Allstate Insurance Company

"The insurance business is a knowledge business. We don’t have a product you buy off the shelf—our people are our product, so they need to be the best they can be. That’s a formula tailor-made for continuous learning. There is no real product on the shelf. Our people make the product come alive, which is why workforce education is critical to the success
of Allstate.” - Edward M. Liddy, Chairman, President, and CEO, Allstate Insurance Company

With 5,900 employees in Chicago and 41,000 worldwide, the Allstate Insurance Company is the nation’s largest publicly held personal lines insurer, providing insurance products to more than 14 million households. First and foremost, the insurance business is a knowledge business and Allstate faces a challenge of delivering a wide array of high-quality training to its employees located across the country. In response the firm has made a substantial investment in learning technologies and supplied its entire workforce with desktop computers. Central to Allstate’s response is its use of “blended learning solutions,” a method of educating at a distance using technological delivery methods, combined with some form of classroom training. At Allstate, these solutions include a mix of online learning, instructor-led teaching, role-playing, videos, peer learning, on-the-job problem-solving, and programs based on strategic alliances with colleges and universities.

Now, roughly 50% of the firm’s educational offerings entail some type of blended learning solution. Much of the learning has been customized to align it with the business’s strategic priorities and can be accessed by employees during company time. The educational offerings cover a wide spectrum from basic computer training, advanced database and programming classes, leadership development, interpersonal skill training to insurance certifications. Allstate offers monetary incentives for employees completing critical industry certifications and has a generous tuition reimbursement policy for graduate and undergraduate levels.

The new approach to designing and delivering effective learning solutions at Allstate has decreased turnover among key IT positions and increased efficiencies and eliminated redundancies in its education and training offerings. As a result, Allstate was named to Training Magazine’s list of top training organizations for 2001 and 2002.

Click here to view full case study. The information presented here was assembled in 2002. This does not necessarily represent the current status of Allstate.