Article Writing Homework Help

Provide a 2 pages analysis while answering the following question: Allstate Insurance Company. Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide. An abstract is required. All Insurance Company About the Company: The All Corporation is the nation’s largest publicly held personal lines insurer. A Fortune 100 company, with $156.4 billion in assets, Allstate sells 13 major lines of insurance, including auto, property, life and commercial. Allstate also offers retirement and investment products and banking services. The Allstate Corporation encompasses more than 70,000 professionals. Of our employees, more than 30 percent are minorities. 59.1 percent are women.

Allstate was founded in 1931 as part of Sears, Roebuck & Co., and became a publicly traded company in 1993. At the time, the initial public offering of Allstate was the largest in U.S. history. On June 30, 1995, it became a totally independent company after Sears divested its remaining shares to Sears stockholders.

Based in Northbrook, Illinois, Allstate is the nation’s largest publicly held personal lines insurer and one of the nation’s leading insurers in urban areas.

For more than 75 years, Allstate leaders, employees and agency owners have been passionate about leading positive change in this country. Serving as a consumer advocate – and an advocate for the American economy – is an integral part of Allstate’s heritage. In the 1930s, Allstate was one of the first companies to create a sophisticated rate classification system, giving better rates to safe drivers. in the 1950s Allstate opened its first drive-in claim office, revolutionizing the way automobile claims are handled. in the 1960s the company helped convince the government to make seat belt use mandatory. in the 1970s and 1980s Allstate played an instrumental role in advocating the safety benefits of air bags. and in the 1990s and 2000s Allstate has continued to take a public stand on issues that are important to consumers.

In 2007, Allstate reported $17.7 billion in total property-liability insurance claims and claims expense. The Allstate Foundation donated nearly $20.1 million to nonprofit organizations including $400,000 in scholarships. The Allstate Corporation, its employees and agents donated nearly $6.1 million through the Giving Campaign to nonprofit organizations. Allstate currently holds $25 billion in municipal bonds, and more than $263 million in economically targeted investments.

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Financial Performance:

Financial Ratings

Financial Ratings

2008

2007

% Change

Net Income per diluted share

($3.07)

$7.77

(139.5)

Operating Income ($ in millions)

$1,758

$3,863

(54.5)

Return on Equity (percent)

(9.7%)

21.2%

(30.9) pts

Revenues ($ in millions)

$29,394

$36,769

(20.1)

Shareholders Equity ($ in millions)

$12,641

$21,851

(42.1)

Book Value Per Diluted Share (in dollars)

$23.51

$38.58

(39.1)

Financial Strength Ratings

Rating Company

Allstate Insurance

Allstate Life Insurance

A.M. Best

A+ (Superior)

A+ (Superior)

Standard & Poor’s

AA- (Very Strong)

AA- (Very Strong)

Moody’s Investors Service

Aa3 (Excellent)

A1 (Good)

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Chart of the company’s stock performance (1st quarter in 2009)

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Ratio Analysis:

Ratios

Company

Industry

Sector

P/E Ratio

0.00

0.40

3.10

Dividend Yield

3.43

0.03

0.20

Total Debt to Equity

44.77

9.74

359.69

Net Profit Margin

-5.71

-4.92

-35.07

Return on Equity

-9.74

-0.68

-1.36

Asset Turnover

0.20

0.01

0.02

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Company News:

Apr. 24, 2009 – The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) and National Journal today unveiled the first installment of the Allstate-National Journal Heartland Monitor, a series of four surveys conducted by FD, a leading international strategic communications consultancy, which details how average Americans are navigating personal financial matters and where they look for help in doing so.

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Apr. 20, 2009 – Allstate Insurance Co. has had green initiatives in place for a number of years, including telework programs, videoconferencing systems, an in-house printing plant and printer-cartridge recycling efforts. But what has really moved the company into the front ranks of green-IT organizations is an ambitious effort started in 2006 to consolidate four data centers into two. The two centers will draw 6 megawatts of energy instead of the 27 megawatts that the old centers would have sucked up if left to grow naturally.

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Apr. 17, 2009 – The New York insurance regulator said on Friday it asked Allstate Corp (ALL.N) to report its business in unregulated credit derivatives markets following a column written by the insurance company’s chief executive that suggested it has such business.

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Awards and Recognition:

America’s Most Admired Companies – Fortune magazine, Allstate ranked #5 in Property & Casualty Industry in 2007.