cost to rebuild the house if it’s destroyed. So if you’ve chosen a dwelling limit of $300,000, having the extra 20% will give you an additional $60,000 to spend if rebuilding costs more than you expect. It’s a useful cushion, especially in times of high inflation.

Allstate also offers this coverage, but it costs a bit more than the basic policy.

State Farm’s policies may also include ordinance or law coverage, which pays to bring your home up to current building codes during covered repairs. This coverage is particularly useful if you have an older home.

Again, Allstate offers this coverage — but at extra expense.

Optional coverage

Beyond what’s included, both companies offer a variety of ways to add coverage to your policy. Options depend on where you live, but Allstate and State Farm generally offer the following types of coverage:

These are just a few of the many coverage options available. Some vary from one company to the next, but your exact choices depend on where you live and whether you get a quote online or through an agent.

For example, State Farm offers equipment breakdown coverage to pay for failures of heating, cooling or other home systems — an option we didn’t see when getting quotes online from Allstate.

If you’re interested in a particular type of coverage, speaking directly with an agent may be your best bet.

How to compare coverage

Each company has its own formula for estimating your home’s replacement cost, or dwelling coverage limit. In some cases, the difference in recommended coverage may be significant.

For instance, we got online quotes from Allstate and State Farm for the same house in Austin, Texas. Allstate recommended about $312,000 in dwelling coverage, while State Farm came up with a coverage limit of nearly $374,000, plus an extra 20% cushion (an additional $74,800 of coverage for the structure of the home). Added together, State Farm would give you a total of nearly $450,000 in dwelling coverage for the same home.

When comparing prices, take differences like these into account. And if you see such wide discrepancies, consider getting a few more quotes or chatting with an independent agent to figure out the right amount of coverage you’d need to rebuild your home.

Perks

Depending on where you live, you may be eligible for a couple of extra perks from State Farm. In most states, the company offers three free years of Ting service to policyholders. Ting is a smart device that plugs into an outlet and alerts you to problems with your electrical network that could lead to fires.

State Farm also provides a free ADT smart-home security system to policyholders in select states, along with a discounted rate for professional monitoring. Signing up for this monitoring can save you up to 6% on your homeowners policy, as long as you’re willing to share your ADT account and usage data with State Farm.

Allstate policyholders can also take advantage of useful benefits, though they’re available only in the company's more inclusive coverage packages. With Claim RateGuard, your rate won’t go up if you file a claim, and with Claim-Free Rewards, you can get 5% back for each year you go without filing a claim. Deductible Rewards entitles you to $100 toward your deductible when you sign up, plus an extra $100 for each year you go without a claim. The maximum reward is $500 off your deductible.

Discounts

State Farm and Allstate have a variety of ways for homeowners to save on their policies. Allstate lists more of them on its website, making it easier to figure out which ones you might be eligible for. No matter which company you choose, discounts vary by state.

Allstate homeowners may be able to save by:

State Farm advertises only a few discounts on its website, but others may be available to you when getting a quote online or from an agent. For example, you may be able to save by:

Rates

State Farm and Allstate have average annual homeowners insurance rates over the national average of $1,915 per year, according to NerdWallet’s analysis. State Farm’s policies cost $1,935 per year, on average, while Allstate charges an average of $2,205. These sample rates assume dwelling coverage of $300,000, liability coverage of $300,000 and a $1,000 deductible, along with good credit and no recent claims.

Even when we adjusted the dwelling coverage amount, State Farm was consistently cheaper than Allstate. Below are the average annual rates for each company for a variety of coverage amounts.

We also checked how the companies’ rates stack up for several common scenarios. State Farm was the cheaper option for homeowners with a recent claim or a brand-new house (built in 2023). Meanwhile, Allstate was cheaper for those with poor credit.

Numbers below reflect average annual rates for $300,000 of dwelling coverage, $300,000 of liability coverage and a $1,000 deductible.

Although State Farm was cheaper in most of our tests, Allstate offers more discounts — so it could end up being the more affordable option for you, depending on your circ*mstances. We recommend getting quotes from at least three insurance companies to make sure you find the best deal for your home.

Consumer complaints

When it comes to consumer complaints, State Farm has the edge. It drew fewer complaints to state regulators than expected for a company of its size, according to three years’ worth of data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Meanwhile, Allstate had more complaints than expected over the same period.

Consumer experience

State Farm and Allstate have robust websites where you can get a quote, pay your bill, learn insurance basics and file or track claims. One nice feature of the Allstate site is a live chat, available 24/7. Meanwhile, State Farm has a virtual chatbot on its main claims page.

Both companies also offer mobile apps you can use to view policy details, pay bills and file claims. Allstate’s app has a unique Digital Footprint feature, which helps you monitor personal data by tracking breaches and learning which companies collect your information.

Need customer support? Both companies have networks of local agents you can call, as well as email forms and phone numbers where you can reach a representative.

When it comes to claim satisfaction, State Farm came out a bit above the national average in data analytics company J.D. Power’s latest property claims satisfaction study. Allstate was slightly below average.

Other policies

If you need more than just homeowners insurance, there’s a good chance you can get it from State Farm or Allstate. For example, both companies offer auto insurance that you can bundle with your homeowners policy. See NerdWallet’s star ratings and reviews for each company’s auto policies below.

Here are other types of insurance each company offers.

Allstate vs. State Farm home insurance: The bottom line

Both insurance giants are solid options for homeowners insurance, but State Farm has the advantage when it comes to coverage, consumer complaints and rates. However, because Allstate offers more discounts, it could end up being more affordable for your home. It’s worth getting quotes from both companies to see which offers the better combination of coverage and price for your home.