DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

Allstate Corp.'s (ALL) fourth-quarter earnings more than doubled as the insurer enjoyed a reprieve from catastrophe losses.

Shares in the country's largest publicly traded home and auto insurer were up 3.4% at $30.30 after hours as core earnings rose more than expected. Through the close, the stock has fallen 7.3% in the last year, while the wider market is positive.

Lately, Allstate's unadjusted bottom line has been at the mercy of catastrophe losses because of a gamut of costly natural disasters last year. For example, the $2.34 billion in losses in the second quarter were the greatest amount since Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005.

However, in the latest period, Allstate reported $66 million in catastrophe losses, compared with $537 million a year earlier and $1.08 billion in the third quarter. The company's property-liability combined ratio--which measures how much of its collected premiums were paid out as losses or expenses--improved to 90.7% from 100.8% a year earlier and 104.8% reported in the third quarter.

Allstate has been raising home-insurance rates to keep up with the increasing costs, while it also has been charging more for auto coverage in an attempt to offset policyholder departures.

Overall, Allstate posted a profit of $724 million, or $1.43 a share, in the latest period, up from $296 million, or 55 cents a share, a year earlier. Operating profit, which excludes some investment results, jumped to $1.48 a share from 50 cents.

Premiums written increased 2.9% to $6.43 billion.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected operating earnings of 95 cents a share on written premiums of $6.45 billion.

In the auto-insurance unit, the company's largest, premiums written declined 0.8%, while homeowners' premiums written grew 2.8%. The auto unit has been dealing with a decline in policyholders, and the homeowner's unit has struggled to turn a profit for years.

In November, Allstate unveiled a $1 billion stock buyback program alongside a plan to repay its maturing notes. It planned to issue preferred stock and new debt to help fund the measures.

Also in November, Moody's Investors Service heightened the chance of a downgrade for Allstate because of the insurer's profitability prospects. In lowering the outlook to negative from stable, Moody's said Allstate's operating results continue to reflect weak underwriting profitability.

-By Joan E. Solsman, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2291; joan.solsman@dowjones.com

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