Article: Allstate Escrow Concierge Service
Simplifying Billing and Policy Changes

We make the insurance escrow process simple by walking you through it and taking care of almost everything for you.

Whether you are a first-time homebuyer, buying a new home as an existing Allstate homeowner, transferring to Allstate from another insurer or are refinancing, we make sure you understand insurance escrow as an option and a process. (If you are purchasing a condominium, most lenders don't have the option to escrow your condo insurance because they consider insuring a condo to be an option but not a requirement.)

We make sure you know that:

• Mortgage lenders require you to carry an appropriate level of coverage on your home. (This is not always a requirement if you own a condo.)
• Homeowners insurance is always paid in advance, typically an entire year at a time.
• Your first year's premium must be paid to us by you before closing.
• We offer to communicate with your lender on your behalf to ensure that all the information and coverages meet the lender's requirements so there are no surprises at closing.
• Going forward, you have the option to pay your homeowner premium directly to us, or to pay it through an escrow account with your lender, spreading an annual premium out over the monthly mortgage payments.
• If you choose to have your lender escrow your insurance premiums, we will bill your mortgage company for your annual renewal premiums, and your lender will pay us directly out of your escrow account when the annual premium comes due.

Switching Your Insurance Carrier to Allstate

If you are a homeowner with an existing insurance escrow, or you are purchasing a new home and transferring to Allstate from another insurer, we take care of the switching process for you. We send evidence of your new Allstate insurance and an invoice for the premium to your lender. The lender will then instruct your current insurance carrier to send a refund back to them for any unused premium, crediting your account with the refund. You'll only need to make up the difference between the refund and the premium before closing.

Refinancing

If you are refinancing with a new or current lender, simply let us know who the lender is and the account number for your new loan. We will update your policy to reflect the proper mortgage (your refinancing lender) and the new account number for that mortgage loan.