General

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2021

General

General

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 (collectively referred to as the “Company” or “Allstate”) and variable interest entities in which the Company is considered primary beneficiary. 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.

Nature of operations

Allstate is engaged, principally in the United States, in the property and casualty insurance business. Allstate is one of the country’s largest personal property and casualty insurers and is organized into five reportable segments: Allstate Protection, Run-off Property Liability (previously Discontinued Lines and Coverages), Protection Services, Allstate Health and Benefits (previously Allstate Benefits), 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, employer voluntary benefits and group accident and health insurance and identity protection. Allstate primarily distributes its products through exclusive agents, financial specialists, independent agents 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, severe freeze events, 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 9). 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, Oregon, Texas and Arizona

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

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

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

The Novel Coronavirus Pandemic or COVID-19 (“Coronavirus”)

The Novel Coronavirus Pandemic or COVID-19 (“Coronavirus”) resulted in governments worldwide enacting emergency measures to combat the spread of the virus, including travel restrictions, government-imposed shelter-in-place orders, quarantine periods, social distancing, and restrictions on large gatherings. These measures moderated in 2021 as vaccines have become more widely available in the United States and Canada. There is no way of predicting with certainty how long the pandemic might last. We continue to closely monitor and proactively adapt to developments and changing conditions. Currently, it is not possible to reliably estimate the impact to our operations, but the effects have been and could be material.