Commercial auto insurance protects vehicles used for business purposes, including delivery trucks, company cars, and specialized commercial equipment.1
Allstate is a well-known company with a high financial strength rating that offers commercial auto insurance. The company places an emphasis on dedicated local agents, which can be appealing to small-business owners. But Allstate does have a relatively high number of consumer complaints.
Here’s what you need to know about getting commercial auto insurance from Allstate.
Allstate commercial auto insurance works similarly to other auto insurance policies. If you or an employee is driving one of your covered company vehicles, Allstate will pay a liability claim for damage to someone else’s property or person. If you have the appropriate coverage, Allstate will also pay for repairs to your vehicle.2
You can usually get a policy that covers your entire fleet, allowing you to manage all the vehicles you use for your business under one policy.
Your industry influences your commercial auto insurance policy. Allstate will base its coverage options and premiums on your industry and the associated business risk. For example, if you have a fleet of pickup trucks you use as part of your construction business, you might receive a different quote than a florist who has limited vehicles and only makes occasional deliveries with a car or minivan.
Review your liability limits as well. Commercial auto insurance is designed to protect your business and its assets. The cheapest policy often comes with lower liability coverage limits, and once you reach those, you’re responsible for costs. If you’re worried about being sued, consider your insurance needs and whether you should get a higher limit.
When considering your insurance needs, don’t forget to look for ways to reduce your costs. Your price depends on the coverage options you choose as well as your deductible amount. If you choose less coverage and a higher deductible, you might pay a lower premium. But you also might need to rely on your business reserves to handle costs related to your vehicles.
Allstate offers potential discounts for policyholders. But like other insurance companies, you might not get all the policy info online. You might need to talk to your agent about potential discounts.
Some available discount opportunities include:
Bundling a business owner’s policy with your commercial auto insurance
Adding anti-theft devices to your fleet of business vehicles
Signing up for an EZ pay plan to automatically pay your insurance premiums
Installing a telematics program to monitor your driving and your employees’ driving for safe driving discounts
Allstate doesn’t list pricing information on its website, so you need to contact an agent to get a quote to compare its premiums with other insurance companies. Consider getting insurance quotes from three to five insurance companies and evaluating other policy options before making your decision.
As you compare insurance policies, understanding how a company rates financially and in customer satisfaction can help you make a more informed decision. Financial strength can help you determine how likely the company is to afford to pay out claims.
Additionally, you can get a feel for a company based on the NAIC complaint index. This index compares customer complaints for similar companies so you can get an idea of how many complaints an insurer has.
In general, Allstate auto insurance includes the following coverages on business vehicles:
Note that not all coverage you might see with a personal auto policy is included with commercial coverage.
Depending on the state you live in, you might be able to get coverage for employee medical expenses unrelated to an accident, what’s inside your business vehicle, or coverage for an employer driving their personal car for business. Check whether you can get roadside assistance coverage as well.
While liability limits are often higher with a commercial auto insurance policy than an individual one, some items you expect to see with personal insurance policies aren’t included. You can see if items Allstate’s commercial policy doesn’t typically cover can be added to your policy or if you can obtain coverage through a business owner’s policy.
Allstate offers other types of insurance for business purposes. Small business general liability and commercial property policies are available. Additionally, Allstate offers a business owner’s policy that combines property and liability coverage into one policy that includes everything you might need to protect your small business.
You can also add on business policies that include workers’ compensation, business interruption, equipment breakdown, data compromise, and home-based business insurance.3
Allstate commercial insurance can be a good choice for small-business owners who want to build a relationship with a dedicated local agent and want to handle all their business insurance needs in one place. Here are some common questions if you’re still deciding.
Yes. Allstate is a legitimate commercial auto insurer. It meets requirements in many states. Additionally, it has a superior financial strength rating from AM Best, underscoring its strong financial position.
Allstate requires you to file claims by phone. While some insurance companies might offer full policy access on an app, including claims processing, Allstate requires you to at least start on the phone.
Once you start the process, you can track it online or through the mobile app. An adjuster will evaluate the damage. Once the review is completed, you can begin your repairs. Allstate will either reimburse you directly or it’ll send payment to the repair shop.
It varies. Depending on your industry, how many business vehicles you need to insure, and whether you have all the needed information available, you might be able to get a commercial auto policy the same day from Allstate.
If you need special coverage or are missing some information, it might take longer for the company to issue your policy.
Yes. It’s possible to get auto insurance for your specialty business vehicles. Check with an Allstate agent for specifics on whether your food truck, delivery van, or other company vehicle is included.
You can check with your local insurance agent or call 1 (833) 250-9900 Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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