- Comprehensive coverage with many extras included.
- Perfect if you want to bundle auto and home policies.
- Some customers report affordable rates.
- Not available in every state.
- Complaints about claims processing and payouts.
- Expensive premiums are possible in some cases.
Since 1897, Encompass has been offering personal insurance to its clients. Despite various alterations within the company over the years, they still hold onto its fundamental principle of providing Protection and Security to its clients.
Allstate, a prominent name in the realm of household insurance, owns Encompass. With over 120 years in the industry, Encompass has Allstate to thank for its robust financial support. At present, Encompass operates in almost 40 U.S. states, employing more than 6,500 independent agents. These agents help policyholders to find an insurance policy that is able to suit their coverage needs and their budget.
In this review, we wanted to see if Encompass can keep up with Allstate’s competitive coverages and prices. Keep reading as we delve into a review of Encompass home insurance. We’ll see how their customers feel and just how financially stable they are in an industry made for giants.
Encompass homeowners insurance coverages
Encompass offers its homeowners insurance in various tiers of coverage. Each of these is designed to meet your needs in terms of individualized coverage, cost, and overall protection.
When buying homeowners insurance from Encompass, you will have to pick between 3 plans with different coverage levels: Elite, Deluxe, or Special. All three policies ensure coverage for your dwelling, other structures, and personal property, while providing homeowners with quite a few extra coverages that are not normally included in standard homeowners policies.
If you want to insure both your car and home with Encompass they offer a product called EncompassOne. This plan allows you to insure your car, home, and your valuable possessions under one policy. You get lower rates from bundling your auto and home policies together. With EncompassOne you also get to pick between Elite, Deluxe, or Special plans.
Generally speaking, Encompass provides homeowners with coverage and exclusive benefits that other providers may choose not to include. The features of their homeowners policies include:
- 200% property limits: Guarantees the replacement cost coverage equal to 200% of your home’s actual replacement value.
- Enhanced replacement cost: In the event of a covered loss that requires rebuilding your home at a cost exceeding the original insured amount, this coverage will cover the expenses.
- Water backup: Unforeseen water backup damage can lead to significant issues, resulting in the loss of personal belongings and jeopardizing the safety of your dwelling. This type of protection is easily incorporated into any of our other home policies.
- Covered losses: Ensures that you are protected from various types of losses that may occur in your home. It covers both the structure and contents, providing you with complete security against unforeseen risks that are impossible to anticipate.
- Increased building costs: When faced with rebuilding after a covered loss, you won’t have to worry about increased construction expenses caused by modifications and revisions in building regulations thanks to this protection.
- Mortgage rate protection: In case of a covered total loss that necessitates a new mortgage with higher rates, this protection plan will pay for the additional expenses, such as closing costs and mortgage acquisition fees, up to a maximum of $20,000.
- Personal injury protection: Homeowners coverage contains a crucial aspect known as personal injury protection, which serves as a safeguard in case of a lawsuit for libel or slander.
- Computer and data recovery: Safeguard your computing devices and data with comprehensive coverage that extends to hardware and software, ranging from tablets and laptops to desktop computers. This coverage also includes data recovery services.
- Jewelry and furs: In the event that your jewelry or fur is lost or stolen, replacement cost coverage is offered without the need for any additional riders or schedules. The amount of coverage you receive will depend on your individual policy.
Here’s what these tiers of coverage look like under EncompassOne:
| Coverage | Special | Deluxe | Elite |
| Property location limit | N/A | 200% of replacement value | 200% of replacement value |
| Loss of use | Up to 1 year without a specific dollar limit. | Up to 1 year without a specific dollar limit. | No specified time or dollar limit. |
| Water backup | Optional | Optional | Highest |
| HOA extension | $1,000 | $5,000 | $50,000 |
| Jewelry & fur | $1,500 | $5,000 | $10,000 |
| Medical payments | Included | Included | Automatically includes $10,000 in coverage. |
| Landscape & tree restoration | Included | Included | Included with the highest Coverage |
| Burglary or theft recovery | Included | Included | Included |
| Walk-away coverage | N/A | Included | Included |
| Mortgage rate protection | N/A | Included | Up to $20,000 is included |
| Lock replacement | N/A | N/A | Included |
| Fine art replacement | N/A | N/A | Included |
| Identity fraud | Optional | Optional | Up to $20,000 in coverage is included. |
| Personal injury protection | N/A | N/A | Included |
Encompass home insurance premiums
An online quote tool isn’t available, so we’re not able to calculate rates accordingly. It’s safe to assume their Special policy will cost you hundreds, maybe thousands, less than their Elite package. This may especially be the case considering their personal injury coverage isn’t offered until the highest tier of coverage. Some may find this coverage to be a necessity early on. \
To get a better understanding of their prices, we took to the internet for customer reviews. Many homeowners report that Encompass has affordable premiums, some even were able to find the cheapest rates with this insurer. Other homeowners admit that their rates are higher than others. Several policyholders mentioned that bundling home and auto insurance significantly lowered the premiums for both.
