Customers entrust Allstate with confidential personal information on a daily basis, and they expect us to safeguard this information and use it responsibly. Consistent with Allstate’s Code of Ethics, employees must follow all appropriate physical, electronic and procedural safeguards to protect consumer information. We do not sell customer information. We respect their privacy and have created strict policies and processes to help ensure we maintain high standards for data security, wherever Allstate or our suppliers operate. These measures help protect customers from identity theft.

All employees are responsible for protecting, securing, retaining, and destroying Allstate information in accordance with company or business unit requirements. This includes protecting information from unauthorized access, modification, duplication, destruction or disclosure, whether accidental or intentional. This is true of all information created or used in connection with the transaction of Allstate business, regardless of how it is created, distributed or stored, in accordance with Allstate’s IT usage policy.

Allstate’s privacy statement covers how we gather, use and protect information about our customers.

Allstate invests heavily in the infrastructure that enables us to be on the scene immediately after a major catastrophic event—often well ahead of government entities. Through sophisticated forecasting techniques, we move large numbers of claims specialists into holding positions which enables them to serve victims in the most damaged areas as soon as the immediate danger has cleared. In many cases, we bring in Mobile Response Units, self-sufficient claims offices with generators and satellite phones, making us immediately available to help our customers in need.

Allstate’s claim team also partners with other groups across the company—including information technology, real estate and other areas—to see how they can improve the claims experience for both our customers and our people in the field. In 2007, we continued the deployment of our Next Gen claim system, a new technology and service platform that will help our 17,000 claim personnel better assist our customers. Next Gen enabled Allstate to respond quickly to the devastating wildfires in California in 2007. Allstate also offers customers a number of online resources to help customers prepare for a natural disaster, long before a response is needed.

Insurance fraud is an issue of concern to all insurance companies. Common frauds include “padding” or inflating actual claims; misrepresenting facts on an insurance application; submitting claims for injuries or damage that never occurred; and staging accidents. Allstate has a team of 552 Special Investigative Unit (SIU) employees dedicated to detecting, investigating, prosecuting and deterring fraud. Located countrywide and representing all our product categories, these investigative experts perform audits on providers, collaborate with Allstate underwriters on rate evasion and proper pricing and team up with agency owners and law enforcement. Specialized fraud analysts help us detect and understand regional and national trends, and explore new tools to enhance Allstate’s competitive advantage. In 2007, our SIU results included the filing of 11 civil lawsuits by Allstate seeking to recover a total of $12 million claimed in damages. Allstate collected about $10 million in fraud restitution during the year