Lehman/A.M. Best Co. 2nd Annual Conference

"We don't have to build a brand--we already have one." Tom Wilson Chairman of the Board and President, Allstate Life Insurance Co.

Allstate Financial Says Goal Is to Sell Broad Range of Products

Evolving from an "insurance" company to an "assurance" company is Allstate Financial's near-term goal--a strategy that will reap benefits for the company in the long term, according to the company's president.

"We don't have to build a brand--we already have one," said Thomas J. Wilson, president of Allstate Financial, senior vice president of Allstate Corp., and a member of Allstate's senior management team, who spoke at the second annual Insurance Conference, held in New York and co-sponsored by Lehman Bros. and A.M. Best Co.

To make his point, Wilson noted Allstate Corp.'s strengths--which Allstate Financial can capitalize on. For example, Allstate Corp, is the largest publicly traded personal lines company in the United States; it has more than 20 million customers; and "we have one of the strongest brands," in the industry, Wilson said.

Regarding its name change last year to Allstate Financial, Wilson said, "we beat Prudential, I think, with our name change." Prudential Insurance Company of America recently changed its named to Prudential Financial.

Wilson outlined the strategies the company is using to become a key player in the financial-services arena. "We sell a broad range of products--mostly to consumers...we don't have a huge institutional business," he said. "And I think we have one of the broadest distribution networks in the industry. Sixty-thousand people sold our products last year."

He listed six strategies the company is using to build its financial-services business:

--Broaden and strengthen its distribution. Wilson pointed to Allstate's 1999 acquisition of American Heritage Life. "We need to grow it," he said. "We've added eight new regional offices since (the acquisition) in 1999." Most of American Heritage Life's products are now sold under Allstate Financial, said Wilson, who described American Heritage as the "third-largest" work-site marketing company in the United States.

--Extend the Allstate brand. "Our challenge now is to manage our advertising expenses," while remaining profitable, he said.

--Become consumer-centric. Under this strategy, he noted that Allstate Financial is focusing on three types of customers: Middle income for retirement products, the "affluent" with retirement products, and moderate-income customers with "family protection" products.

--Invest in technology.

--Build a high-performance organization.

--Expand its institutional business.

(By Fran Matso Lysiak, associate editor: lysiakf@ambest.com)