Allstate Speeds/Simplifies Claims for Thousands of Customers

NORTHBROOK, Ill.--April 11, 2005--Allstate Insurance Company today took the wraps off a new plan it says will shorten and simplify the claim process for more than a quarter million customers annually.

Under the new plan, Allstate is redesigning the way it handles "total loss" auto insurance claims - un-repairable vehicles that accounted for approximately 17.7 percent of the company's overall number of automobile damage claims settled in 2004.

"Allstate is making it easy for the customer to do business with us," said John Edelen, Allstate assistant vice-president for claims. "We're also smarter and more efficient about the way we do business."

Traditional thinking in insurance says a company cannot significantly manage expenses and improve customer satisfaction simultaneously. The nation's second largest home and auto insurer says already completed tests show this new service plan dramatically improves customer satisfaction and claim speed while simultaneously lowering company expenses - challenging the conventional wisdom.

A Simple Plan...

Allstate says it is eliminating three steps in the total loss claim handling process by empowering one claim expert to guide the customer from start to finish. The company is replacing a process that required multiple "hand-offs" of total loss claims, involving several claim employees to complete a task that can be handled more efficiently and faster by one expert.

The result, testing in 2004 showed Allstate completed claims three to six days sooner than before.

Cost Control...

Edelen predicts the new plan could reduce future costs by millions of dollars annually by reducing car rental, storage and other fees. "Allstate is able to manage this expense while simultaneously improving customer service," Edelen said

Customer Care...

Customers like Allstate's streamlined service. Tests of the "total loss redesign" in Washington, New Jersey, and Michigan last year delivered 13.9 percent improvements in the company's customer service scores.

As Allstate continues looking for ideas to drive its overall "customer experience," the company says the effects of this plan will likely be seen across a wider range of claim services, as staff and time previously occupied by total loss vehicle claims are freed up to serve other customers.

The company is in the process of launching this streamlined claim customer service plan across the country.

The Allstate Corporation is the nation's largest publicly held personal lines insurer. Widely known through the "You're In Good Hands With Allstate(R)" slogan, Allstate helps individuals in more than 16 million households protect what they have today and better prepare for tomorrow through more than 13,600 exclusive agencies and financial specialists in the U.S. and Canada. Customers can access Allstate products and services through Allstate agencies, or in select states at llstate.com and 1-800 Allstate(R). Encompass(SM) and Deerbrook(R) Insurance brand property and casualty products are sold exclusively through independent agents. Allstate Financial Group provides life insurance, annuity, retirement, banking and investment products through distribution channels that include Allstate agencies, independent agencies, financial institutions and broker-dealers.