NEW YORK – Allstate Corp. (ALL), the No. 2 U.S. home and auto insurer, on Monday posted a 76 percent jump in quarterly earnings and raised its forecast for the year, as it added customers and loss claims fell.
The Northbrook, Ill.-based company said its second-quarter earnings were $1.03 billion, or $1.47 a share, compared with $588 million, or 84 cents a share, a year earlier.
The company also raised its earnings forecast for the year to a range of $5.40 to $5.65 a share, from an earlier forecast of $4.80 to $5.10.
Allstate's investments, which sometimes lead to fluctuations in its quarterly earnings, had a negligible impact on results in the second quarter, and operating income was also $1.47 a share. On this basis, analysts on average were expecting earnings of $1.16 a share.
Allstate has benefited from higher rates pushed through by large home and auto insurers in the past several years. Rates have begun to flatten out, but fewer car accidents and claims on homes helped the bottom line.
Revenue rose 5 percent to $8.3 billion from $7.9 billion a year ago.
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