UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

The registrant meets the conditions set forth in General Instructions I (1)(a) and (b) of Form 10-K and is therefore filing this form with the reduced disclosure format.

[X]          ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF

THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013

OR

[  ]           TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF

THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from ________ to ________

Commission file number 0-31248

ALLSTATE LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

3100 Sanders Road, Northbrook, Illinois 60062

(Address of principal executive offices)      (Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:  (847) 402-5000

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:  None

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:  Common Stock, par value $227.00 per share

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

Yes                          No   X  

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.

Yes                          No   X  

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

Yes   X                    No      

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).

Yes   X                    No      

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§ 229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.     X  

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company.  See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

Yes                        No   X  

None of the common equity of the registrant is held by non-affiliates.  Therefore, the aggregate market value of the common equity held by non-affiliates of the registrant is zero.

As of March 5, 2014, the registrant had 23,800 common shares, $227 par value, outstanding, all of which are held by Allstate Insurance Company.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Part I

Item 1.  Business

Allstate Life Insurance Company was organized in 1957 as a stock life insurance company under the laws of the State of Illinois.  Allstate Life Insurance Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides life insurance and voluntary accident and health insurance.  It conducts substantially all of its operations directly or through wholly owned United States subsidiaries.  In this document, we refer to Allstate Life Insurance Company as “Allstate Life” or “ALIC” and to Allstate Life and its wholly owned subsidiaries as the “Allstate Life Group” or the “Company”.

Allstate Life is a wholly owned subsidiary of Allstate Insurance Company, a stock property-liability insurance company organized under the laws of the State of Illinois.  All of the outstanding stock of Allstate Insurance Company is owned by Allstate Insurance Holdings, LLC, which is wholly owned by The Allstate Corporation, a publicly owned holding company incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware.  In this document, we refer to Allstate Insurance Company as “AIC” and to The Allstate Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries as “Allstate”, the “Parent Group” or the “Corporation”.  The Allstate Corporation is the largest publicly held personal lines insurer in the United States.  Widely known through the “You’re In Good Hands With Allstate®” slogan, Allstate’s strategy is to reinvent protection and retirement to help individuals in approximately 16 million households protect what they have today and better prepare for tomorrow.  Customers can access Allstate products and services such as auto and homeowners insurance through approximately 11,600 exclusive Allstate agencies and financial representatives in the United States and Canada, as well as through independent agencies, contact centers and the internet.  Allstate is the 2nd largest personal property and casualty insurer in the United States on the basis of 2012 statutory direct premiums earned according to A.M. Best.  In addition, according to A.M. Best, it is the nation’s 17th largest issuer of life insurance business on the basis of 2012 ordinary life insurance in force and 24th largest on the basis of 2012 statutory admitted assets.

The Parent Group has four business segments, one of which is Allstate Financial.  Allstate Financial, which is not a separate legal entity, is comprised of the Allstate Life Group together with the majority of American Heritage Life Insurance Company.  This document describes the Allstate Life Group.  It does not describe the entire group of companies that form the Allstate Financial segment of the Parent Group.

In this annual report on Form 10-K, we occasionally refer to statutory financial information.  All domestic United States insurance companies are required to prepare statutory-basis financial statements.  As a result, industry data is available that enables comparisons between insurance companies, including competitors that are not subject to the requirement to prepare financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”).  We frequently use industry publications containing statutory financial information to assess our competitive position.

Products and Distribution

The Allstate Life Group provides life insurance and voluntary accident and health insurance.  Our principal products are interest-sensitive, traditional and variable life insurance.  We sell products through Allstate exclusive agencies and exclusive financial specialists, and workplace enrolling independent agents in New York.  The table below lists our current distribution channels with the associated products and target customers.

(1) Consumers with $35,000-$75,000 in household income.

(2) Consumers with greater than $75,000 in household income.

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Competition

We compete on a wide variety of factors, including product offerings, brand recognition, financial strength and ratings, prices, distribution and the level of customer service.  The market for life insurance continues to be highly fragmented and competitive.  As of December 31, 2012, there were approximately 420 groups of life insurance companies in the United States, most of which offered one or more similar products.  According to A.M. Best, as of December 31, 2012, the Allstate Life Group is the nation’s 17th largest issuer of life insurance and related business on the basis of 2012 ordinary life insurance in force and 24th largest on the basis of 2012 statutory admitted assets.

Geographic Markets

We sell life insurance throughout the United States and voluntary accident and health insurance in New York.  The Allstate Life Group is authorized to sell various types of these products in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam.

The following table reflects, in percentages, the principal geographic distribution of statutory premiums and annuity considerations for the Allstate Life Group for 2013, based on information contained in statements filed with state insurance departments.  No other jurisdiction accounted for more than 5 percent of the statutory premiums and annuity considerations.

