…or is this just a sick twisted rumor?
13 replies (most recent on top)
Simple answer: NO!
Why would they buy Allstate and deal with all the baggage when then they can just organically take market share every year like they have been doing for years. Progressive is not going to form over that cash to buy out Allstate. Get real.
Probably not right away. Although it is a plausible scenario that Peltz will carve up the company and whittle it down to its core auto insurance business (and maybe home insurance as well) and then sell that to a competitor. Seen that happen before.
Right now Allstate is way too bloated and has too much baggage to be salable to a competitor. Particularly one with leaner and more efficient IT and business practices.
No such rumor except by the people on here.
One dumpster fire buying another. What’s the point?
To abuse the old adage “Why buy the cow if you get the milk for free?”… there’s nothing at Allstate to buy. The distribution model is broken, the systems are poor, products are standard at best… Customers can be poached really easy.
Organic growth has not been something the Big A has been able to historically accomplish through underwriting cycles in the last 2 decades when put into the context of sustainable growth. They have always prioritize managed growth and profit over all other things. No slight, just a fact of how the business has been managed….play the long game. If/when someone identifies them as simply a cash cow with no real material growth trajectory, then perhaps they get consumed by someone else. Time will tell and if it does occur, its a sad outcome for an iconic brand that just couldn’t get it done in finding new ways to compete. Think Nokia, they played the long game….. did nothing wrong, just not enough right. That sits at SVP, EVP and above for those strategies and tactics. Lets hope and pray they’re right….If not they should be held as strictly accountable as desk level performance execution.
Word is a sale is the real reason why they are going direct and rolling out ASC product lines. It removes the huge costs of having exclusive agents and makes the Allstate products more in line with the Progressives and Geicos of the industry. Allows for more inviting acquisition price without the baggage of agencies. This has been in the cards since 2021 according to Strategy groups.
The ASC products and the direct model are NOT intended to become more competitive but to make the idea and price of selling off the company more realistic and appealing.
If it makes anyone feel better, my buddy at Farmers says that same rumor is floating around over there too.
Funny how much similarity there is between these two insurance behemoths who have lost their way, share their rejects back-and-forth, and have sunk from being Top 5 insurers to sinking ships.
Not a chance. They can get the business they want, whenever they want.
Progressive is torn between buying Allstate and Waste Management. Hard to figure out which has the biggest pile of trash for the dollar.
I have pillow talk with Flo nightly. She says No
That would be mayhem