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J.J. Starr is an insurance and personal finance expert who has been writing for Compare.com since 2022. Her work has been published across the web, appearing on sites such as Insurify.
Prior to writing for Compare.com, J.J. was a registered banker and life insurance consultant, holding a Series 6, FINRA, and life insurance license. She also earned a master’s degree in writing from New York University.
J.J. has a passion for helping people save money by explaining complex topics like car insurance in a way that is simple and easy to understand.
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Lequita Westbrooks is an insurance editor at Compare.com. Her writing and editing experiences span several industries, including insurance, personal finance, higher education, and more. She excels at explaining complex topics like auto insurance in simple, easy-to-understand language and is passionate about helping readers save money. Lequita graduated from the University of South Florida, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in English.
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While we make money through partnerships with some of the brands we discuss in our articles, our editorial team operates 100% independently, and these partners never influence or affect the topics, reviews, ratings, or recommendations we provide. We never guarantee favorable reviews or mentions in exchange for compensation from any brands or partners, and we uphold strict editorial standards to ensure our content is always independent, truthful, and unbiased.
Founded | 1953 |
|---|---|
| Available in | Illinois |
| Owned by | American Alliance Holding Company, Inc. |
| Mobile app | None |
| Customer service | 1 (847) 916-3200 |
| Claims | 1 (847) 916-3200 |
| Primary competitors | The General, National General, SafeAuto |
American Alliance Casualty Company is a small regional insurer operating out of Chicago. It writes policies only within the state of Illinois and specializes in high-risk car insurance.
Prices are potentially high based on customer reviews (average rate data is currently unavailable) — but the company offers a handful of discounts like defensive driver, multi-car, prior coverage, renewal, and non-owners. But unfortunately, the value of those discounts isn’t listed on the website.
In fact, the website lacks the typical information and functionality you might expect in 2024. The reason? American Alliance operates as an underwriter but not an agent — that means you can only buy policies through a third party, not American Alliance itself.
If you’re interested in pursuing American Alliance for your next car insurance policy, we’ve broken down everything you need to know in the sections below.
American Alliance offers policies to many high-risk drivers in Illinois, so some customers will get a good rate from the insurer. But the company has issues with customer service, especially when it comes to claims handling.
American Alliance specializes in high-risk policies, so drivers who have trouble getting insured elsewhere may find much-needed coverage through American Alliance. The company also offers an easy-to-use online claims form for 24/7 claims service.
Customer reviews are fairly negative across multiple online review sites. Many customers — and people who have been in a collision with American Alliance customers — describe a frustrating and long claims process.
Unfortunately, general customer feedback skews heavily negative for this ultra-regional insurer. Every site in which the company has public reviews — the Better Business Bureau (BBB), Google, and Yelp — shows scores under two stars.
Still, I found a small handful of positive reviews, mostly on Yelp. In these reviews — like the one below — the customer names a specific American Alliance representative who was helpful during their claims process.
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However, most of the negative reviews were about the claims process and how difficult it was to get in contact with anyone at the company. Take the review below, where the customer claims to have spent hours on the phone every time they called — and it still doesn’t appear they have their issues resolved.
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The customer below explains a similar experience experience: long wait times, difficulty understanding business policies, and little help during the claims process.
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American Alliance doesn’t advertise its coverage options, but since it operates in Illinois and specializes in high-risk coverage, it offers at least the following.
Bodily injury liability: Covers injuries to others from an accident you cause.
Property damage liability: Pays for damage to other people’s property in an accident in which you’re at fault.
SR-22 coverage: The company files an SR-22 certificate for people who must show that they have the certificate minimum required liability insurance mandated by the state.
Uninsured/underinsured motorist: Covers you if you’re hit by a driver without insurance or who lacks enough coverage.
Judging by customer reviews mentioning full-coverage policies, the company also offers:
Comprehensive coverage: Pays for damages from non-collision events such as hailstorm damage.
Collision coverage: Pays for damage to your vehicle in an at-fault accident.
The insurer may also offer medical payments or uninsured property damage coverage, as these are standard options in Illinois. But there’s no indication that these options are available through American Alliance.
Getting a quote with American Alliance isn’t possible online or even through the company itself. You’ll need to work with an outside agency to get a quote because the company only acts as a producer, meaning it only writes the policies.
You have several options if you’re looking to get a quote from American Alliance, but the company doesn’t make this clear on its website. Prospective buyers should contact United Auto Insurance, the preferred producer, to get a quote. The company’s phone number is (773) 202-5000.
Here’s one of the strangest things I discovered during this review process: American Alliance doesn’t clarify how to get a quote. When I went to the home page, there were no instructions whatsoever. Most insurance companies showcase their quote process front and center, but that doesn’t seem to be the case with American Alliance.
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So, I went to the “Our Services” tab in the upper menu and clicked “Online Policy and Claim System,” but that led me to a dead end.
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So, I called the company to see if I could get an auto insurance quote over the phone. However, the automated system also had no obvious option for getting a quote, so I tried other options. I spent nearly 10 minutes on hold only to discover I couldn’t get a quote from the company directly.
The person I spoke to at American Alliance transferred me to its preferred agency, United Auto Insurance. I spent another three minutes on hold before finally speaking to an agent.
