Allstate says controversial steps it made in an effort to improve agency performance are working.

The Northbrook, Ill.-insurer over the last several years has changed its compensation and bonus structure while adjusting performance standards. Additionally the company offered financing for agency acquisitions, resulting in a drop in the total number of agencies.

Also Read: Allstate Q1 Profit Falls 7.4%; Home, Auto Policy Count Decline Slows

During a conference call on the insurer's earnings, CEO Thomas J. Wilson quashed a statement from an analyst who implied the reason for the decline in agencies was due to the new compensation plan.

Instead, Wilson says agents chose to close shop based on their own fate based on their “ability to succeed”—personal choices related to “their own skills, capabilities and what they wanted to do.”

Matthew Winter (pictured), president of Allstate Auto, Home and Agencies, adds the reduction in agency count “was not all unintended.”

“We had some expected attrition during that period as we were shifting and trying to get to a more productive agency force,” Winters says.

However, the strategy has worked and the agency count has stabilized, Wilson and Winter insist.

Winter says there is an initiative to grow the number of agencies and sales professionals through a concerted effort to improve recruiting, selection and training.

Agents who remain after the changes are “more representative” of Allstate's strategy to push household bundling and improve customer experience.

“It appears to be doing what we wanted it to do,” Winters says. “It's driving the behaviors we want.”

He credited agents with doing a “phenomenal job” adjusting business plans, and many enjoyed a “good payout”—with a “high percentage making the variable compensation.”

“We've seen agencies prove that they can be very effective with our new structure, with our new compensation structure, with our new support model and with our new customer value proposition,” Winters says.

Special Reports /

Allstate Execs Say Agency Plan Has Worked; Count Stabilizing

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