Allstate Corp
The Allstate Corporation was incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware
on November'5, 1992 to serve as the holding company for Allstate Insurance Company.
Its business is conducted principally through Allstate Insurance Company, Allstate
Life Insurance Company and their affiliates (collectively, including The Allstate
Corporation, "Allstate"). Allstate is engaged in the personal property
and casualty insurance business and the life insurance, retirement and investment
products business. It conducts its business primarily in the United States and
Canada.
The Allstate Corporation is the largest publicly held personal lines insurer
in the United States. Widely known through the "Youre In Good Hands With
Allstate'" slogan, Allstate provides insurance products to more than 16'
million households and has approximately 12,900 exclusive agencies and exclusive
financial specialists in the United States and Canada. Allstate is the second-largest
personal property and casualty insurer in the United States on the basis of
2002 statutory premiums earned and the nations 13th-largest life insurance
business on the basis of 2002 ordinary life insurance in force and 19th on the
basis of 2002 statutory admitted assets.
Allstate has four business segments:
Allstate Protection
Allstate Financial
Discontinued Lines and Coverages
Corporate and Other
Our underwriting strategy for homeowners insurance is to target customers whose
risk of loss provides Allstate with the best opportunity for profitable growth.
This includes managing exposure on policies in geographic areas where the potential
loss from catastrophes exceeds acceptable levels.
Competition
The markets for personal private passenger auto and homeowners insurance are
highly competitive. The following charts provide the market shares of our principal
competitors in the U.S. by direct written premium for the year ended December'
31, 2002 (the most recent date such competitive information is available) according
to A. M. Best.
Private Passenger Auto Insurance
With regard to our personal life insurance, retirement, investment and supplemental
accident and health insurance products, we compete principally on the basis
of the scope of our distribution systems, the breadth of our product offerings,
the recognition of our brands, our financial strength and ratings, our product
features and prices, and the level of customer service that we provide. In addition,
with respect to variable life and variable annuity products, we compete on the
basis of the variety of providers and choices of funds for our separate accounts
and the management and performance of those funds within our separate accounts.