Crain’s Chicago Business reports that exclusive-agency carrier Allstate Corp. plans to set up an advisory board of agents this summer in an attempt to improve relations damaged by the company’s unilateral move to change its employee-agents into independent contractors.
The announcement was made by the Northbrook, Ill.-based insurer’s CEO, Edward Liddy, after the company’s annual meeting. When Allstate asked its employee-agents to become independent contractors or leave three years ago, employees who for years had invested time and energy in their own agencies were faced with the decision of surrendering their livelihoods or accept their new status, which meant no health benefits, among other things.
The move resulted in several class-action results which are still pending, an attempt by workers to unionize and resulted in a tense working relationship between management and the newly christened independent contractors.
The advisory board will be comprised of 50 Allstate agents nationally, according to Crain’s.
Net income in the first quarter of 2003 was up six-fold to $665 million, or 95 cents per share, from $95 million, or 14 cents per share in the same period last year. Revenue was up 8 percent to $7.86 billion.
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