Allstate CEO out after two years

The Allstate Corp. of Northbrook, Ill., has announced the departure of James E. Hohmann, president and chief executive of Allstate Financial LLC, who is leaving on Jan. 5. George Ruebenson, president of Allstate Protection, will take Mr. Hohmann’s place while the company searches for a replacement. The departure comes nearly two years to the day when Mr. Hohmann first joined the company on Jan. 1, 2007. Last month, Allstate booked a $923 million loss during the third quarter, down from a $978 million profit during the same period in 2007. Catastrophe losses — primarily coming from hurricanes — totaled $1.82 billion during the third quarter, compared to $343 million in the year-ago period. Net investment income also fell by 15.5% to $136 billion in the period, down from $1.6 billion from the third quarter of 2007.