Allstate Warns Agents of Tax and Bonus Errors - Insurance News | InsuranceNewsNet

InsuranceNewsNet — Your Industry. One Source.™

Sign in
  • Subscribe
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Home Now reading Property and Casualty News
Topics
    • Life Insurance News
    • Annuity News
    • Health/Employee Benefits
    • Property and Casualty
    • Advisor News
    • Washington Wire
    • Regulation News
    • Sponsored Articles
    • Monthly Focus
  • INN Exclusives
  • NewsWires
  • Magazine
  • Webinars
  • Free Newsletters
Sign in or register to be an INNsider.
  • Exclusives
  • NewsWires
  • Magazine
  • Webinars
  • Free Newsletters
  • Insider Pro
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Editorial Staff
  • Contact
  • Newsletters

Get Social

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
Law & Regulation
Property and Casualty News RSS Get our newsletter
Order Prints
February 13, 2012 Property and Casualty News No comments
Share
Share
Tweet
Email

Allstate Warns Agents of Tax and Bonus Errors

Michael Buck

Allstate Corp. has recently warned its agents of two separate errors that affect tax documents and year-end data used to calculate annual bonuses.

The company said immediate corrective action is being taken and will not affect compensation. Spokeswoman Meghann Dowd said about 4,700 agency owners are affected

"We take these matters seriously, and we will be rectifying them in a thorough and expeditious manner," the company said in a written statement.

The company issued 1099 tax forms that reported inaccurate income information and in some cases listed income belonging to another agent.

The second error stems from an incorrect December performance report used to calculate bonuses. The company said they are redoing the report with "additional checks and balances." The company is contractually obligated to pay bonuses by March 15, but anticipates they will be paid by Feb. 23

Jim Fish, executive director of the National Association of Professional Allstate Agents, said agents aren't happy with the mistakes. He said in some cases agents will have to file amended tax returns and bonuses will come later than usual.

"They're just beside themselves. There is a lot of anger out there," Fish said. "They are calling for an independent audit of the numbers, because they're at the point where they are not really trusting what Allstate is telling them."

Fish's organization is not affiliated with Allstate, but represents about 1,300 agents in a guild partnered with the Office and Professional Employees International Union (Best's News Service, Aug. 17, 2011).

Allstate said it uncovered the mistakes through routine due diligence and notified agents on Friday. The company apologized to those affected in their written statement.

"We regret any confusion, inconvenience or anxiety these recent process errors may have caused amongst some of our agency owners," the statement said.

The mistakes come at a time when some agents are unsatisfied with their relationship with Allstate, Fish said. In January, the NAPAA conducted a survey of 1,800 Allstate agents that found 73% of agents were "not very" or "not at all" satisfied with the company and 85% wouldn't recommend becoming an Allstate agent.

Jim Towns, an Allstate agency owner and co-chairman of the company's Agency Executive Council, dismissed the survey results.

"Members of this club seem to be disgruntled agents and former agents and their survey does not reflect the relationship Allstate has with their agency owners," Towns said in a written statement. "Allstate has been working closely with agency owners to understand the challenges and opportunities of the agency force."

Allstate Insurance Group currently has a Best's Financial Strength Rating of A+ (Superior).

Shares of Allstate (NYSE: ALL) on the afternoon of Feb. 13 were trading at $31.36, up 1.26% from the previous close.

(By Michael Buck, senior associate editor, BestWeek: [email protected])

Copyright:  (c) 2012 A.M. Best Company, Inc.
Source:  A.M. Best Company, Inc.
Wordcount:  459

Older

Obama Tweaks Controversial Health Insurance Mandate

Advisor News

  • What happens if your clients work while receiving Social Security?
  • Fed official: Bank rules under review in wake of SVB failure
  • Lawmakers open to Biden’s call to claw back SVB executive pay
  • ‘Clear fees’ cited as most important for financial services firms
  • Commentary: Why Monte Carlo simulations can sell retirement investors short
Sponsor
More Advisor News

Annuity News

  • Commentary: Why Monte Carlo simulations can sell retirement investors short
  • Rethinking a 2023 rebalance as rate hikes remain
  • Why MYGAs are enjoying a renaissance
  • Nationwide and Fidelity Investments establish distribution relationship
  • Conning: Growing demand for in-plan annuities creates opportunity for insurers
Sponsor
More Annuity News

Health/Employee Benefits News

  • New mothers could receive Medicaid coverage for a year under bipartisan proposal for Wisconsin
  • How Medicare Advantage could become a marquee issue in Nevada's 2024 Senate race
  • Hood: We’re sliding towards single payer
  • NJ doctor admits role in health care fraud conspiracy
  • Here’s how Sutter Health will invest millions to bring doctors closer to California patients
More Health/Employee Benefits News

Life Insurance News

  • State insurance regulators pursue more data on industry use of AI
  • Modern Life announces distribution partnership with Symetra
  • LIMRA: Life insurance premium expected to maintain record levels through 2024
  • Sordid Murdaugh crime saga far from over
  • Iowa woman gets 2 years in prison for defrauding life insurance policy of neighbor
More Life Insurance News

- Presented By -

Top Read Stories

  • Is your client emotionally ready for retirement?
  • Insurance industry reps leery of NAIC big data, AI questions
  • Private equity insurance investors facing higher capital charges for CLOs
  • When it comes to investment decisions, 2 personality traits stand out, study says
  • 7 steps on how to be a successful female financial advisor
More Top Read Stories >

Press Releases

  • RFP #T01523
  • Senior Market Sales Enters Under-65 Individual Health Insurance Market With Acquisition of O’Neill Marketing
  • RFP #T01723
  • Trusted by 22 of the Top 25 Property and Casualty Carriers, Insurity Strengthens Its Position as a Top 2 Core System Provider for P&C Software
  • Insurity’s Cloud-Based Sure Underwriting Workbench Now Available in the Microsoft Azure Marketplace
More Press Releases > Add Your Press Release >

How to Write For InsuranceNewsNet

Find out how you can submit content for publishing on our website.
View Guidelines

Topics

  • Life Insurance News
  • Annuity News
  • Health/Employee Benefits
  • Property and Casualty
  • Advisor News
  • Washington Wire
  • Regulation News
  • Sponsored Articles
  • Monthly Focus

Top Sections

  • Life Insurance News
  • Annuity News
  • Health/Employee Benefits News
  • Property and Casualty News
  • AdvisorNews
  • Washington Wire
  • Insurance Webinars

Our Company

  • About
  • Editorial Staff
  • Magazine
  • Write for INN
  • Advertise
  • Contact

Sign up for our FREE e-Newsletter!

Get breaking news, exclusive stories, and money- making insights straight into your inbox.

select Newsletter Options
Facebook Linkedin Twitter
© 2023 InsuranceNewsNet.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • AdvisorNews

Sign in with your Insider Pro Account

Not registered? Become an Insider Pro.