On Aug. 13, 2004, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned its 'A+' senior debt rating to Allstate Corp.'s (Allstate) $650 million, 10-year bond issuance. Allstate expects to use the net proceeds from this offering for general corporate purposes, including the repayment of a portion of the $900 million of senior notes that are scheduled to mature on May 1, 2005. After the redemption, Standard & Poor's expects Allstate's financial leverage (debt plus preferred as a percentage of capitalization) to remain near 20%, while fixed-charge coverage is expected to be more than 12x. Both metrics support the 'A+' counterparty credit rating on Allstate. Allstate is the holding company for the Allstate Insurance Group, a diversified financial services organization with a strong
