Allstate Corporation
It's Good to Be in Good Hands
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| Public | |
| Traded as | : ALL S&P 100 Component S&P 500 Component |
| Industry | Insurance |
| Founded | April 17, 1931 |
| Headquarters | Northbrook, Illinois, U.S. |
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Key people
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Thomas J. Wilson (Chairman, President and CEO) |
| Products | Auto, Home, Life, Motorcycle, Renters, Boat, Landlord, Condo, Off-road vehicle, Business Insurance, Retirement and Investment products, and Banking services. |
| Revenue |
 US$ 36.534 billion (2016)
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 US$ 2.749 billion (2016)
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US$ 1.877 billion (2016)
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| Total assets |
US$ 108.610 billion (2016)
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| Total equity |
US$ 20.573 billion (2016)
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Number of employees
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43,050 (2016) |
| Parent | Sears (1931–1995) |
| Subsidiaries |
Encompass Insurance Company Esurance SquareTrade Allstate India |
| Website | www |
The Allstate Corporation is the second largest personal lines insurer in the United States (behind State Farm) and the largest that is publicly held. The company also has personal lines insurance operations in Canada. Allstate was founded in 1931 as part of Sears, Roebuck and Co., and was spun off in 1993. The company has had its headquarters in Northfield Township, Illinois, near Northbrook since 1967. Its current advertising campaign, in use since 2004, asks, "Are you in good hands?" The corporate spokesperson is Dennis Haysbert.
In 1925, Sears held a national contest to decide the name of a new brand of car tires. After over two million name submissions, "Allstate" was chosen as the winner; the trademark was adopted the very next year. The tires' success in both the catalog and retail stores prompted Sears Chairman General Robert E. Wood to praise the Allstate tire's contribution to Sears' retail store success.
The idea for Allstate Insurance Company came during a bridge game on a commuter train in 1930, when insurance broker Carl L. Odell proposed to Wood, his neighbor, the idea of selling auto insurance by direct mail. The idea appealed to Wood, and he passed the proposal to the Sears board of directors, which approved it. Allstate Insurance Company, named after Sears’ tire brand, went into business on April 17, 1931, offering auto insurance by direct mail and through the Sears catalog. This was in line with one of the objectives of a company to sell automobile insurance in the same manner as Sears sold its merchandise.
Lessing J. Rosenwald was Allstate's first board chairman, and Odell was named vice president and secretary.
In 1933, at the Century of Progress World’s Fair in Chicago, Allstate’s Richard E. Roskam sold insurance at a booth in the Sears pavilion. In 1934, Allstate opened its first permanent sales office in a Chicago Sears store.
In 1941, only about a quarter of U.S. drivers had auto liability insurance. This led to the state of New York passing a law which established the financial responsibility of drivers for damage or injuries resulting from auto mishaps. That law inspired legislation in other states, and by the mid-1950s nearly every state had some sort of financial responsibility law on its books.
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Wikipedia