From Bloomberg News | Northbrook-based insurer Allstate told a proxy advisory firm that Chief Executive Officer Thomas Wilson’s pay last year was justified as it braced for a vote on compensation.
Allstate
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State Farm CEO: Biz must address state spending
State Farm Insurance CEO Ed Rust Jr. says business leaders should inject themselves into the debate about “unchecked” government spending and borrowing. Get the full story »
Abbott, Kraft cited for women in management
The National Association for Female Executives named seven Illinois companies among its Top 50 companies for executive women.
Abbott of North Chicago and Kraft of Northfield were among the Top 10. Five others made the Top 50: Allstate Insurance of Northbrook; HSBC North America of Mettawa; McDonald’s Corp. of Oak Brook; Northern Trust of Chicago; and State Farm Insurance of Bloomington. Get the full story »
Allstate CEO Tom Wilson sees compensation fall
Allstate CEO Tom Wilson. (2010 handout photo)
Allstate Corp. cut compensation for Chief Executive Tom Wilson by 11 percent to $9.3 million for 2010 as the insurer paid nothing under a bonus plan that measures performance over a three-year period.
The company also missed seven of 12 targets set up to gauge executive performance last year, and a separate one-year bonus was less than the target amount set by the compensation committee of Allstate’s board of directors. Still, the one-year bonus rose 12 percent from the year-earlier payout as results improved at Allstate’s life insurance operation. Get the full story »
Allstate sues Credit Suisse over mortgage debt
Allstate Corp. on Monday sued Credit Suisse Group AG, accusing the Swiss bank of causing losses by hiding the risks on $232 million of mortgage securities it bought. Get the full story »
Allstate sues Citi, Deutsche Bank over securities
Allstate Corp. sued Citigroup Inc. and Deutsche Bank AG Friday, accusing the banks of misrepresenting risks on more than $385 million of mortgage securities it bought.
Allstate, the largest publicly traded U.S. home and auto insurer, has filed similar lawsuits against Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. Get the full story »
Allstate sues JPMorgan over mortgage securities
Insurer Allstate Corp. sued JP Morgan Chase & Co. over more than $700 million in residential mortgage-backed securities — the latest to allege that a bank misled investors on the quality of mortgages underlying securities.
In the suit, filed Tuesday in state court in New York City, Allstate said JP Morgan and its entities sold Allstate a “toxic mix of loans given to borrowers that could not afford the properties” while telling Allstate it was buying a safe security. Get the full story »
Allstate rates rise; patience with execs runs thin
Allstate CEO Tom Wilson in 2008. (Alex Garcia/Chicago Tribune)
The average homeowners’ premium for Allstate Corp. customers rose by 7.1 percent in 2010, and Chief Executive Tom Wilson said Thursday that “you should expect to see it go up” in 2011 as well.
Wilson made the remark during an hour-long conference call with analysts and investors. He discussed the Northbrook-based auto and home insurer’s fourth-quarter results, which fell short of expectations. On a day when the wider markets were basically flat, Allstate stock closed down 3.6 percent to $31.20 a share, making it the day’s worst local stock performer.
Some analysts are becoming increasingly frustrated with Allstate’s management. Get the full story »
Allstate to shrink hedging program
Insurer Allstate Corp. plans to reduce the size of a hedging program designed to protect its $100 billion investment portfolio from steep declines.
The insurer spent “over several hundred million dollars” on the hedges in 2010 to shield the portfolio from sharp interest rate increases or a substantial drop in equities, Chief Executive Tom Wilson said on a conference call with analysts and investors Thursday. Get the full story »
Allstate’s net income falls on catastrophe losses
Auto and home insurer Allstate says its net income fell sharply in the fourth quarter as an Arizona hailstorm caused it to pay out far more in catastrophe losses.
In the final three months of last year, the company earned $296 million, or 55 cents per share. That’s down from $518 million, or 96 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Get the full story »
Discover to buy Allstate bank deposits
Allstate Corp. and Discover Financial Services said they had entered an agreement in which Discover will buy substantially all of Allstate’s bank deposits.
The companies called the deal a “multiyear distribution and marketing agreement.” As part of the agreement, Allstate agents and affiliates will offer personal savings and money-market accounts as well as other financial services to their customers through Discover. Get the full story »
Snow likely to rain on insurers’ earnings
First-quarter results of Northbrook-based Allstate Corp. and other property insurers are likely to include higher catastrophe losses due to the winter storms that have swept much of the country.
Winter storms are the third-biggest cause of catastrophe losses, behind hurricanes and tornadoes, according to the Insurance Information Institute. Get the full story »
Beware Virgo drivers, Allstate data warn
Don’t call them aggressive drivers. Call them “resourceful” drivers, and that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re the worst on the road.
Virgos, known for being practical, industrious and perfectionists, were 700 percent more likely to be in a car accident in the last year than passionate, determined Scorpios, according to Allstate Insurance, which recently compared claims data against the revised astrological calendar. Get the full story »
Allstate sues BofA, Countrywide over losses
Allstate Corp. has sued Bank of America Corp. and the Countrywide Financial mortgage unit it acquired in 2008 regarding $700 million in residential mortgage-backed securities the insurer purchased, claiming Countrywide misrepresented the investments, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday.
“Countrywide was singularly focused on increasing its market share, off-loading the risk onto Allstate and other institutional investors that purchased securities backed by pools of Countrywide’s mortgages,” Allstate said in its civil suit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. Get the full story »
