Editing Allstate (section)

==History==
In 1925, [[Sears]] held a national contest to decide the name of a new brand of car tires. After 2,253,746 name submissions from 937,886 participants, "Allstate" was chosen.  Hans Simonson of [[Bismarck, North Dakota]], received a $5,000 cash prize for his winning entry among a list of 31 he submitted.<ref name="searshist">{{cite web |date=October 31, 2006 |title=Allstate: 1996-1995 (Sears' divestment) |url=http://www.searsarchives.com/brands/allstate.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100808201656/http://www.searsarchives.com/brands/allstate.htm |archive-date=August 8, 2010 <!--DASHBot--> |access-date=July 9, 2010 |publisher=Sears}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=LC Catalog - The Bismarck Tribune, December 9th, 1926 |url=https://catalog.loc.gov/vwebv/search?searchCode=LCCN&searchArg=sn%2085042243&searchType=1&permalink=y |access-date=2024-08-16 |website=catalog.loc.gov}}</ref> The trademark was officially registered on April 19, 1927,<ref name=":1" /> and the tires' new name made its debut in the spring 1927 Sears catalog.<ref name=":2" /> 

The idea for Allstate Insurance Company came when insurance broker Carl L. Odell proposed to [[Robert E. Wood]], his neighbor, the idea of selling auto insurance by direct mail.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Grant |first1=Tina |title=International Directory of Company Histories |last2=Derdak |first2=Thomas |date=1999 |publisher=St. James Press |isbn=978-1-55862-386-6 |pages=30 |language=en}}</ref> The idea appealed to Wood, and the proposal was sent to the Sears board of directors, which approved it.<ref name="Encyclopedia">{{cite web|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/The_Allstate_Corp.aspx|title=Encyclopedia- Allstate Corp.|publisher=Encyclopedia.com|access-date=February 23, 2011|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628234217/http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/The_Allstate_Corp.aspx|archive-date=June 28, 2011}}</ref> Allstate Insurance Company, named after Sears' tire line, went into business on April 17, 1931, offering auto insurance by direct mail and through the Sears catalog.<ref name="Encyclopedia" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Cherry |first=Robin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nCAu0xkl5BIC&dq=allstate+insurance+bridge+game+train+1930+odell&pg=RA4-PA5 |title=Catalog: The Illustrated History of Mail Order Shopping |publisher=Princeton Architectural Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-56898-739-2 |location=New York |pages=5 |language=en}}</ref>  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.<ref>"Arnstein & Lehr, The First 120 Years", (Louis A. Lehr, Jr.) (Amazon), p. 26</ref>

Lessing J. Rosenwald was Allstate's first board chairman, and Odell was named vice president and secretary.<ref name="Funding Universe" />

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.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}} In 1934, Allstate opened its first permanent sales office in a Chicago Sears store.<ref name="Allstate Insurance Company Digital Newsroom ">{{cite web|url=http://www.allstatenewsroom.com/channels/History-and-Timeline/pages/history-timeline|title=Allstate Insurance Company Digital Newsroom – History and Timeline|publisher=Allstate|access-date=February 17, 2011|url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101118011405/http://www.allstatenewsroom.com/channels/History-and-Timeline/pages/history-timeline|archive-date=November 18, 2010}}</ref>

In 1941, only about a quarter of US drivers had auto liability insurance. This led to the state of New York passing a law that 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.<ref name="Encyclopedia" />

In 1949, the Allstate Headquarters Building was completed at 3246 W. Arthington Street in [[Chicago]] as a part of the [[Sears, Roebuck and Company Complex]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-7-buildings-make-citys-most-endangered-list-20130312,0,2255252.story | archive-url=https://archive.today/20130410171557/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-7-buildings-make-citys-most-endangered-list-20130312,0,2255252.story | url-status=dead | archive-date=April 10, 2013 | work=Chicago Tribune | title=7 buildings make Preservation Chicago most endangered list | date=March 13, 2013 }}</ref>  The midrise building is vacant (as of 2013) and in danger of demolition.  The building is noted for its early postwar midrise construction.  This location was vacated when the company relocated in the postwar years.

