- Strong presence in the state of Florida
- Backed by Allstate
- A good number of discounts offered
- Very poor customer service and claims service
- Lack of website
- Not the best financial strength
- Only available in Florida
Castle Key Insurance is the name that Allstate operates under when it comes to selling home insurance in the state of Florida. It may be a little confusing for people to understand at first how the operation works, but essentially Castle Key is Allstate insurance.
If homeowners want to learn more about what Castle Key insurance offers or any other questions they may have, they could first start on the Allstate website, before talking to a local agent. Even though it is a different name it is still the same company and may be a good option for coverage for residents in the state of Florida.
Where does Castle Key offer homeowners insurance coverage?
Castle Key only offers home insurance coverage to residents of one state, Florida. Castle Key does have a robust presence in the state of Florida. While Castle Key only offers coverage in one state, the company is a subsidiary of Allstate Insurance which serves all 50 states.
Castle Key homeowners insurance coverages
Castle Key, like many home insurers, offers standard HO-3 homeowners insurance policies along with a number of optional additional coverages.
Their standard HO-3 policies include coverage for:
- Dwelling: coverage for repairs or rebuilding of the structure of the home or any attached structures.
- Other structures: coverage for repairs or rebuilding of any structures on the property not attached to the home.
- Personal property: coverage for repairs or replacement of personal belongings such as furniture or electronics.
- Loss of use: coverage for additional living expenses that the homeowner may incur while the home is being repaired or rebuilt to make it habitable again.
- Personal liability: coverage for any lawsuits that might come against the homeowner because of injuries or damages to others where the homeowner is found to be at fault.
- Medical payments to others: coverage for any medical bills that may come about due to injuries that may occur to a guest on the property no matter who is found to be at fault.
Coverage limits
Unfortunately, we were unable to find coverage limits for a standard policy with Castle Key. Coverage limits may vary depending on location and the replacement cost value of the home. Talk with a Castle Key agent to learn more about the coverage limits their policies may have.
Additional coverages offered
There are numerous optional additional coverages offered by Castle Key Insurance including:
- Water backup: This protects a homeowner from damages due to pipes being backed up and ultimately flooding the home.
- “HostAdvantage”: This extends protection for homeowners who rent out their homes on sites like Airbnb for theft or damages that may occur when being rented out.
- Sports equipment: This provides coverage for those with a lot of valuable sports equipment in their home.
- High-value items: This increases the coverage limit for high-value personal belongings.
- Musical instruments: This provides coverage for expensive musical instruments that may be damaged or destroyed.
- Identity theft: This provides reimbursement for expenses related to recovering one’s identity.
- Data recovery: This provides reimbursement for expenses related to recovering electronic data that may have been on a stolen or damaged device.
- Landscaping: Tis provides reimbursement for landscaping expenses after damage caused by a covered peril.
- “Green” improvements: This provides extra reimbursement to repair or replace energy-efficient appliances and upgrades to the home.
- Business property: this provides protection to equipment that may be used in a home-based business.
Not all additional coverage options may be available to each individual homeowner. Check with a local Castle Key insurance agent to determine what coverage options may be available to you.
Other policies offered
Castle Key also offers a few other home-related insurance protections to individuals. These other coverages include:
- Flood insurance: this provides protection against flooding that may occur. It is offered through the National Flood Insurance Program and is an important insurance for residents of the state of Florida to consider.
- Personal umbrella insurance: This provides higher personal liability protection limits to further protect a homeowner for lawsuits that may arise.
- Renters insurance: this provides protection for a renter’s personal belongings.
- Landlord insurance: this provides protection in much the same as a standard home insurance policy, but is designed to protect the owner of a rental property.
- Condo insurance: this provides protection that is similar to a standard policy, but is specifically designed to protect the owner of a condo unit.
- Mobile home insurance: this provides protection for one’s home on wheels and the unique risk that some may face in a mobile home.
Cost of Castle Key homeowners insurance policy
Based on what we could find from Allstate and from customer reviews, it seems as though Castle Key (and Allstate) are on the more expensive end of the spectrum for a standard home insurance policy. The best we could find is that a policy with Castle Key may be slightly above the national average of $1,900 per year. There are numerous factors that go into determining the cost for any one homeowner. Talk with a Castle Key agent to get a quote and see what the cost may be for you.
Discounts available
Castle Key does offer a handful of discounts to reduce the cost of a home insurance policy with them. These discounts include:
- New roof: this is a discount for those with new roofs.
- Early signing: this is a discount for those that sign a new policy before their old one expires.
- Protective devices: this is a discount for those who install protective devices such as a security system.
- Responsible payer: this is a discount for those who have a clean, good payment history.
- Bundling: this is a discount for those who buy both home and auto or some other policy with Castel Key.
- New home: This is a discount for those who have purchased new homes.
- Claims-free: this is a discount for those who have not filed any claims.
- Welcome/loyalty: this is a discount for those who switch to Castle Key and stay with Castle Key for a long period of time.
It is important to keep in mind that not all of the above discounts may be available to everyone, nor in every location that Castle Key serves.
Claims process
Customer reviews of the claims process state that the company performs poorly when it comes to paying claims. Customers state that they are quite frustrated with the lack of helpfulness, the confusion of the process, and the company low-balling claims offers. Most of the claims reviews are negative with only a handful that are positive.
Customer experience
The overall customer experience does not look to be good at all with Castle Key. There are many negative reviews of the company and its customer service. A vast majority of the reviews give the company one star. This is not a good sign for homeowners looking for coverage.
On top of that, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) 2022 Complaint index, Castle Key is well above the expected number of complaints for a company of their size. This means that the company is receiving a large swathe of complaints from year to year. Another sign that the company is not serving its customers well.
Financial strength
Castle Key has a rating of B+ from AM Best. This is an ok financial rating. A B+ rating shows that the company has relatively good financial health and could meet a number of financial obligations, but it may struggle in really bad times or if too many claims were filed at once. This is something to keep in mind for homeowners looking for coverage.
Conclusion
Castle Key is not a highly rated company when it comes to home insurance. The company has many negative reviews stating how poor the customer service is and the frustration they have with the claims process with the company.
Castle Key is a part of Allstate insurance that sells insurance in only the state of Florida. This can pose some unique risks, especially since Florida is already one of the riskier states in the country to insure due to the extreme weather that occurs.
Overall, the company is not great. The prices are higher than average and the financial rating, while ok, is not great to see by any means. The company does not provide a lot of confidence to potential policyholders that the company will take care of them and do right by them. The company does offer some great discounts and numerous additional coverages, which is appealing. Florida residents may want to consider Castle Key, but there should be other companies that residents consider as well to compare with.
