Full Description

The Allstate Corporation, incorporated on November 5, 1992, serves as the holding company for Allstate Insurance Company. The Company’s business is conducted principally through Allstate Insurance Company, Allstate Life Insurance Company and their affiliates (collectively, including The Allstate Corporation, Allstate). Allstate is primarily 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. Customers can access Allstate products and services, such as auto insurance and homeowners insurance through more than 14,000 exclusive Allstate agencies and financial representatives in the United States and Canada. operates in four business segments: Allstate Protection, Allstate Financial, Discontinued Lines and Coverages and Corporate and Other.

Allstate Protection Segment

The Company’s Allstate Protection segment accounted for about 93% of Allstate's consolidated insurance premiums and contract charges during the year ended December 31, 2008. In this segment, it sells principally private passenger auto and homeowners insurance, primarily through agencies. These products are marketed under the Allstate, Encompass and Deerbrook brand names. The Allstate Protection segment also includes a separate organization called Emerging Businesses, which is comprised of Small Business (Commercial), Consumer Household (Specialty Product Lines), Allstate Dealer Services (Allstate Credit Division) and Allstate Roadside Service (Allstate Motor Club and Partnership Marketing Group). It also participates in the involuntary or shared private passenger auto insurance business in order to maintain its licenses to do business in many states. In some states, Allstate exclusive agencies offer property insurance products.

The Company’s broad-based network of approximately 12,800 Allstate exclusive agencies in approximately 12,000 locations in the United States produced approximately 87% of the Allstate Protection segment's written premiums in 2008. The rest was generated primarily by approximately 8,800 independent agencies.

Allstate Financial Segment

The Company’s Allstate Financial segment provides life insurance, retirement and investment products, and voluntary accident and health insurance products to individual and institutional customers. Its principal individual products are fixed annuities including deferred, immediate and indexed; interest-sensitive, traditional and variable life insurance; and voluntary accident and health insurance. It also distributes variable annuities through its bank distribution partners, however this product is fully reinsured with an unaffiliated entity. Its principal institutional product is funding agreements backing medium-term notes. Banking products and services are also offered to customers through the Allstate Bank.

Other Business Segments

The Company’s Corporate and Other segment is comprised of holding company activities and certain non-insurance operations. Allstate’s Discontinued Lines and Coverages segment includes results from insurance coverage that it no longer writes and results for certain commercial and other business in run-off.