General

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019



Note 1	General

Basis of presentation

The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of The Allstate Corporation (the “Corporation”) and its wholly owned subsidiaries, primarily Allstate Insurance Company (“AIC”), a property and casualty insurance company with various property and casualty and life and investment subsidiaries, including Allstate Life Insurance Company (“ALIC”) (collectively referred to as the “Company” or “Allstate”). These consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated.

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

On December 22, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (“Tax Legislation”) became effective, permanently reducing the U.S. corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21% beginning January 1, 2018. As a result, the corporate tax rate is not comparable between periods.

Nature of operations

Allstate is engaged, principally in the United States, in the property and casualty insurance and life insurance businesses. Allstate is one of the country’s largest personal property and casualty insurers and is organized into seven reportable segments: Allstate Protection, Discontinued Lines and Coverages, Service Businesses, Allstate Life, Allstate Benefits, Allstate Annuities, and Corporate and Other.

Allstate’s primary business is the sale of private passenger auto and homeowners insurance. The Company also offers several other personal property and casualty insurance products, select commercial property and casualty coverages, consumer product protection plans, device and mobile data collection services and analytic solutions using automotive telematics information, roadside assistance, finance and insurance products, life insurance, voluntary accident and health insurance and identity protection. Allstate primarily distributes its products through exclusive agencies, financial specialists, independent agencies and brokers, major retailers, contact centers and the internet.

Risks and uncertainties

Allstate has exposure to catastrophic events, including wind and hail, wildfires, tornadoes, hurricanes, tropical storms, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, terrorism and industrial accidents.

Catastrophes, an inherent risk of the property and casualty insurance business, have contributed, and will continue to contribute, to material year-to-year fluctuations in the Company’s results of operations and financial position (see Note 8). The nature and level of catastrophic loss experienced in any period cannot be predicted and could be material to results of operations and financial position.

The Company considers the following categories and locations to be the greatest areas of potential catastrophe losses:


•	Wildfires — California, Colorado, Arizona and Texas


•	Hurricanes — Major metropolitan centers in counties along the eastern and gulf coasts of the United States


•	Wind/Hail, Rain and Tornado — Texas, Illinois, Colorado and Georgia

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Earthquakes and fires following earthquakes —Major metropolitan areas near fault lines in the states of California, Oregon, Washington, South Carolina, Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee