(Image source: Allstate.)
Allstate (Northbrook, Ill.) has announced a Transformative Growth Plan that will stress the main Allstate brand and increase technology investment to improve customer access and value. A key feature of the plan is the phasing out of the Esurance brand during 2020.
Tom Wilson, CEO, Allstate.
“Allstate has thrived for 88 years through innovation such as the use of local branded agencies, telematics pricing for auto insurance and settling auto insurance claims with digital photos,” comments Allstate CEO Tom Wilson. “This plan builds on a history of creating change and will improve our competitive position and accelerate growth.”
Through the new plan, customers will benefit from additional service options, greater connectivity and higher-value products but the plan requires us to embrace change, according to Wilson. “This reaffirms our commitment to Allstate agents with increased advertising, enhanced new business opportunities and higher new business compensation,” he says. “This is about leading, not following.”
Consumers currently can access Allstate branded property-liability products through Allstate agencies, call centers and online but choice is limited by internal business rules, the firm acknowledges. Allstate says that access will be expanded in 2020 to enable consumers to select a method of interaction without restrictions. As a result, it will no longer be necessary to utilize both the Allstate and Esurance brands for direct sales.
‘Circle of Protection’
Allstate says will improve insurance affordability by combining the Allstate, Esurance, Encompass and Answer Financial organizations into a single business model. As a result, Allstate says it will be able to reduce costs and support more competitive prices without reducing margins.
The company plans to redesign and simplify property-liability products, rewarding engagement and community affiliation. Allstate says it will utilize sophisticated rating algorithms for pricing, such as telematics, and reflect the service model a customer chooses.
The firm will provide customers with what it calls a “circle of protection” leveraging a wide range of products, including home, renters, personal liability and life insurance, product protection plans and identity protection.
Allstate says it will also expand centralized customer service capabilities to improve consistency, reduce costs and enable Allstate agents to focus on growth and relationships.
Increased Technology Investment
By consolidating under the Allstate brand, the insurer says that it will be able to reallocate Esurance spending to reduce operating expenses. The company reports that it will also build new technology ecosystems to support increased connectivity, new products, operational adaptability and lower expenses.
“The Transformative Growth Plan will enable us to remain a strong competitor,” Wilson adds. “Winning is our past, our present and our future.”
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Okay, Anthony, I read the piece but all I really got out of it was “cost saving”:
Kill the Esurance brand and you’ll “be able to reduce costs and support more competitive prices without reducing margins.”
Probably true enough, or maybe you’re just killing the more powerful brand than Allstate itself? And maybe that makes the Allstate agents happier? Just asking.