Allstate vs Farmers Insurance

Verdict

Allstate and Farmers Insurance are close cousins in how they sell: exclusive agents who carry only their own company, plus online and phone quotes. Each also has a sister channel for independent agents, National General for Allstate and Foremost for Farmers, though Foremost writes mobile home, landlord and other specialty dwellings rather than standard homes. Allstate is the bigger home insurer, #2 by 2025 NAIC homeowners premiums ($17.77 billion, 9.40%) against Farmers at #5 ($10.31 billion, 5.46%). Ownership is the structural difference. Allstate is a publicly traded stock company (NYSE: ALL). Farmers is a trade name for three policyholder-owned reciprocal exchanges managed by Farmers Group, Inc., a Zurich Insurance Group subsidiary.

The state-by-state picture is more useful than the national one. In California, Allstate has written no new homeowners policies since 2022 and filed on August 31, 2026 to begin reopening; the state said on September 18 it was not yet open. Farmers removed its cap on new California homeowners policies on November 21, 2025 and ranked second in the state for 2025 ($2.53 billion, 14.30%). In Florida the positions reverse. Allstate homes are written by Castle Key, rated B (Fair) by AM Best in September 2026, while Farmers discontinued Farmers-branded home policies there in 2023.

On the policy, Allstate's House & Home form uses a roof payment schedule in many states, so wind and hail damage to an older roof is paid by age and material, and its loyalty features include Claim RateGuard and Deductible Rewards. Farmers offers guaranteed replacement cost as an option (availability varies by state), along with matching and residence glass coverage; we did not find a roof schedule described on its coverage pages, so ask. Financial strength: AM Best rated Allstate A+ (Superior), affirmed September 2, 2026. AM Best affirmed the Farmers exchanges at A (Excellent), stable outlook, on August 1, 2025. Neither was named among the top three homeowners insurers in J.D. Power's 2025 or 2026 home insurance studies.

Choose Allstate if

• You live outside California and Florida and want an exclusive agent backed by an A+ (Superior) group.
• You want claim-free rewards: a 5% Claim-Free Bonus at renewal, and Deductible Rewards that cut the deductible up to $500.
• You are in the East or Southeast, where Farmers is a smaller player and Allstate was among the 10 largest home insurers in 46 states and the District of Columbia.
• You would like the choice of an Allstate agent or, through National General, an independent agent.

Choose Farmers if

• You live in California and are applying for a new policy from a company that has lifted its cap, or you live in the Mountain West or Northwest, where it ranks second or third in several states.
• You want guaranteed replacement cost, matching coverage or residence glass as options.
• Your goal is a large home-auto bundle: Farmers' California discount rises to 22% from 15% on its Smart Plan Home and Next Generation Home policies from September 15, 2026.
• You prefer a policyholder-owned exchange to a stock company.

Key differences

Before you decide

Quote the same Coverage A, deductibles and endorsements from both, and ask each agent whether new homeowners business is open at your address. Read the roof settlement terms side by side; Roof payment schedules and ACV roof endorsements shows how a schedule changes a hail claim. extended and guaranteed replacement cost coverage explains what a guarantee buys, how to compare homeowners insurance quotes covers the quote comparison, and captive agents, independent agents and direct insurers covers why two exclusive agents mean two separate shopping trips.