Allstate Terminates The Golden State

Allstate announced yesterday that it will stop writing new home policies in California. Potential losses from earthquakes and wildfires were cited as the reason. Said Mr. Barge, Allstate's VP in CA, "Allstate is taking responsible action now so that the company will continue to be in a strong position to help protect customers in California and across the country." During the past year Allstate quit writing new policies along coastal states in danger of hurricanes. They also dropped several policies in New York.

And in today's letters to the editor in the T-P, April Eaton, an Allstate "relations manager" claims that because Allstate has been around 75 years and insures more than 17 million households, they are acting neither unethically nor illegally. She says that after Katrina changed the world and insurance industry, it is Allstate who is "stepping to the plate first to find solutions that help protect and prepare citizens, while making sure our company can continue to insure as many customers as responsibly possible."

I'm dizzy from the spin. Allstate's recent actions have nothing to do with protecting customers. Allstate instead is doing all they can to increase value for shareholders, and continuing to reap record profits year after year. Allstate's actions here in Louisiana have often been clearly unethical and illegal. At least the people in California will benefit from not having Allstate insurance when something catastrophic happens. They won't have to hear Allstate deny their claim for bogus reasons.