Consumers will be able to visit an Allstate agent in the Boston area for the first time in a generation.

The insurer left the Massachusetts auto insurance marketplace in 1987—fed up with the state's government-mandated ratemaking system.

Allstate wasn't the only insurer to leave. Less than 20 companies wrote auto insurance in Massachusetts before it switched to a "managed competition" system to allow companies to set their own rates.

After years of "evaluating the atmosphere" of the new ratemaking scheme, Allstate has allowed a new agency in the Boston suburb of North Andover to open—and a handful of others are planned in the near future, says Allstate spokesman Chris Conner.

"Allstate monitored the progress in the market and kept a close eye on regulation," he says. "We feel it's the right time for a brick-and-mortar presence in Massachusetts."

Conner says Allstate will look to recruit agency owners in the state, and says the company is willing to consider candidates from outside the insurance world. The insurer will seek entrepreneurs with management experience from various branches of the business world, Conner explains.

The insurer actually reentered the market in 2009, using agents in the neighboring states of Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Hampshire as well as direct sales.

Since then, Allstate has accumulated about 1.4 percent of the market. The Mapfre North America Group led all private passenger auto insurers with a 28.4 percent market share in 2011, according to A.M. Best Co.

There is no exact goal for increasing market share in the state, Conner says, but an "aggressive ramp-up" in the state is planned for 2013, he adds.

"It takes a while to get the brand reintroduced," says Conner. "Our initial efforts have been well-received. We think we can grow significantly."

Allstate joins a number of insurers who have found the Massachusetts auto-insurance market much more appealing with managed competition. Geico and Progressive have rejoined the fray as well.

Special Reports /

Allstate Agents Reenter Mass. Auto Market After 25 Years Away

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