REGULATION

The Allstate Life Group is subject to extensive regulation, primarily at the state level.  The method, extent, and substance of such regulation varies by state but generally has its source in statutes that establish standards and requirements for conducting the business of insurance and that delegate regulatory authority to a state agency.  These rules have a substantial effect on our business and relate to a wide variety of matters, including insurer solvency, reserve adequacy, insurance company licensing and examination, agent licensing, policy forms, rate setting, the nature and amount of investments, claims practices, participation in guaranty funds, transactions with affiliates, the payment of dividends, underwriting standards, statutory accounting methods, trade practices, and corporate governance.  Some of these matters are discussed in more detail below.  For a discussion of statutory financial information, see Note 15 of the consolidated financial statements.  For a discussion of regulatory contingencies, see Note 12 of the consolidated financial statements.  Notes 12 and 15 are incorporated in this Part I, Item 1 by reference.

In recent years, the state insurance regulatory framework has come under increased federal scrutiny.  As part of an effort to strengthen the regulation of the financial services market, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank”) was enacted in 2010.  Many regulations required pursuant to this law must still be finalized, and we cannot predict what the final regulations will require but do not expect a material impact on the Allstate Life Group’s operations.  Dodd-Frank also created the Federal Insurance Office (“FIO”) within the Treasury Department.  The FIO monitors the insurance industry, provides advice to the Financial Stability Oversight Council (“FSOC”), represents the U.S. on international insurance matters, and studies the current regulatory system.  FIO submitted a report to Congress in December 2013 addressing how to improve and modernize the system of insurance regulation.  In addition, state legislators and insurance regulators continue to examine the appropriate nature and scope of state insurance regulation.  We cannot predict whether any specific state or federal measures will be adopted to change the nature or scope of the regulation of insurance or what effect any such measures would have on the Allstate Life Group.

Agent and Broker Compensation.  In recent years, several states considered new legislation or regulations regarding the compensation of agents and brokers by insurance companies.  The proposals ranged in nature from new disclosure requirements to new duties on insurance agents and brokers in dealing with customers.  Agents and brokers in New York are required to disclose certain information concerning compensation.

Limitations on Dividends By Insurance Subsidiaries.  Allstate Life may receive dividends from time to time from its subsidiaries.  When received, these dividends represent a source of cash from which Allstate Life may meet some of its obligations.  If a subsidiary is an insurance company, its ability to pay dividends may be restricted by state laws regulating insurance companies.  For additional information regarding those restrictions, see Note 15 of

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the consolidated financial statements.

Guaranty Funds.  Under state insurance guaranty fund laws, insurers doing business in a state can be assessed, up to prescribed limits, in order to cover certain obligations of insolvent insurance companies.

Investment Regulation.  Our insurance subsidiaries are subject to regulations that require investment portfolio diversification and that limit the amount of investment in certain categories.  Failure to comply with these rules leads to the treatment of non-conforming investments as non-admitted assets for purposes of measuring statutory surplus.  Further, in some instances, these rules require divestiture of non-conforming investments.

Variable Life Insurance and Registered Fixed Annuities.  The sale and administration of variable life insurance and registered fixed annuities with market value adjustment features are subject to extensive regulatory oversight at the federal and state level, including regulation and supervision by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”).

Broker-Dealers, Investment Advisors, and Investment Companies.  The Allstate Life Group entities that operate as broker-dealers, registered investment advisors, and investment companies are subject to regulation and supervision by the SEC, FINRA and/or, in some cases, state securities administrators.

Privacy Regulation.  Federal law and the laws of many states require financial institutions to protect the security and confidentiality of customer information and to notify customers about their policies and practices relating to collection and disclosure of customer information and their policies relating to protecting the security and confidentiality of that information.  Federal law and the laws of many states also regulate disclosures and disposal of customer information.  Congress, state legislatures, and regulatory authorities are expected to consider additional regulation relating to privacy and other aspects of customer information.

EMPLOYEES AND OTHER SHARED SERVICES

The Allstate Life Group has no employees.  Instead, we primarily use the services of employees of AIC, our direct parent.  We also make use of other services and facilities provided by AIC and other members of the Parent Group.  These services and facilities include space rental, utilities, building maintenance, human resources, investment management, finance, information technology and legal services.  We reimburse our affiliates for these services and facilities under a variety of agreements.

OTHER INFORMATION

“Allstate” is one of the most recognized brand names in the United States.  We use the names “Allstate” and “Lincoln Benefit Life®” extensively in our business, along with related service marks, logos, and slogans, such as “Good Hands®.”  Our rights in the United States to these names, service marks, logos, and slogans continue so long as we continue to use them in commerce.  These service marks and many others used by Allstate are the subject of renewable U.S. and/or foreign service mark registrations.  We believe that these service marks are important to our business and we intend to maintain our rights to them through continued use.