The agent I spoke to was a bit gruff and abrasive — they spoke quickly and seemed potentially annoyed with my phone call. I thought I had been transferred to the wrong department, but I wasn’t — this was the quote line.
Overall, the quoting process was cumbersome, confusing, and even a little rude — not quite what you’d expect from an insurance company in 2023.
When I called customer service, I had a bad experience overall. I called at 1 p.m. ET on a Wednesday, and, initially, I called to see if I could get a quote over the phone. I selected the “questions about your policy” option and waited on hold for more than eight minutes.
When I called the payments and billing line, I waited on hold for three minutes, and then my call was suddenly disconnected.
That said, my experience is anecdotal, so I decided to see what other customers have to say about their experience with American Alliance’s customer service.
I found a few positive reviews of American Alliance’s customer service online — like the review below — where the customer contacted the claims department (option No. 1 in the automated system). It appears they got much faster service than I did.
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But sadly, most of the reviews I found were negative — several even use the phrase “worst insurance company” in the first sentence (as in the review below). The main culprits (besides claims handling) are long wait times and general obstacles in getting in touch with an agent or claims adjuster.
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I’ll also note that though the company responds to many complaints filed with the BBB, most customers don’t respond by closing the complaint.
Overall, the company’s online reputation is severely lacking.
To file a claim 24/7, go to the American Alliance website and either click the “Submit a Claim” button on the menu at the top or click the “Go” button next to “Submit a Claim” at the bottom right of the page. That brings you to a five-step form where you’ll provide information about the traffic accident and police report.
Once you submit your claim, you’ll be assigned a claims agent to walk you through the rest of the claims process. This is the primary way to submit your claim.
But what do customers think of the process? The reviews aren’t great. The vast majority of negative reviews talk about difficulties with the adjuster, body shop, and getting their payout — and a few even mention talking to an attorney.
For example, the customer below claims to have waited four months for their payout and still has nothing.
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Several of the reviews I found were from people hit by drivers insured by American Alliance. These reviewers, like the one below, talk about how difficult it is to contact the company and receive their payout.
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But at least one person — the reviewer below — didn’t have any issues with the claims process, which they said was resolved in three weeks.
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As a small insurance company, American Alliances specializes in personal high-risk car insurance policies, including SR-22 insurance coverage. But that’s all it offers. The company hasn’t indicated any plans to expand its offerings in the future.
American Alliance Casualty Company can be a great fit for high-risk drivers in the Chicago area. The company specializes in policies for people who have trouble finding affordable car insurance due to their car accident, tickets, credit score, or insurance history. It also frequently offers coverage to drivers who may struggle to find it elsewhere — such as those who have recently been dropped by their insurer because of too many claims or a recent incident.
But the company lags behind competitors technologically, with a subpar website and nonexistent mobile app. Customer reviews also indicate challenges with customer service and claims handling. So be sure to compare your insurance options carefully when making this important decision.
Little is known about American Alliance, so prospective customers rightly have questions about the company. Below are answers to the most commonly asked questions about the company.
While American Alliance offers affordable rates to some — especially high-risk drivers — it won’t be the cheapest for everyone. The best way to know your cheapest option is by comparing quotes from multiple car insurance companies first.
No. American Alliance doesn’t provide auto and home insurance bundling because it doesn’t offer home insurance. Car insurance is the only property casualty insurance the company currently offers.
Though American Alliance has the ability to pay claims, the overwhelming majority of customer reviews complained about repayment. Most of the complaints against the company on the BBB website involved claims ranging from denied claims to underpayment.
Judging by customer reviews, American Alliance may be difficult to deal with. Though claims service is available 24/7, customer service is limited to business hours, which aren’t published on the website. You can submit a form for a callback, but the company doesn’t provide online chat.
Methodology
Data scientists at Compare.com analyzed more than 50 million real-time auto insurance rates from more than 75 partner insurance providers in order to compile the quotes and statistics seen in this article. Compare.com’s auto insurance data includes coverage analysis and details on drivers’ vehicles, driving records, insurance histories, and demographic information.
All the quotes listed in this article have been gathered from a combination of real Compare.com quotes and external insurance rate data gathered in collaboration with Quadrant Information Services. Compare.com uses these observations to provide drivers with insight into how auto insurance companies determine their premiums.
Sources
Better Business Bureau, “Complaints, American Alliance Casualty Company,” Accessed December 7, 2023.
Google, “American Alliance,” Accessed December 7, 2023.
Illinois Department of Insurance, Auto Insurance Shopping Guide, Accessed December 7, 2023.
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J.J. Starr is an insurance and personal finance expert who has been writing for Compare.com since 2022. Her work has been published across the web, appearing on sites such as Insurify.
Prior to writing for Compare.com, J.J. was a registered banker and life insurance consultant, holding a Series 6, FINRA, and life insurance license. She also earned a master’s degree in writing from New York University.
J.J. has a passion for helping people save money by explaining complex topics like car insurance in a way that is simple and easy to understand.
Lequita Westbrooks is an insurance editor at Compare.com. Her writing and editing experiences span several industries, including insurance, personal finance, higher education, and more. She excels at explaining complex topics like auto insurance in simple, easy-to-understand language and is passionate about helping readers save money. Lequita graduated from the University of South Florida, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in English.
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