Loading organizations...
Key people at Allstate.
Allstate is a property, casualty, and life insurance provider based in Chicago, Illinois, offering coverage for vehicles, homes, and personal property to individuals and commercial businesses. Under CEO Tom Wilson, the corporation generates revenue by collecting premiums and earning investment income, reaching 57 billion dollars in annual revenue in 2023. Operating across the United States and Canada, the enterprise employs over 53,000 people and serves a base of more than 16 million policyholders. The company expanded its offerings through the acquisition of SquareTrade for extended warranties and recently sold its life insurance division to entities managed by Blackstone for two point eight billion dollars to refocus on core property and casualty lines. Originally launched as a mail-order auto insurer within Sears Roebuck and Company, it was founded in 1931 by General Robert Wood and Carl Odell.
Key people at Allstate.
Allstate Corporation is a leading American insurance company specializing in personal lines such as auto, homeowners, and life insurance, primarily serving individual consumers through exclusive agencies and online channels.[2][4][7] Founded in 1931 as a Sears subsidiary offering innovative direct-mail auto insurance during the Great Depression, it expanded into a multifaceted insurer with operations in the US and Canada, employing over 40,000 people and managing nearly $100 billion in assets as of early 2000s data.[3][4] Today, headquartered in Glenview, Illinois, Allstate emphasizes local agency networks (over 12,300 in the US and Canada as of 2020) and digital acquisitions like Esurance (2011) and National General (2020) to blend personalized service with modern distribution.[4][5]
The company solves the problem of financial insecurity from life's uncertainties—starting with affordable auto coverage and evolving to broader protection amid rising risks like natural disasters and vehicle safety.[1][6] Its growth momentum includes pioneering risk-based pricing in 1939, public listing via the largest US IPO in 1993, full independence from Sears in 1995, and advocacy for safety features like seat belts and airbags.[1][2][6]
Allstate traces its roots to 1931, when insurance broker Carl L. Odell proposed selling auto insurance via direct mail to his neighbor, Sears President General Robert E. Wood, leveraging Sears' catalog distribution during the Great Depression.[1][2][3] The Sears board approved the idea, launching Allstate Insurance Company on April 17, 1931, in Chicago, with the name drawn from a 1925 Sears tire brand contest winner.[1][2][6] The first policy covered a 1930 Studebaker for $41.60, and the inaugural claim was a pried-off door handle paid from its one-room headquarters.[6]
Lessing J. Rosenwald served as first board chairman, with Odell as vice president.[2] Early traction came swiftly: first profit of $93,000 in 1933, a sales booth at Chicago's 1933 World's Fair, and the first permanent office in a Sears store in 1934.[1][2][4] Spun off from Sears in 1993 (largest US IPO then) and fully independent by 1995, Allstate shifted from mail-order roots to a national powerhouse.[2][5][7]
Allstate stands out in the insurance industry through these key strengths:
Allstate rides the trend of insurtech digitization, transitioning from analog mail-order origins to online sales (Good Hands Network in 2000) and acquisitions like Esurance for direct-to-consumer tech amid rising e-commerce in insurance.[5][6] Timing mattered post-1990s deregulation and internet boom, allowing scale beyond Sears while urban market leadership addressed dense population risks.[3][7]
Favorable forces include escalating auto claims from complex vehicles/tech (e.g., airbags Allstate advocated for) and climate-driven disasters, boosting demand for bundled, adaptive coverage.[6] Allstate influences the ecosystem by standardizing agency models as "trusted advisors" and pushing safety tech, shaping competitors toward hybrid human-digital service in a $1T+ US P&C market.[4]
Allstate's next phase likely amplifies AI-driven personalization and climate-resilient products, building on risk-pricing heritage amid autonomous vehicles and extreme weather trends. Influence may grow via expanded agent networks and insurtech integrations, solidifying urban dominance while navigating rate pressures. As a Depression-era innovator now tech-adapted, Allstate exemplifies enduring protection in an uncertain world—still delivering on its 1931 promise of accessible security.[1][6]
