Allstate expansion plans include Rhode Island

ALLSTATE CORP. signage stands outside the company's headquarters in Northbrook, Ill. / BLOOMBERG FILE PHOTO/TIM BOYLE
ALLSTATE CORP. signage stands outside the company's headquarters in Northbrook, Ill. / BLOOMBERG FILE PHOTO/TIM BOYLE

Allstate Insurance Co. is planning an all-out blitz in Rhode Island for new agents.
On July 10, the company said it is looking to appoint 140 new agency owners in their Northeast territory of Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Pennsylvania. About 25 new Allstate offices employing a total of 75 are expected for the Ocean State. The company is also looking to expand in Maryland, West Virginia, Delaware and Washington, D.C.
“We see an opportunity in Rhode Island, it’s always been a staple state of the Northeast region,” said David Lamorte, strategic-deployment leader for Allstate in the region. There are 14 Allstate regions across the country and about 32,000 employees. From 2009 to 2011, the company had 220 independent offices in these states, including 54 in Rhode Island, and is now poised to expand.
“Demographically, to support our agents, we have to make sure there are enough households in the area for each location,” Lamorte said. There is no employer – employee relationship. Each agency owner is an independent contractor that owns the economic interest in the agency, but there is a legal contractual agreement between the agency and Allstate.
Chris Conner, a spokesperson for the company, said they are also offering a $5,000 referral award to anyone who refers a candidate who is appointed as an Allstate agent in 2012.
According to Lamorte, their first step will be to introduce the business opportunity to as many people as possible, determine who may be interested and understand their qualifications. Potential agents complete a profile and an agent-selection questionnaire which tests their business acumen and evaluates that they understand small business. It is a thorough process.
Although it helps, candidates do not necessarily need to have a business background. Allstate has an extensive training program, which includes training in their Malvern, Penn., office and in Chicago with experts from the home office. All told, it’s a six-week program. Candidates are required to meet a liquid-capital minimum of $50,000, all of which can be directly invested in their business. The advantage Allstate offers, according to Lamorte, is that agency owners are able to leverage a recognized brand without ever having to pay a franchise or licensing fee.
“We would like to work with and interest entrepreneurs, current businesspeople that want to take a venture in an Allstate business,” he said.
When an agent comes onboard they must have at least two licensed professionals. That will open up an employment opportunity for individuals who may not have the investment capital to become an agent.
According to Paula Pallozzi, chief property & casualty insurance-rate analyst for Rhode Island, there are 57,924 licensed insurance agents registered with the state. Of this number, 5,113 are residents and 52,811 are nonresidents.
She said her department is aware of Allstate’s recruiting efforts.
“Expansion of agency force is good news for Rhode Island,” she said.
Mark A. Male, executive vice president of the Independent Insurance Agents of Rhode Island, declined to comment on Allstate’s local expansion.
But David Soucy, president of Soucy Insurance Agency in Woonsocket, says he’s not worried about increased competition.
“We’ve seen Allstate do this before,” he said. “There have been times when companies like Allstate and Nationwide have gotten very aggressive with their sales. … We feel good about our products and believe we have a solid relationship with our customers. If [Allstate] can’t achieve rates that are competitive, I don’t see how they can expand.”
Allstate’s two biggest offerings are automobile and home insurance, but the company covers everything, says Lamorte. Boat insurance is a popular item in the Ocean State, as are motorcycles, but the company also covers recreational vehicles, condos and renters. “We have such an extensive portfolio of products, from property and casualty, to financial services to the more- sophisticated securities-type of products,” Lamorte said.
In 1999, Allstate bought the American Heritage Life Insurance Company out of Jacksonville, Fla., which became the company’s benefits division. Agents can sell individual accident, individual cancer policies, as well as supplemental voluntary benefits, like on a group basis for small and large corporations, types of products that can compliment a Blue Cross, United Health or Aetna health plan.
“They say that you can’t be all things to all people, but we are that close to having a product line that would fit every need of the consumer,” Lamorte said.
“We have developed a brand-new business owner’s policy on the property side, a business owner’s policy, or BOP,” he added. A BOP is a single commercial insurance policy that combines property insurance with commercial general-liability insurance coverage. For many small companies, a BOP is an affordable option. We have been very, very competitive in the commercial area in the last 12 months,” said Lamorte.
“In terms of commercial insurance there’s a definite need. There are business owners, and not only do they have business-insurance needs, but they have personal insurance needs, and they go hand in hand,” he said. “We saw the need to improve our product on the commercial side and make it more competitive.
“We are right in there with companies that regularly market commercial. … It’s not our forte but they are complimentary lines where we can work with the business owner,” he said. •

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