IS ALLSTATE IN GOOD HANDS?

摘要

When Edward M. Liddy took over at Allstate Corp. in 1999, the insurance giant was so out of touch with the times that it didn't even have customer toll-free numbers. The Internet? It didn't have a clue about how to use it as a marketing tool. And some 40% of the outfit's agents were salaried employees, whose lackluster efforts were far outpaced by Allstate's own commission-driven independent agents-not to mention those of the independents who pitched policies for rivals. "You can't ignore the signs of change. My task was to understand where the marketplace was moving and get in front of that," says the low-key ceo.