Item 1A.  Risk Factors

This document contains “forward-looking statements” that anticipate results based on our estimates, assumptions and plans that are subject to uncertainty.  These statements are made subject to the safe-harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information or future events or developments.

These forward-looking statements do not relate strictly to historical or current facts and may be identified by their use of words like “plans,” “seeks,” “expects,” “will,” “should,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “intends,” “believes,” “likely,” “targets” and other words with similar meanings.  These statements may address, among other things, our strategy for growth, product development, investment results, regulatory approvals, market position, expenses, financial results, litigation and reserves.  We believe that these statements are based on reasonable estimates, assumptions and plans.  However, if the estimates, assumptions or plans underlying the forward-looking statements prove inaccurate or if other risks or uncertainties arise, actual results could differ materially from those communicated in these forward-looking statements.

In addition to the normal risks of business, we are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, including those listed below, which apply to us as an insurer and a provider of other products and financial services.  These risks constitute our cautionary statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and readers should

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carefully review such cautionary statements as they identify certain important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements and historical trends.  These cautionary statements are not exclusive and are in addition to other factors discussed elsewhere in this document, in our filings with the SEC or in materials incorporated therein by reference.

Changes in underwriting and actual experience could materially affect profitability and financial condition

Our product pricing includes long-term assumptions regarding investment returns, mortality, morbidity, persistency and operating costs and expenses of the business.  We establish target returns for each product based upon these factors and the average amount of capital that we must hold to support in-force contracts taking into account rating agencies and regulatory requirements.  We monitor and manage our pricing and overall sales mix to achieve target new business returns on a portfolio basis, which could result in the discontinuation or de-emphasis of products and a decline in sales.  Profitability from new business emerges over a period of years depending on the nature and life of the product and is subject to variability as actual results may differ from pricing assumptions.  Additionally, many of our products have fixed or guaranteed terms that limit our ability to increase revenues or reduce benefits, including credited interest, once the product has been issued.

Our profitability depends on the sufficiency of premiums and contract charges to cover mortality and morbidity benefits, the persistency of policies to ensure recovery of acquisition expenses, the adequacy of investment spreads, the management of market and credit risks associated with investments, and the management of operating costs and expenses within anticipated pricing allowances.  Legislation and regulation of the insurance marketplace and products could also affect our profitability and financial condition.

Changes in reserve estimates may adversely affect our operating results

The reserve for life-contingent contract benefits is computed on the basis of long-term actuarial assumptions of future investment yields, mortality, morbidity, persistency and expenses.  We periodically review the adequacy of these reserves on an aggregate basis and if future experience differs significantly from assumptions, adjustments to reserves and amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs (“DAC”) may be required that could have a material effect on our operating results.

Changes in market interest rates may lead to a significant decrease in the profitability of spread-based products

Our ability to manage our in-force spread-based products, such as fixed annuities, is dependent upon maintaining profitable spreads between investment yields and interest crediting rates.  When market interest rates decrease or remain at relatively low levels, proceeds from investments that have matured or have been prepaid or sold may be reinvested at lower yields, reducing investment spread.  Lowering interest crediting rates on some products in such an environment can partially offset decreases in investment yield.  However, these changes could be limited by regulatory minimum rates or contractual minimum rate guarantees on many contracts and may not match the timing or magnitude of changes in investment yields.  Increases in market interest rates can have negative effects, for example by increasing the attractiveness of other investments to our customers, which can lead to increased surrenders at a time when our fixed income investment asset values are lower as a result of the increase in interest rates.  This could lead to the sale of fixed income securities at a loss.  In addition, changes in market interest rates impact the valuation of derivatives embedded in equity-indexed annuity contracts that are not hedged, which could lead to volatility in net income.

Changes in estimates of profitability on interest-sensitive life products may adversely affect our profitability and financial condition through the amortization of DAC

DAC related to interest-sensitive life contracts is amortized in proportion to actual historical gross profits and estimated future gross profits (“EGP”) over the estimated lives of the contracts.  The principal assumptions for determining the amount of EGP are mortality, persistency, expenses, investment returns, including capital gains and losses on assets supporting contract liabilities, interest crediting rates to contractholders, and the effects of any hedges.  Updates to these assumptions (commonly referred to as “DAC unlocking”) could result in accelerated amortization of DAC and thereby adversely affect our profitability and financial condition.

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Reducing our concentration in spread-based business and exiting certain distribution channels may adversely affect reported results

We have been reducing our concentration in spread-based business and will no longer offer fixed annuities effective January 1, 2014.  We also exited the independent master brokerage agencies and structured settlement annuity brokers distribution channels in 2013.  The reduction in sales of these products could negatively impact investment portfolio levels, complicate settlement of contract benefits including forced sales of assets with unrealized capital losses, and affect insurance reserves deficiency testing.

