Allstate ex-president receives $730,000 in separation deal

NORTHBROOK, Ill. (Crain’s)—Joseph Lacher, who abruptly left his senior post at Allstate Corp. in July in a tiff with CEO Thomas Wilson, will receive $730,000 cash in a separation agreement, the company disclosed late Friday.

Mr. Lacher, who was president of Allstate’s property/casualty unit, won’t get any payments that otherwise would have been due him under Allstate’s executive incentive plan for 2011, the company’s severance plan or his change-of-control employment agreement, according to the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

He has agreed to forfeit his unvested stock options and restricted stock.

Earlier this year, Mr. Lacher, who joined Allstate in late 2009 from Travelers Corp., was perceived on Wall Street as the key player in the company’s turnaround efforts. Northbrook, Ill.-based Allstate has steadily lost market share to competing auto insurers in recent years.

Allstate stunned investors in July when it announced his sudden departure. Sources later indicated that a key reason was Mr. Lacher’s denigrating comments about Mr. Wilson to a group of Allstate agents at an annual function in May.

Mr. Lacher’s total compensation in 2010 was $3.2 million, of which $900,000 was cash, according to Allstate’s proxy statement.

The separation agreement includes noncompetition, nonsolicitation and nondisparagement requirements for Mr. Lacher.

Steve Daniels is a reporter for Crain's Chicago Business, a sister publication of Business Insurance.