Sears, Roebuck and Co.

The idea followed insurance broker Carl L. Odell's proposal to Sears executive Robert E. Wood that auto insurance could be sold by direct mail. The Sears board approved the proposal, and the new insurer took the Allstate name from Sears' tire line.

Sears created Allstate Insurance Company as a subsidiary in 1931. Allstate initially sold auto insurance by direct mail through Sears catalogs, placed its first agent in a Sears booth at the 1933 Century of Progress fair, and began operating agent offices in Sears stores in 1934. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).