State Regulators Rule Against Allstate

The state Department of Insurance has found that Allstate Insurance Co. violated Proposition 103 by discouraging its agents from selling new policies to uninsured motorists seeking coverage. The department issued the legal opinion last week as part of its review of a lawsuit filed against Northbrook, Ill.-based Allstate by one of its former agents, Kenneth Letourneau. Letourneau claimed that Allstate reduced the estimated annual profitability of agents who served uninsured motorists. As a result, agents were less inclined to write policies for uninsured motorists. The state Department of Insurance agreed with Letourneau but will not take any further action until the full lawsuit goes to trial later this year in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Allstate spokeswoman Nancy Anderson said the company “strongly disagrees” with the department’s findings and will seek to have the agency reconsider the matter.