Inspiring clients on their terms: New Allstate Insurance Age

Strengthening relationships with consumers: Allstate poised for success

in the national capital region

OTTAWA, March 26 /CNW/ - Today, Christianne Dostie, Executive Vice President and Tim Currie, Assistant Vice President, Allstate Canada, were on hand for the official grand opening of new Allstate insurance agencies in Gatineau, Quebec, and Ottawa, Ontario. Tomorrow, Dostie and Currie will travel to Kingston, Ontario, for the opening of another new agency.

In 2007, Allstate announced that it was going to enhance its agent distribution model in order to better respond to customer expectations and to the demands of an evolving marketplace and introduced the new Allstate Insurance Agency.

"For over 50 years, Allstate has built a reputation on having a personal relationship with its customers," said Dostie. "With the evolution to our new Allstate Insurance Agency model, we will strengthen that reputation and be more responsive to what consumers want when they want it. Simply put, consumers in Quebec and Ontario - and all across Canada -- are going to notice a tangible difference in how we do business."

The new Allstate Insurance Agency creates a consistent delivery model by providing consumers with access to a team of experienced and knowledgeable Allstate agents who will each be accountable for managing specific aspects of a customer's needs. In each Agency there will be:

-An Allstate Agent who will create and develop the relationship at new

business;

-An Allstate Agent who will expand the relationship by identifying

additional features to meet changing and evolving insurance needs;

and

-An Allstate Agent who will strengthen the relationship at renewal

time and provide customer service and support.

"Located right in the middle of Ottawa South's growing residential and retail sector, I was very cognizant of the unique needs of a multicultural city when building my team of agents. No less than seven languages are spoken at our agency (Arabic, English, French, Hindi, Mandarin, Punjabi, and Taiwanese). I think it's important to be able to put people at ease by speaking to them in the language they're most comfortable with. This also fits well with Allstate's growing practice of providing customized plans for home and auto insurance such as the 'Your Choice Home' and 'Your Choice Auto' policy offerings. In order to tailor a policy that provides just the right coverage at just the right price, an agent has to get to know their clients and their lifestyles. Being able to speak the language can make all the difference in the world in getting this right the first time and every time," explained Ottawa South agency manager, Greg Bergeron.

Currently, 94% of the new agencies have been opened and upon the project's completion later this year, there will be 93 new Agencies in total across Canada, with more than half in Ontario and twenty in Quebec. Other agencies are located in the Maritimes and Alberta.

Allstate Insurance Company of Canada produces and distributes home and auto insurance products right across Canada. The "Good Hands Network" enables consumers to contact Allstate through one of our over 500 exclusive community-based agents, directly on-line at www.allstate.ca, and through the Customer Contact Centre at 1-800- ALLSTATE.