The company's "You're in Good Hands with Allstate" slogan was created in 1950 by Allstate's general sales manager Davis W. Ellis.  At the end of the decade, it was used in the company's first network-television advertising campaign, which featured actor [[Ed Reimers]].<ref name="Funding Universe" />

Allstate added products throughout the 1950s, including fire insurance in 1954 and homeowners and life insurance in 1957.  Allstate began selling insurance to Canadians in 1953. Allstate Insurance Company of Canada was incorporated in 1964.<ref name="Encyclopedia" /> (In 1952 and 1953, Sears also sold an automobile called [[Allstate (automobile)|Allstate]].)

In 1967, the company's home office was moved from [[Skokie, Illinois|Skokie]] to [[Northbrook, Illinois]]. Allstate continued to sell additional types of insurance to customers throughout the decade, including worker's-compensation insurance in 1964, [[surety bond]]s in 1966, inland-marine coverage in 1967, and a business package policy in 1969.<ref name="Funding Universe" />

The brand itself expanded in the 1950s and 1960s and could be found on a variety of products such as fire extinguishers and motor scooters. In 1952, an Allstate car was produced, but it was a flop; it was pulled from stores by 1953. The automobile was based on the [[Henry J]] car manufactured by [[Kaiser Motors]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Flory, Jr. |first=J. “Kelly” |title=American Cars, 1946-1959: Every Model, Year by Year |publisher=McFarland |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-7864-5230-9 |pages=392 |language=en}}</ref> The Allstate brand was eventually limited to insurance, tires, and car batteries by the late 1960s, before becoming insurance only in the mid-1970s.<ref name="searshist" />

In 1991, the company went public.<ref name="history" /> In June 1993, 19.8% of Allstate became public through a stock offering. Allstate became completely independent in June 1995, when Sears spun off the remaining 80% stake in the company, distributing 350.5 million shares of Allstate stock to its stockholders.<ref name="Encyclopedia" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1993/06/03/allstate-initial-offering-priced-at-the-top/|title=Allstate Initial Offering Priced At The Top|work=tribunedigital-chicagotribune|access-date=December 8, 2017|language=en|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171209044451/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1993-06-03/business/9306030069_1_concurrent-international-offering-allstate-sears|archive-date=December 9, 2017}}</ref>  At the time, it was the largest IPO to date.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}

In 1999, Allstate purchased the personal-lines division of [[CNA Financial]]<ref name="Allstate-Oct-1999-8-K">{{cite web |url=http://edgar.secdatabase.com/478/89905199000014/filing-main.htm |title=Allstate, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date Oct 12, 1999 |publisher=secdatabase.com |access-date=January 4, 2013 |url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130525130051/http://edgar.secdatabase.com/478/89905199000014/filing-main.htm |archive-date=May 25, 2013 }}</ref> and subsequently renamed it to [[Encompass Insurance Company]].<ref name="Allstate-Nov-2000-10-Q">{{cite web |url=http://edgar.secdatabase.com/2855/91205700048494/filing-main.htm |title=Allstate, Form 10-Q, Quarterly Report, Filing Date Nov 13, 2000 |publisher=secdatabase.com |access-date=January 4, 2013 |url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130525143811/http://edgar.secdatabase.com/2855/91205700048494/filing-main.htm |archive-date=May 25, 2013 }}</ref>

In 2003, actor [[Dennis Haysbert]] became Allstate's spokesman, using the tagline "That’s Allstate’s stand."<ref name="Drive Steady">{{cite web|url=http://drivesteady.com/the-most-popular-car-insurance-spokespeople-mascots|title=The Most Popular Car Insurance Spokespeople & Mascots|access-date=February 23, 2011|url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101222205019/http://drivesteady.com/the-most-popular-car-insurance-spokespeople-mascots|archive-date=December 22, 2010}}</ref>

