Allstate editorial guidelines

Allstate has helped people pick themselves back up after difficult moments for almost 100 years. That encompasses a long history of innovating protection and affordability – as well as improving peoples’ lives in actionable ways.

For instance:

• We were the first to tailor rates by mileage, age and vehicle usage.
• In the 1950s and ‘60s, we provided driver training course scholarships for high school and college students.
• In 1968, we worked with state legislators to make seat belts mandatory.
• During the pandemic, we gave nearly $1 billion back to auto customers during COVID as part of our Shelter-In-Place Payback program.

Keeping our customers and communities safer – be it through our products or various community initiatives – has been our mission since day one. But another powerful tool we employ is our editorial resources. Our extensive library of how-tos, tips and tricks and insurance 101 articles are aimed at helping you get a better grasp on how coverage works and how certain protections may be right – or, hey, even not right – for you, depending on your situation.

The team

The Allstate content strategy team comprises content writers, content strategists, proofreaders and visual designers. All of whom have extensive insurance knowledge across a multitude of products. That knowledge is reinforced by the enlisted help of Allstate product owners and legal team to assure accuracy and legal compliance.

The content

Our content is (not surprisingly) insurance focused. Articles run the gamut of auto coverage overviews, tips on shopping for home insurance, how the claims process works – and more. In addition to auto and home, we cover a wide variety of insurance types – life, wedding, pet and small business insurance, as well as products like identity theft protection, just to name a few.

We also touch on topics related to, but not directly about, insurance. That includes, among many, guides for first-time homebuyers, tips on how to change windshield wipers and a breakdown on vehicle makes and models.

As an industry leader, we take pride in “knowing our stuff” when it comes to all things insurance. Our articles are rigorously fact-checked by experts and submitted through a comprehensive legal approval process to ensure our content is unequivocally accurate and helpful.

Here are the three main steps we have with our content:

1. Develop a concept

Our content strategy team conducts research into common insurance questions. Topics aren’t plucked from the ether, either. We keep our ears to the ground to identify insurance-industry rumblings that leave folks scratching their heads the most. That might look like mulling through questions we get frequently from customers, doing market research or identifying common searches to find out what leaves people boggled the most when it comes to coverage, buying a car, buying a home, comparing life insurance policies and so on and so forth.

Once we’ve scouted out a topic, our knowledgeable editorial team begins drafting the article. This includes researching scholarly and reputable sources, in addition to writing, editing and incessant finetuning. The goal is to ensure that the language is clear and concise – almost as if we were explaining, say, insurance coverages to a friend. From there, the draft moves on to the fact-checking phase.

2. Consult the experts

Our subject matter experts are product owners who have first-hand experience in creating, managing and developing all of Allstate’s products. In other words: they are the real deal. Allstate’s editorial team collaborates with these experts when drafting the article, too, but this is the stage where said experts go through the rough draft with a fine-tooth comb to make sure the material is pristine in the way of total accuracy.

The insurance industry is necessarily regulated by state departments of insurance. The responsibility of Allstate’s legal team is to ensure that the content we push out into the world doesn’t violate any advertising, disclosure or consumer protection laws. The legal team likewise ensures that the article complies with Allstate’s own policies and avoids making claims that the company can’t back up.

3. Maintain content quality

Because insurance isn’t a static industry, information, state laws, insurance products and markets are always in flux. Allstate frequently audits content to make sure it’s up to date and reflects any changes in the landscape.

Similarly, external sources that articles link to inevitably become outdated as well – for example, sources that are now defunct, have outdated statistics or reference laws no longer in effect. Moreover, as Allstate evolves its products, so too do we ensure the information provided aligns with their enhanced offerings.

After all, we’re not writing each article in a vacuum – we are building a body of interconnected information, which requires keeping the lifeblood of that ecosystem pumping at a healthy rate.

Covering the full spectrum of insurance-focused or -related topics is all a part of Allstate’s holistic approach to helping customers live a life well protected. But it goes beyond just answering questions or defining coverages. It is about meeting people where they are – whether they’re buying their child their first car, researching ways to protect their online footprint or simply curious about how protection fits into everyday life.

Ever since we opened our first office in 1931, we’ve taken pride in being a renowned resource, guiding customers and communities through life’s uncertainties with confidence, clarity and care. Because when you’re informed, you’re empowered – and that’s the best protection there is.