NU Online News Service, Sept. 3, 10:28 a.m. EDT

Allstate agents in Florida said the insurance company is attempting to reintroduce auto insurance-related quotas in order for agents to keep their ability to place property policies with other companies.

In meetings held throughout Florida, company managers allegedly said agents "must write 0.7 autos for every brokered property policy they write in the expanded market program," according to an e-mail newsletter from the National Association of Professional Allstate Agents (NAPAA).

Because Allstate has not written new property policies in Florida, Allstate agents were permitted to place business with third-party insurance companies, said NAPAA President Bob Isacsen.

"Now [Allstate is] saying, 'You're not allowed to do that anymore unless you give us business, too,'" said Mr. Isacsen.

If agents fail at maintaining the ratio of auto policies to property policies, "they will lose their ability to write new brokered property policies for up to six months at a time," the newsletter said. Problems arise for agents because Allstate auto insurance rates are high, so the customer walks away, NAPAA said.

NAPAA alleged that Allstate has required Florida agents to attach an auto quote to every property application and provide a reason if the sale is not made. Agents were asked to give up a list of non-Allstate property customers so that the insurer could mail them an auto insurance letter on behalf of the agent.

Additionally, if the property of a prospective customer qualifies for a policy from Allstate Florida subsidiary Castle Key Insurance, the agent must not sell an expanded market policy even if the premium is lower, NAPAA alleged.

Allstate disputes the allegations and said there is no requirement for an agent to sell an auto policy with a homeowners policy, but "we do require agencies to maintain a balance between their auto and property production, and in order to do this, they are encouraged to give an auto quote along with a property quote," said spokeswoman Kathy Thomas in an e-mail.

Ms. Thomas described the ability to write policies through the expanded market program as "a privilege" to support agents' core Allstate business, but to keep the privilege, agents must maintain an auto-property insurance balance.

"The expanded market opportunities that have been provided for the Florida agencies are not intended to provide competition for products offered by the Allstate group of companies," Ms. Thomas said.

Allstate's Castle Key companies are currently seeking rate increases--33 percent increase for Castle Key Insurance and 18 percent increase for Castle Key Indemnity, the subsidiary writing new business in Florida.

In August 2008, Allstate and Florida regulators reached an agreement to end a long spat over regulators' request for documents from the company related to a past rate request. For a short time the insurer was suspended.

Allstate Corp. agreed to pay a $5 million fine to resolve legal issues stemming from the argument. The insurer also agreed to lower homeowners insurance rates by 5.6 percent and it was to write 100,000 new policies in Florida by November 2011.

Allstate has said Castle Key Indemnity is "more than halfway" to the goal of 100,000 new policies. The insurer is now writing new policies on homes one mile and farther from the coastline--changed from a previous distance of five miles--so long as homes meet Castle Key's other underwriting guidelines.

Castle Key Indemnity is also considering taking policies from the state's residual market, Citizens Property Insurance Co., Allstate has said.

Special Reports /

Allstate, Florida Agents At Odds Over Auto, Property Production

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