Allstate Life Insurance Review: Pros & Cons, Ratings & More

Allstate added life insurance to its lineup of insurance products in 1957, just a few years after the company adopted their famous "Good Hands" slogan and logo. Although Allstate ranks among the very top of the list of the country's largest carriers on the property and casualty side of business, its life insurance sales are much more modest. Filings with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners don't even rank Allstate Life within the top 25 largest carriers. This hasn't, however, prevented the company from earning ratings of "Better than Most" across the board in the 2015 J.D. Power Household Life Insurance study.

• Ratings of Allstate Life Insurance
• Pros and Cons of Allstate Life Insurance
• Allstate Life Insurance Policy Details
• How to Make a Life Insurance Claim with Allstate Insurance
• How to Contact Allstate Life Insurance

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Almost every major life insurance company offers term, whole and universal life policies, and Allstate is no exception. Unlike some companies, however, Allstate features variable universal products. Their term life policies, while very limited, can also be customized to a degree not often seen from a life insurance carrier.

Allstate offers a very limited Basic Term Life policy that is set at 15 years and offers coverage levels of $50,000, $100,000 or $150,000. No medical exam is required, but there is a health questionnaire to fill out. A more flexible option is the Allstate TrueFit Term Life Insurance policy. It can allow you to use a single policy to layer your coverages, thereby matching your needs over different timespans in a way that would normally only be possible by purchasing multiple term policies of different lengths and different amounts. The TrueFit policy can also be set at any specific number of years between 10 and 30, instead of in the more traditional increments of five or 10.

Term policies are not available to anyone under age 18, and they have riders available such as guaranteed insurability for conversion to a whole policy, accelerated death benefits in the case that a policyholder is chronically ill, and a waiver of premium rider that protects the policy in certain situations when the policyholder can no longer afford the premium.

With Allstate's Whole Life Insurance policies, a policyholder will have a permanent policy, as with a universal policy. However, the premium remains the same and is not adjustable. Level premium payments, the accumulation of cash value and the death benefit are all guaranteed, as long as the policy is in force. Allstate offers an option called the Whole Life Advantage, in which excess credits are put back into the policy, a feature that can cause the policy to build cash value at a quicker rate.

The Allstate Universal Life policies resemble the Allstate Whole Life policies in that they can build cash value over time, but the plans and payments can be adjusted as needed. The Variable version of the Universal policy allows investment of the cash value in options, and while that can provide a higher return, it also has more financial risk.

Allstate doesn't have an online reporting function for death benefit claims. Instead, it advises you to first get a copy of the policyholder's death certificate and life insurance policy, and then to file the claim in person with an agent. You can also call Allstate's toll-free number to file and track your claim by phone.