The second largest personal insurer in the United States after State Farm and the largest overall in terms of publicly held insurance companies, Allstate Auto Insurance carries a total equity of nearly 11 billion, granting them an A+ rating with AM Best. Currently the company is probably best known for their running ad campaign featuring character actor Dennis Haysbert delivering the catchphrase “Are You in Good Hands?” lending the company an image of trust and reliability in hard times.

A Brief History of Allstate Car Insurance
Allstate Insurance has a history dating back to April of 1931. The company began humbly enough over a bridge game between neighbors who were traveling on the same commuter train and got to talking about the idea of selling auto insurance by direct mail. A year later, Allstate Car Insurance was born when the two sold the idea to Sears-Roebuck, who already owned the Allstate name following a 1925 contest to name their new tire brand.

The company grew in giant steps with the opening of their first permanent sales office in a Sears store in Chicago, again with legislation passed in the mid-1950′s making auto insurance mandatory in all 50 states, and again and again throughout the 50′s and 60′s as the brand introduced Allstate vacuum cleaners, motor scooters and fire extinguishers. At one point there was even an Allstate branded automobile, but the sales flopped and the car, now a collector’s item, was pulled from the market.

In 1999, the modern era of Allstate began with the company consolidating their underwriting contracts into a single, uniform business model, focusing heavily on private passenger insurance policies, and developing a network of call centers to ensure that customers are always put in touch with the people they need to talk to.

Today you can find their headquarters at The Allstate Corporation 2775 Sanders Road in Northbrook, IL 60062, not so far from where the very first branch opened in Chicago all those years ago.

Insurance Policies Offered by Allstate Auto Insurance
Allstate Auto Insurance offer a wide range of policies from asset protection to homeowners insurance and boat coverage, but their core insurance products, the insurance policies that they launch their marketing campaigns on and that have made them one of the biggest insurance companies in the country, are their private passenger vehicle policies.

Covering off road vehicles, motorcycles, motor homes and recreational vehicles in addition to basic auto coverage, Allstate Insurance isn’t a bad place to start for people looking to attain personal auto insurance for any number of vehicles for private use.

They may not be the best choice for a cab driver, a commercial fisherman or anyone else who relies on their car for business reasons, but Allstate Car Insurance offer just about every insurance product a private vehicle owner could want.

Allstate Insurance Discounts
Many auto insurers, Allstate Insurance among them, offer full and robust insurance policies at a higher price in order to bring that price down with generous discounts so that individual drivers will pay based on a number of factors including what they can afford, what sort of coverage they need and whether or not the insurer is taking a big risk by covering them.

Allstate Auto Insurance offers all of the discounts that you’re used to getting from a reliable auto insurer. For starters, anybody with anti lock brakes and full airbags can expect a generous discount for keeping their car in good, safe working order. Anybody who has taken driving courses such as a defensive driving class can earn a discount, and safe drivers with clean records can earn a discount.

There are other, more specific discounts available as well such as student discounts, elderly driving course discounts and so on, but many of these are so specific that you will have to ask about them yourself when you make the call.

Currently, Allstate Car Insurance cover all 50 states, but not all policies are available in all states. Chances are that your personal insurance needs will be covered by an Allstate company or underwriter in your area, but call and ask before setting anything in stone.