This insurer brags on its ability to provide other coverages right off the bat, unlike other insurance companies. For example, Jewelry and Furs coverage is almost always seen as an endorsement. Encompass provides this level of coverage even for their lowest tier package.
Encompass home insurance discounts
Encompass recognizes the importance of safeguarding your investments intelligently. As a result, they have savings opportunities for your home insurance plans.
These include the benefit of a claim-free discount that translates into cost-effective premiums for individuals who have maintained a claim-free record for their primary residence in the last five years. Additionally, Encompass offers a discount on homes that are less than twenty years old.
You can receive savings on primary residence rates by making updates to your home systems such as heating, cooling, plumbing, or roof in the last 10 years. You can also receive credit for safety devices like fire alarms, burglar alarms, and fire extinguishers.
Other homeowners may save money on home insurance if they have purchased a home less than 49 years old in the last 5 years.
Aside from these average angles for potential savings, customers can choose their EncompassOne policy as a means for a good deal. The more products you bundle, the more savings you receive.
Customer reviews
According to the NAIC (National Association of Insurance Commissioners), Encompass Property & Casualty didn’t receive any complaints in 2022 regarding their home insurance. Actually, all of their complaints were directed toward car insurance coverages and claims during this year.
Customer reviews are mixed when it comes to Encompass’s home insurance. As the story goes, customers of insurers that advocate for individual agents have a few caveats to keep in mind when it comes to service. If you get lucky to work with a good agent you are likely to have a positive experience.
Some customers revel in great customer service with agents that possess impressive industry knowledge. The other half of homeowners have a hard time getting anyone on the phone, let alone their agent.
Claims process
To file a claim with Encompass, you’ll need to call their disaster line at 1-800-588-7400. From there, Encompass outlines a fairly simple process of getting in contact with a team member, assessing the damage, and relinquishing a payout.
The NAIC may not have had any complaints on record for home insurance last year, but that didn’t stop their customers from taking to the internet.
Checking online reviews, we found that the customers are divided in their opinion about Encompass’s claims process. Some have left 5 and 4-star ratings while others have only given 1 or 2 stars. Most complaints are about denied claims and delayed claims processing and payouts. An adjuster who asserts that they have worked on hundreds of claims over 30 years says Encompass has the worst claims process they’ve ever seen. Many others recall having little to no support – some to the point where they were left roofless.
Financial ratings
Demotech has provided Allstate and Allstate affiliated companies with either an A” Prime or A’ Prime financial stability rating. So, it’s safe to say having Allstate at their back has allowed them to be seen favorably from a financial standpoint.
To further prove this theory, AM Best came through with superior A+ and aa ratings for financial stability and long-term issuer credit. Likewise, Weiss Ratings provides Encompass with a solid “C” for financial stability.
Overall, it seems Encompass offers fair financial security and is currently stable.
Final verdict
If you’re on the lookout for home insurance, we understand why you’d be curious about Encompass. Their biggest advocate is Allstate, an insurance celebrity known for great rates and careful coverage. On top of that, their insurance policies are, dare we say, encompassing.
The good news is, Encompass is a great insurer to do business with if you need home and auto insurance. This company is great with policy bundling and giving you everything you need in the same place.
The only caveat with this is: the more you stack on, the more it will cost. Some people don’t like to be told what coverage they can or can’t have based on a tiered system. If you want to have full control of your coverages, or if you prefer not to work with an individual agent, Encompass may not be the insurer for you.
