Louisiana's top insurance regulator said after meeting with Allstate's top management yesterday at the insurer's Northbrook, Ill. headquarters that he was reassured the carrier would not be leaving Louisiana's homeowners market.

Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon last week, before securing a meeting with Allstate President Thomas J. Wilson had raised the possibility of legal action against the company if it sought to drop its existing business in the state.

Allstate has said it is considering dropping wind and hail coverage for about 30,000 policies, which the commissioner said are located in 18 parishes in the state.

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

After his confab with executives, he reported he had reemphasized this point.

The commissioner originally asked for a meeting with Allstate Chief Executive Officer Edward M. Liddy, saying he hoped a session with top management would be more productive than his talks with others at the company.

His three and a half hour session with Mr. Wilson yesterday included Gov. Kathleen Blanco, who took part via speakerphone.

Mr. Donelon said in a statement that he was pleased he had the conference with top Allstate officials, "so I could hear from the horse's mouth where they stand.

"We will use this as a basis to go forward in our work and decisions to solve the problem that we face, which is to ensure that our people across the state have coverage at an affordable price. It's going to take a great deal of work, and all the resources that we can bring to bear to solve this problem," Mr. Donelon continued.

"I look forward to working with the industry, the legislature, the governor and business leaders around the state to help us reach our goal," Mr. Donelon added.

"However we proceed, we have to keep in mind the obligations imposed by our consumer protection laws. I made our position clear to Allstate that we will vigorously resist any effort to cancel the wind and hail portions of homeowner's policies in violation of state law," his announcement concluded.

Special Reports /

Allstate Promises No Louisiana Exit: Donelon

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