From the WSJ Article;
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Allstate Corp. (ALL), the largest publicly traded home and auto insurer in the U.S., said its fourth-quarter profit fell 43% to $296 million due to an increase in disaster claims, primarily from a powerful hailstorm that struck Arizona in October.
The hailstorm alone caused losses of $355 million, while 19 other catastrophes cost Allstate $182 million in the quarter. The tally of Arizona claims alone exceeded the cost of all the disasters the company recorded in the fourth quarter of 2009.
Chief Executive Tom Wilson's efforts to reform the company's unprofitable home-insurance business have repeatedly been flummoxed by an increase in severe-weather events such as tornadoes and hailstorms in recent years, which have been striking with increased frequency and severity. Wilson said the extent of the Arizona hailstorm, which caused widespread damage in Phoenix, "would have been unheard of a decade ago."
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