 |
|
|
************************************************************************** |
E-WIRE PRESS RELEASE E-WIRE PRESS RELEASE E-WIRE PRESS RELEASE |
************************************************************************** |
|
TO BUSINESS AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDITORS: |
Allstate Life Insurance Company Becomes Service Provider to Program Financing Environmental Cleanups |
|
NORTHBROOK, ILLINOIS, Feb. 28 -/E-Wire/-- Allstate Life Insurance Company, a member of Allstate Financial Group, has become the service provider to the Clean Environment Trust, a non-profit organization created to facilitate cleanup of hazardous waste sites.
|
The Clean Environment Trust holds, invests and disburses funds from environmental claim settlements to pay for the cleanup of hazardous waste sites. It can be used at multiparty state or federal "Superfund" sites, which are sites identified as posing an environmental threat due to known hazardous substances. The Clean Environment Trust was recently used for the first time at the Omega Chemical Superfund site in Whittier, Calif.
|
"For years, the insurance industry has tried to determine how to bring the advantages of 'structured settlements' to environmental cleanups," said Tom Gutowski, director of environmental structured settlements at Allstate Financial, a business unit of The Allstate Corporation. "We believe the Clean Environment Trust provides the answer."
|
The Superfund Program, established by Congress in 1980 to clean up hazardous waste sites, is administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Over the last several years, the EPA has instituted changes designed to speed the settlement process, such as ability-to-pay settlements, alternative dispute resolution and the use of site-specific "special accounts."
|
"But even with these innovations, many parties are still unable to liquidate their liabilities and are involved for the duration of the cleanup, which can last for decades," said Gutowski. "With 'The Clean Environment Solution(SM)' -- our term for the entire process that utilizes the trust -- more parties should be able to 'cash out,' or move the liability off their books."
|
The Clean Environment Trust creates an individual subtrust for each site. These subtrusts receive money from companies responsible for paying for the cleanups. Most of the monies deposited into each subtrust are used to purchase a funding agreement, similar to an annuity. A funding agreement benefit schedule can be set up to match future benefits with expected expenses. The parties responsible for the cleanup submit requests for reimbursement as expenses are incurred, and the trust reimburses them from funds available in the subtrust for the site.
|
"The advantages are considerable," said Gutowski, "both for companies that cash out and for those that hold ongoing cleanup responsibility. All in all, use of The Clean Environment Solution(SM) should facilitate settlements, and put more of the settlement money to work paying for cleanup and cleanup- related items."
|
Allstate Financial Group is a business unit of The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL), representing the affiliates that provide life insurance, retirement and investment products. Widely known through its "You're In Good Hands With Allstate(R)" slogan, Allstate Financial helps its customers achieve a secure financial future with a broad array of retirement solutions. Allstate Financial is also a premier provider of variable annuities and offers long- term care insurance. Customers can access Allstate Financial products and services through approximately 60,000 financial professionals including Allstate agents, independent agents, banks and securities firms.
|
|
/SOURCE:
|
Allstate Life Insurance Company |
-0-
|
02-28-2001 |
/CONTACT:
|
Justin Schmitt of Allstate Life Insurance Company,
847-402-5600/
/Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/109395.html or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 109395 |
| /WEB SITE: |
http://http://www.allstate.com
|
|
************************************************************************** |
To Transmit Your News Over E-Wire, visit http://www.ewire.com or
call 1-800-343-9013. E-Wire Is Broadcast To Millions Of Readers Worldwide |
************************************************************************** |
|
|
|
|
