01 September 2004

Frances Slams Allstate's stock

Frances Slams Allstate's stock upon fears that the hurricane is going to make landfall any day in Florida.

Shares of Allstate Corp., Ace Ltd. and other insurers fell today as Hurricane Frances approached the Florida coast, threatening to become the second storm packing 140- mile-per-hour winds to hit the state in three weeks.

The impact to the bottom line goes far beyond just the claims by it's customers. In this case, the institutional investors are taking a profit after a 50% increase over the past 18 months.

The other possibility is that they may already be "stretched" after hurricane Charley. Should Frances make landfall in Florida with its current wind strength, it would mark the first time since 1915 that two storms of that magnitude hit the U.S. in the same year, the Miami- based hurricane center's data show.

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