In May 2011, Allstate announced that it was purchasing [[Esurance]] and rate-comparison site Answer Financial for about $1 billion.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2011-05-18/allstate-to-buy-esurance-in-1-billion-deal-as-wilson-adds-online-sales|title = Allstate to Buy Esurance for $1 Billion to Add Online Sales|date = May 18, 2011|access-date = December 29, 2015|website = Bloomberg|last = Buhayar|first = Noah}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2011/05/18/199061.htm|title = Allstate Targets Online Insurance Sales; Buys Esurance, Answer Financial|date = May 18, 2011|access-date = December 29, 2015|website = Insurance Journal|publisher = Wells Media Group}}</ref>

In 2012, [[Allstate Solutions Private Limited]] (also called Allstate India) was inaugurated in Bangalore; it is a technology and operations center to provide software development and business process outsourcing services to its US parent.<ref name="Allstate's India">{{Cite journal|url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-12-11/news/35749861_1_tech-centre-india-technology-centre-allstate-corp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140620134701/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-12-11/news/35749861_1_tech-centre-india-technology-centre-allstate-corp|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 20, 2014|title=Allstate to open tech centre in Bangalore|journal= The Economic Times}}</ref> 

In January 2017, Allstate acquired [[SquareTrade]], a consumer electronics and appliance protection plan provider. The acquisition cost a reported $1.4 billion from a group of shareholders.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2016/11/28/433312.htm|title=Allstate to Pay $1.4 Billion for SquareTrade, Seller of Warranties for Mobile Devices, Appliances|date=November 29, 2016|website=Insurance Journal|language=en-US|access-date=July 25, 2019}}</ref>

In July 2020, Allstate announced it was acquiring National General for $4 billion. The deal closed in January 2021.<ref>{{cite web |title=Allstate insurance company acquires National General for $4 billion |url=https://eu.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/07/08/allstate-insurance-national-general-acquisition/5396538002/ |date=2020-07-08|accessdate=2020-07-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=A Allstate Closes Acquisition of National General Holdings Corp.|url=https://www.marketwatch.com/press-release/allstate-closes-acquisition-of-national-general-holdings-corp-2021-01-04|website=[[MarketWatch]]|date=2021-01-04}}</ref>

In 2021 Allstate completed sale of its life insurance and annuity businesses.<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 Nov 2021 |title=United States: Allstate Completes Sale of Life and Annuity Businesses |work=MENA Report |publication-place=London |via=[[Proquest]]}}</ref>  One of the divested businesses was Allstate Life Insurance Company of New York, which became part of Wilton Reassurance Life Company of New York. Another was the similarly named Allstate Life Insurance Company, purchased by Everlake Holdings and renamed Everlake Life Insurance Company. A third divested business was Allstate Assurance Co, also purchased by Everlake Holdings.<ref>{{Cite news |date=Jan 2022 |title=Mergers, Acquisitions, and Name and Ownership Changes |work=Best's Review |publication-place=Oldwick |issn=1527-5914 }}</ref>

In 2025, Chief Information Officer Zulfi Jeevanjee spoke about Allstate's use of [[Artificial intelligence|AI]] to generate emails to customers that would sound less confusing and more understanding: "When these emails used to go out, even though we had standards and so on, they would include a lot of insurance jargon. They weren’t very empathetic…Claims agents would get frustrated, and so it wasn’t necessarily great communication." He added, "The claim agent still looks at them just to make sure they’re accurate, but they’re not writing them anymore."<ref>{{cite news|last=Bousquette|first=Isabelle|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/turns-out-ai-is-more-empathetic-than-allstates-insurance-reps-cf5f7c98|title=Turns Out AI Is More Empathetic Than Allstate's Insurance Reps|date=February 10, 2025|access-date=February 13, 2025|work=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref> After Futurism reported on this, a spokesperson from Allstate's media relations team contacted them demanding that they take down the blog post in question.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://futurism.com/allstate-almost-all-insurance-communications-ai|title = Allstate Says Almost All Its Communications About Insurance Claims Are Done With AI Now|date = February 10, 2025|access-date = February 13, 2025|website = Futurism|last = Tangermann|first = Victor}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url = https://futurism.com/allstate-demanding-delete-quotes-ai|title = Allstate Is Demanding We Delete These Quotes by Its Exec About How It's Using AI to Write Insurance Emails|date = February 13, 2025|access-date = February 13, 2025|website = Futurism|last = Tangermann|first = Victor}}</ref>