General

Basis of presentation

The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Allstate Life Insurance Company (“ALIC”) and its wholly owned subsidiaries (collectively referred to as the “Company”). ALIC is wholly owned by Allstate Insurance Company (“AIC”), which is wholly owned by Allstate Insurance Holdings, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Allstate Corporation (the “Corporation”). These consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated.

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Nature of operations

The Company sells traditional, interest-sensitive and variable life insurance products. The Company distributes its products through Allstate exclusive agencies and exclusive financial specialists. The Company also sells voluntary accident and health insurance through workplace enrolling independent agents in New York. The Company previously offered and continues to have in force fixed annuities such as deferred and immediate annuities. The Company previously offered institutional products consisting of funding agreements sold to unaffiliated trusts that used them to back medium-term notes. There are no institutional products outstanding as of December 31, 2016. The Company also previously offered variable annuities and substantially all of this business is reinsured.

The following table summarizes premiums and contract charges by product.



($ in millions)	2016		2015		2014
Premiums
Traditional life insurance	$	502	$	515	$	492
Immediate annuities with life contingencies	—		—		4
Accident and health insurance	90		85		93
Total premiums	592		600		589

Contract charges
Interest-sensitive life insurance	703		724		828
Fixed annuities	14		14		19
Total contract charges	717		738		847
Total premiums and contract charges	$	1,309	$	1,338	$	1,436

The Company, through several subsidiaries, is authorized to sell life insurance and retirement products in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. For 2016, the top geographic locations for direct statutory premiums and annuity considerations were New York, California, Texas, Florida and Illinois. No other jurisdiction accounted for more than 5% of statutory premiums and annuity considerations.

The Company has exposure to market risk as a result of its investment portfolio. Market risk is the risk that the Company will incur realized and unrealized net capital losses due to adverse changes in interest rates, credit spreads, equity prices or currency exchange rates. The Company’s primary market risk exposures are to changes in interest rates, credit spreads and equity prices. Interest rate risk is the risk that the Company will incur a loss due to adverse changes in interest rates relative to the interest rate characteristics of its interest bearing assets and liabilities. This risk arises from many of the Company’s primary activities, as it invests substantial funds in interest-sensitive assets and issues interest-sensitive liabilities. Interest rate risk includes risks related to changes in U.S. Treasury yields and other key risk-free reference yields. Credit spread risk is the risk that the Company will incur a loss due to adverse changes in credit spreads. This risk arises from many of the Company’s primary activities, as the Company invests substantial funds in spread-sensitive fixed income assets. Equity price risk is the risk that the Company will incur losses due to adverse changes in the general levels of the equity markets.

The Company monitors economic and regulatory developments that have the potential to impact its business. Federal and state laws and regulations affect the taxation of insurance companies and life insurance products. Congress and various state legislatures from time to time consider legislation that would reduce or eliminate the favorable policyholder tax treatment currently applicable to life insurance. Congress and various state legislatures also consider proposals to reduce the taxation of certain products or investments that may compete with life insurance. Legislation that increases the taxation on insurance products or reduces the taxation on competing products could lessen the advantage or create a disadvantage for certain of the Company’s products making them less competitive. Such proposals, if adopted, could have an adverse effect on the Company’s financial position or ability to sell such products and could result in the surrender of some existing contracts and policies. In addition, changes in the federal estate tax laws could negatively affect the demand for the types of life insurance used in estate planning.