DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

Allstate Corp.'s (ALL) fourth-quarter earnings fell 43%, falling short of analysts' estimates, as the company's catastrophe losses jumped sharply.

Shares dropped 5% to $30.75 in after-hours trading. As of the close, the stock had risen 13% the past year.

The company's results "continued to be negatively impacted by high catastrophe losses and increased frequency of auto insurance claims," said Chairman and Chief Executive Thomas Wilson. "While we were able to increase auto insurance new business levels at the end of the year, this was not enough to offset lower customer renewals reflecting actions to maintain auto profitability in several large states."

The nation's biggest personal-lines insurer has been stung of late by higher claims costs that have dropped its operating income. The company on Tuesday said it would exit its banking business, selling its deposits to Discover Financial Services (DFS).

Allstate reported a profit of $296 million, or 55 cents a share, down from $518 million, or 96 cents, a year earlier. Operating earnings, which strip out investment gains and losses, fell to 50 cents from $1.09. Premiums written fell 0.6% to $6.24 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had most recently forecast earnings of 88 cents on $6.28 billion of premiums written.

The company's property-liability combined ratio--a gauge of how much was paid out as losses or expenses compared with each dollar collected in premiums--rose to 100.8% from 93.2%.

 
 

-By Nathan Becker, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2855; nathan.becker@dowjones.com;

 
 
Allstate (NYSE:ALL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024 Click Here for more Allstate Charts.
Allstate (NYSE:ALL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024 Click Here for more Allstate Charts.