NY -- Standard & Poor's CreditWire 1/23/96 -- Standard & Poor's assigns its `A-1' rating to The Allstate Corp.'s commercial paper program. Additionally, Standard & Poor's affirms its single-`A' senior debt rating on the company. The long-term rating outlook is stable. The ratings reflect Allstate's extremely strong core businesses, which are characterized by low expenses, high profitability, and excellent market positions. All of these strengths have been bolstered recently by Allstate's favorable strategic change. Offsetting these significant strengths is Allstate's exposure to catastrophe losses, which greatly increases the volatility of its earnings stream and renders its capital base partially vulnerable to shock losses. Allstate has the second-largest market position in the very lucrative U.S. retail insurance market. This significant market
