Allied

Bringing a brand into the limelight, from under a bigger umbrella.

Overview

Allied was founded in Des Moines, IA in 1929 by Harold Evans as an automobile insurance company. The company expanded into personal property, casualty, business, and farm/ranch insurance. The company merged with Nationwide Insurance in 1998 and took over their independent agent services. They still maintain their brand despite Nationwide's recent push to bring all of its companies under the Nationwide umbrella. Allied, like some of Nationwide's other subsidiaries operates solely through independent local agents and offers several products including automobile, home, and life insurance. Allied is also one of the largest insurers of agribusiness in the United States. While they do business as Allied, they advertise themselves as a Nationwide company giving them a high level of consumer confidence. Allied has some of the lowest rates in the country and are a good fit for newer drivers. They operate in 35 states and offer great customization options for their policies.

Allied Pros and Cons

Pros

• In person support in 35 states through local agents.
• Highly customized policy plans.
• Bundling options available across product lines.
• Transparent pricing and flexible billing options available.

Cons

• Allied provide timing or what to expect on claims.
• Their online presence is weak and quotes are only available through agents.
• Allied has a mobile app but it doesn't allow customers to manage their account.
• Customer reviews are mixed so customer experience varies widely from agent to agent.

Allied Coverage

Allied is known for offering highly customizable plans and in-depth in person service through independent agents. The options listed below are unique to Allied and represent some of the customization available.

• Loss of Use Coverage applies not only to rental cars but also to public transportation and cabs as well.
• Accident and Minor Violation Forgiveness allows one at fault accident or minor traffic violation without a rate increase.
• Good As New pays the cost of car replacement if your vehicle has been totaled or stolen for up to three years.
• GAP Coverage pays for the gap between your lease or loan and the actual cash value, or ACV, of the vehicle if it is lost or stolen.
• Vanishing Deductibles is a safe driving add-on decreasing your deductible by $100 per year for safe driving.
• Total Loss Deductible Waiver will cover the deductible for your vehicle if it's totaled.
• Roadside Assistance is available should your car break down and offers two levels of coverage.
• Allied Extra is coverage that covers both your house and vehicle, offers some roadside assistance services, as well as a single deductible for both house and auto.
• Powersports Insurance covers motorcycle, boat, RV, ATV, and snowmobile insurance as an add-on.

This is only a small sampling of their packages and add-ons and as no information on home, business, life, and other personal products offered through Allied insurance. They have the usual suspects in terms of auto insurance including:

Standard Coverage Offered

• Liability
• Comprehensive
• Collision
• Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists
• Property Damage
• Bodily Injury
• Medical Payments

Car Insurance Rates

Allied offers six and twelve-month policies through independent agents across the US and their rates may not always be the lowest but they are considerably lower than some of their competitors due to Nationwide's financial backing. Breakdown of average pricing is difficult since Allied does all their business through local agents. There was breakdown of Allied pricing versus its closest competitors. Allied was listed six months minimal coverage for a 35-year-old man without an accident as $738. The same policy for a 50-year-old couple with a 16-year-old with 2 cars was listed at $1,236. USAA was cheaper for a 65-year-old couple with 1 car. That illustrates the importance of checking with multiple companies before making a decision about the best price and policy as a consumer.

Car Insurance Discounts

Allied offers many different discounts as well as options for bundling services. I've listed a few below but there are likely several more depending on individual agents and states.

• Multipolicy/Bundle Discount is just as it says on the tin. Allied offers bundle discounts for home, life, and auto insurance as well as other services offered by the company.
• Multivehicle Discount is available for those with more than one car. Allied also has options and policies for other vehicles such as motorcycles, boats, and RVs.
• New Vehicle Discount insures customers new purchases
• Accident Free Discount is a common discount for good driving. Each year customers go without an accident is given a discount.
• Good Student Discount for students who maintain a B average or higher.
• Prior Carrier Discount will give a discount for switching to Allied as their provider.
• Farm Bureau Discount is available in California, Delaware, Maryland, Ohio, and Pennsylvania if customers are members of the Farm Bureau in affiliated states.

Allied Automotible Insurance Vs. Competitors

Allied operates in 35 states across the US and has competitive prices for coverage. They have the financial advantage of being around for almost a century as well as the financial backing of Nationwide Insurance Group but still there is competition that offer cheap rates and excellent service. Below we'll discuss how those companies measure up against Allied.

Allied Vs AAA: Allied quickly overshadowed AAA on price especially for younger drivers or those with accidents or moving violations. Individuals with poor credit (below 580) pay $6,569 annually where Allied customers only paid $1,483, teen drivers ranged between $10,256 against $3,526, and a driver with a DUI for the same coverage would pay $5,530 versus 2,708 for the same policy. AAA had far more discounts and a much more comprehensive road side service than Allied provides. Allied also offered significantly more options in terms of coverage where AAA could quote you for other kinds of insurance but it would be through a third-party provider. Overall AAA had some advantages over Allied, but their versatility and low rates make them the more economical choice for sure.

Allied Vs Travelers: Both companies have been around for a very long time. Travelers was founded in 1864 while allied was founded in 1929 and both are trusted names over generations. Their services and rates are very similar but Travelers edges Allied out slightly on price. However, the price edge changed from state to state. Travelers doesn't operate in every state Allied operates in, but when they do compete in the same state they seemed to trade off on which was cheaper. Travelers' cheapest rate was in Maine ringing in at $89.17/month where Allied's cheapest rate was in Iowa at $107.95/month. Consequently, Allied beat Travelers price in Iowa ringing $33.73 more than Allied. Price aside Allied offers a few more options for customers in terms of available policies.