Allstate Insurance: Paul Forbes

I rarely rate any biz or answer any survey. Paul and team are very professional at the same time very personal to explain the details of insurance needs, which is not easy. His office is staffed by some very good people and very responsive. I am with Allstate more than 15 years and half of that with Paul mainly due to him and his staff.

When I bought my house, my Realtor suggested Paul Forbes for home insurance. I went ahead and did my car insurance through them at the same time as well. I’ve had one claim on my car insurance and the process was very easy. Even better, my rates didn’t go up. I did a policy review recently, and Victoria was very professional and helpful. She identified some savings on my car insurance policy and didn’t try to bump me up to coverage I don’t need. All in all, very pleased with the service.

Normally I wouldn’t review an insurance agency. As far as anyone’s concerned, they’re just another necessary evil.
But I need to give credit where it’s due.
My relationship with Paul Forbes and Allstate here in Reston starts off way back in 2003 when I first moved up to the DC area.
My dad and I arrived here with my car, and he wanted to make sure I was all set with car registration and being legit in the eyes of VDOT. One of the things we needed was car insurance. I looked online, compared prices with progressive, geico. I got some quick quotes from them, but I still didn’t have a printer or anything set up yet, so those wouldn’t work anyway.
I start flipping through the phone book and start calling random insurance agencies in the area. I came upon Allstate (thank goodness they’re not Zstate, otherwise, I wouldn’t have found them.) I figured, who the heck is going to be around to answer my phone call to get me set up with insurance, late on a Friday afternoon (I swear, it must have been like 6 pm or something). Paul picked up the phone, gave me a quick quote, and told me to just drop on by his office. The price he gave me was surprisingly CHEAPER than the discount insurers (I guess GEICO keeps Warren Buffett rich by overcharging for insuring young 23 yr old males). I dropped by his office, exchanged pleasantries, filled out paperwork, and was sent off my way.
A few years later, I moved to some apartment that required renter’s insurance. I give Paul a call, and he was able to modify my policy to give me better automotive coverage, and hook me up with renter’s insurance. The combo deal only cost a few bucks more, but it was a negligible amount.
I got a motorcycle later, and he was able to insure that for cheaper than progressive or geico. Turns out having a motorcycle without a garage in the WMA means it’s not going to be cheap to insure.
I eventually moved from VA, but kept my insurance until my registration expired. VA insurance is dirt cheap compared to California or Texas.
Fast forward to today, about 6 years later-​2010. I’m living in NYC, and titled the car over to my parents. I need to cancel my policy, and I’m sending Paul an e-​mail through their allstate portal at 9 PM at night. Shortly after, I get an e-​mail from him saying that it’s done and taken care of. Wtf? That’s insane. I got service outside of business hours! If I had known it was this easy, I would have done it sooner!