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Allstate

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Allstate Corp
Company typePublic (NYSE: ALL)
IndustryInsurance & Finance
Founded1931
HeadquartersNorthbrook, Illinois
Key people
Edward M. Liddy, CEO & Chairman
ProductsAuto, Home, and Business Insurance
Revenue51,412,000,000 United States dollar (2022) Edit this on Wikidata
Decrease$1.765 Billion USD (2005)
Websitewww.allstate.com

The Allstate Corporation NYSE: ALL is the largest publicly held personal lines insurer in the United States. Allstate was founded in 1931 as part of Sears, Roebuck & Co.

In 1952, Sears also used the name Allstate for a line of Allstate automobiles sold through some of its southern department stores which were rebadged products of Kaiser Motors; the cars were withdrawn following the 1953 model year. (Also see Henry J.)

The company slogan is "You're in good hands." The current advertising campaign, in use since 2004, asks, "Are you in good hands?" Their current spokesperson is Dennis Haysbert.

History

On May 17, 1931, William Lehnertz of Aurora, Ill., became the first Allstate policyholder.

Allstate became a publicly traded company in 1993. At the time, its initial public offering was the largest in U.S. history. On June 30, 1995, Allstate became a totally independent company after Sears divested its remaining shares to Sears stockholders.

Scientology Infiltrates Allstate

Between 1988 and 1995, Allstate used Scientology management principles to train its workers. Time Magazine described the program: "The course materials -- which preached a rigorous, even ruthless devotion to raising productivity -- were developed by Mr. Hubbard, founder of the religion that some critics claim is a cult. One of the purposes of teaching Mr. Hubbard's management program, a Scientology pamphlet states, is to instill "the ethics, principles, codes and doctrines of the Scientology religion throughout the business world." The program is also referred to as the ""Management by Statistics" process.

The introduction of course materials was initially brought by Scientologist Don Pearson through the company, International Executive Technology (IET). Scientology licenses individuals and businesses to use L. Ron Hubbard's administrative technology through the front group, the World Institute of Scientology Enterprises, WISE. (see the Command Channels of Scientology)[1].

By 1990, many agents had become concerned about the use of the materials and their impact on management decisions. By 1993, Allstate began to scale back its use of the teachings and seminars. Although direct references to Scientology were henceforth removed from Allstate sales agent training materials, the teachings in the instructional material remained. Several new training programs based on Scientology were introduced in 1993 as noted:

"the Agency Development Process, noticed two pages, titled "Statistics Graphs, How to Figure the Scale," that were identical to those found in the Scientology material. The references to L Ron Hubbard had been deleted."

A group called the National Neighborhood Office Agents Club, NNOAC, comprised of Allstate agents who were critical of the management, began printing special reports outlining what it knew about the Scientology connection. In 1994, then Allstate President Jerry Choate wrote a letter disavowing the Hubbard management materials. "The inclusion of these materials was unfortunate because the ideas and views expressed in them were clearly inconsistent with Allstate's values." Choate also ordered the Scientology materials not be used.

In 1995, a manual was produced, "Allstate Claim Core Process Review, (CCPR) Implementation Training Manual that eventually led to suits in several states.[2] The manual encouraged agents to tell claimants not to hire an attorney:

Allstate has been accused of discouraging claimants from engaging lawyers to represent them in claims against the company. The Allstate flier represents that claims are resolved faster if the claimants do not hire lawyers...Allstate's own internal training documents contains statistics demonstrating that when lawyers represent claimants, the settlement amounts are two to three times higher than when claimants represent themselves. Allstate employees are rewarded with bonuses based upon the percentage of claims paid to unrepresented claimants.

Part of the 1995 manual also included integrating employee performance to handling claims.[3]

"Allstate's approach to managing and handling claims is to "promote [employees] based on performance; develop skills to 'win every claim'; and [measure] based on outcomes and by activities."

In 1995, "Allstate Corp. acknowledged that it hired a consultant who taught 'unacceptable' Church of Scientology management principles to the insurance company's agents and supervisors between 1988 and 1992."[4]

Diversity

Allstate was named one of the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers and a Best Company for Women of Color in 2004 by Working Mothers magazine.

Critical Sites

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