George E. Ruebenson, currently senior vice president of Allstate's property-casualty claim service unit, will succeed Thomas J. Wilson as president of Allstate Protection at year's end, the company said today.

His appointment was made as Northbrook, Ill-based Allstate continued to reshuffle management in the wake of Mr. Wilson's promotion to chief executive officer following Edward Liddy's decision to step down as CEO at the end of the year.

In related changes, Allstate also said it has named Michael J. Roche, currently senior vice president for Allstate Protection Technology, to replace Mr. Ruebenson as the head of Allstate's claims unit P-CCSO.

Mr. Roche will report to Mr. Ruebenson, while Fred Cripe, group vice president of product operations, is being promoted to senior vice president and will become a member of the senior management team, also reporting to Mr. Ruebenson.

Allstate protection technology, currently reporting to Mr. Roche, will merge with enterprise technology and report to Catherine Brune, who will remain senior vice president and chief information officer and continue to report to the Allstate CEO.

Allstate also said that Joseph V. Tripodi, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, will report to Tom Wilson in his new role of CEO. Previously, Mr. Tripodi reported to the president of Allstate Protection, the company said.

Mr. Liddy, while stepping down as CEO, will stay on as chairman until his retirement from the company in the spring of 2008, when he will be 62, Allstate said on Sept. 18. Mr. Liddy has been chairman since January 1999.

Mr. Ruebenson, 58, joined Allstate in 1970, holding a variety of key positions in the field and Allstate's home office. He was named vice president for P-CCSO, which is the 17,000 person claim organization responsible for serving all of Allstate's property and casualty customers in 2000.

Mr. Ruebenson became a member of Allstate's senior management team as senior vice president in 2003.

Allstate, during Mr. Liddy's tenure, has been viewed positively by analysts after repairing problems with its captive agent system in the wake of major changes in the agency structure that were made starting in 2000. The company has also shown an ability to improve both customer and agency satisfaction and maintain a competitive claim expense ratio.

Also on Mr. Liddy's watch, the company sustained almost $6 billion in 2005 hurricane losses and embarked on a program to cut back its coverage in coastal areas throughout the nation as well as funding a campaign that is attempting to secure a federal catastrophe insurance program.

Mr. Ruebenson's new title “is part of the company's well-planned succession strategy, further demonstrating our deep management bench,” said Mr. Liddy.

Mr. Reubenson, he said, “has served Allstate and its protection business in numerous key leadership positions and has extensive knowledge of both our company and the industry. His experience makes him ideally suited to drive the continued growth and success of our protection business.”

Commenting on the management structure, Mr. Wilson said, “This is a great team of experienced executives with a proven track record of success. It is a testament to the breadth and depth of our management team at all levels of the company. The commitment of these leaders to Allstate and our customer-centric growth strategy gives me great confidence in our future.”

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