哈佛商学院案例事达保险公司 Allstate Insurance.pdfVIP

9-708-485 R E V : J U L Y 2 4 , 2 0 0 8 J O H N R . W E L L S The Allstate Corporation “We intend to reinvent protection and retirement for the consumer.” — Allstate President and CEO Thomas J. Wilson1 At the end of 2006 Allstate Corporation (Allstate) was the second largest personal lines insurer in the US with total 2006 insurance premiums earned of $29.3 billion.2 (See Exhibit 1) Its two main business segments, Allstate Protection and Allstate Financial, generated combined revenues of $36 billion and sold 13 major lines of insurance, retirement and investment products, through 12,900 exclusive agents and 50,000 financial specialists in 49 states and Canada.3 Allstate was the second- largest player in both the personal auto and homeowners’ insurance segments, with market shares of 11.1% and 12.3%, respectively. (See Exhibit 2) Despite recent earnings volatility caused by hurricanes such as Katrina, Rita and Wilma, Allstate continued to deliver good performance and posted pre-tax profits of $2.1 billion for 2005 after accounting for $5.5 billion of hurricane losses. Pre-tax profits rose to $7.2 billion in 2006. Analysts, however, feared a renewed bout of competitive pressure on the horizon in the insurance sector, and doubted the industry’s ability to resist the price cutting that had characterized the industry in the past. Industry underwriting profits from automotive insurance were at record highs, mainly as a result of continuously declining accident frequency, but