Allstate said its company president would meet with Louisiana's insurance commissioner after the regulator threatened to sue the carrier if it follows through on plans to drop wind and hail coverage for thousands of customers.

Commissioner Jim Donelon, while raising the threat of litigation yesterday, had also announced that he was requesting a meeting with Allstate Insurance Company Chief Executive Officer Edward Liddy.

Instead, Mike Siemienas a company spokesman at its Northbrook, Ill., hub, said "the commissioner will meet next week with Tom Wilson, Allstate president and chief operating officer," at company headquarters.

Mr. Donelon said he made the request to meet with Mr. Liddy after other unnamed Allstate officials failed to convince him of "the legitimacy of their plan to drop wind and hail coverage for an estimated 30,000 homeowners" in 18 parishes.

Mr. Donelon said he would fight the plan in court if necessary, because "the plan is illegal" under state consumer protection law.

According to the commissioner, Allstate officials last Friday raised the possibility that the insurer could exit the state's homeowners' insurance market altogether if their plan to drop wind and hail coverage in the 18 parishes is blocked.

Mr. Siemienas said flatly today that "the company does not plan to pull out of the Louisiana homeowners market." Asked about what the commissioner said was a withdrawal from 18 parishes, the spokesman said that at the meeting the company informed the commissioner, "We are considering dropping wind and hail for about 30,000 policies."

Mr. Siemienas added, "It's not an action we have taken."

Allstate, he noted, has been taking steps all year to limit exposures. Earlier this year the company said it will not renew or write new home insurance business in New York City, the northern suburb of Westchester County and Long Island, New York.

The company "continually looks at its exposure along the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts, and as we feel it necessary, we take actions to limit our exposure. We've been doing it throughout the year, especially where mega-catastrophes can strike," Mr. Siemienas said.

Mr. Donelon, when he said he wanted a meeting with Mr. Liddy, said he hoped that meeting would be more productive than his talks with others at the company. "I will meet anytime, anywhere with Allstate's CEO to see if we can work out something that balances Louisiana consumer interests with company interests and is in compliance with Louisiana law," he said. "Hopefully, reasonable minds will prevail."

Mr. Donelon said the state's consumer protection statutes prohibit any move by Allstate to unilaterally change or cancel a policy that has been in effect for more than three years. It is a law unique to Louisiana that has been on the books since 1992, he informed.

Allstate, the state's second largest insurer, provides homeowners coverage to approximately 220,000 policyholders in Louisiana.

Mr. Donelon also said he plans to convene a meeting next week of insurers writing homeowners coverage in the state to discuss the ramifications should Allstate abandon all or part of the homeowners market.

"We need to determine what can be done to make sure that insurance is available to consumers throughout the state should Allstate create a void," he said.

Special Reports /

Allstate Pres. To Meet Donelon Over Pullout Plan

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