Higher Claims Push Allstate Profit Down 18%

Allstate Corp. said its fourth-quarter operating profit fell 18% to $524 million, or 66 cents a share, as higher auto claims and stiffer competition continued to hammer the troubled insurer. Revenue grew 8.6% to $7.01 billion. Allstate’s stock quickly fell to a new 52-week low, even though the results exceeded analysts’ lowered expectations of 64 cents. The company’s shares closed down $2.06, or more than 9%, at $19.94 on the New York Stock Exchange. The unexpected departure of top executive Bruce Marlow was a big blow to Allstate, said Steve Musser, an analyst for A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc. in St. Louis. “Things are tough at Allstate right now,” Musser said. Marlow on Tuesday was named chief executive and president at Woodland Hills-based 21st Century Insurance Group in Woodland Hills. At Allstate, Marlow was president of Allstate’s Independent Agency Markets, a division that handles the insurer’s independent agents. He led efforts at the company to use the Internet in transactions with independent brokers.