Changes in tax laws may decrease sales and profitability of products and adversely affect our financial condition

Under current federal and state income tax law, certain products we offer, primarily life insurance, receive favorable tax treatment.  This favorable treatment may give certain of our products a competitive advantage over noninsurance 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 our products making them less competitive.  Such proposals, if adopted, could have a material effect on our profitability and financial condition 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.

We may not be able to mitigate the capital impact associated with statutory reserving requirements, potentially resulting in a need to increase prices, reduce sales of term or universal life products, and/or a return on equity below original levels assumed in pricing

To support statutory reserves for certain term and universal life insurance products with secondary guarantees, we currently utilize reinsurance and capital markets solutions for financing a portion of our statutory reserve requirements deemed to be non-economic.  As we continue to underwrite term and universal life business, we expect to have additional financing needs to mitigate the impact of these reserve requirements.  If we do not obtain additional financing as a result of market conditions or otherwise, this could require us to increase prices, reduce our sales of term or universal life products, and/or result in a return on equity below original levels assumed in pricing.

Risks Relating to Investments

We are subject to market risk and declines in credit quality which may adversely affect investment income and cause realized and unrealized losses

Although we continually reevaluate our investment management strategies, we remain subject to the risk that we will incur losses due to adverse changes in interest rates, credit spreads, equity prices or currency exchange rates.  Adverse changes in these rates, spreads and prices may occur due to changes in monetary policy and the economic climate, the liquidity of a market or market segment, investor return expectations and/or risk tolerance, insolvency or financial distress of key market makers or participants, or changes in market perceptions of credit worthiness.  We are also subject to market risk related to investments in real estate, loans and securities collateralized by real estate.  Some of our investment strategies target individual investments with unique risks that are not highly correlated with broad market risks.  Although we expect these investments to increase total portfolio returns over time, their performance may vary from and under-perform relative to the market in some periods.

We are subject to risks associated with potential declines in credit quality related to specific issuers or specific industries and a general weakening in the economy, which are typically reflected through credit spreads.  Credit spread is the additional yield on fixed income securities and loans above the risk-free rate (typically referenced as the yield on U.S. Treasury securities) that market participants require to compensate them for assuming credit, liquidity and/or prepayment risks.  Credit spreads vary (i.e. increase or decrease) in response to the market’s perception of risk and liquidity in a specific issuer or specific sector and are influenced by the credit ratings, and the reliability of those ratings, published by external rating agencies.  Although we have the ability to use derivative financial instruments to manage these risks, the effectiveness of such instruments is subject to the same risks.  Adverse economic conditions or other factors could cause declines in the quality and valuation of our investment portfolio that could result in realized and unrealized losses.

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A decline in market interest rates or credit spreads could have an adverse effect on our investment income as we invest cash in new investments that may earn less than the portfolio’s average yield.  In a declining interest rate environment, borrowers may prepay or redeem securities more quickly than expected as they seek to refinance at lower rates.  A decline could also lead us to purchase longer-term or riskier assets in order to obtain adequate investment yields resulting in a duration gap when compared to the duration of liabilities.  Alternatively, longer-term assets may be sold and reinvested in shorter-term assets in anticipation of rising interest rates.  An increase in market interest rates or credit spreads could have an adverse effect on the value of our investment portfolio by decreasing the fair values of the fixed income securities that comprise a substantial majority of our investment portfolio.

Deteriorating financial performance impacting securities collateralized by residential and commercial mortgage loans, collateralized corporate loans, and commercial mortgage loans may lead to write-downs and impact our results of operations and financial condition

Adverse changes in residential or commercial mortgage delinquencies, loss severities or recovery rates, declining residential or commercial real estate prices, corporate loan delinquencies or recovery rates, borrower ability to obtain alternative sources of financing, changes in credit or bond insurer strength ratings and the quality of service provided by service providers on securities in our portfolio could lead us to determine that write-downs are necessary in the future.

Concentration of our investment portfolio in any particular segment of the economy may have adverse effects on our operating results and financial condition

The concentration of our investment portfolio in any particular industry, collateral type, group of related industries, geographic sector or risk type could have an adverse effect on our investment portfolio and consequently on our results of operations and financial condition.  Events or developments that have a negative impact on any particular industry, group of related industries or geographic region may have a greater adverse effect on the investment portfolio to the extent that the portfolio is concentrated rather than diversified.

The determination of the amount of realized capital losses recorded for impairments of our investments is subjective and could materially impact our operating results and financial condition

The determination of the amount of realized capital losses recorded for impairments vary by investment type and is based upon our ongoing evaluation and assessment of known and inherent risks associated with the respective asset class.  Such evaluations and assessments are revised as conditions change and new information becomes available.  We update our evaluations regularly and reflect changes in other-than-temporary impairments in our results of operations.  The assessment of whether other-than-temporary impairments have occurred is based on our case-by-case evaluation of the underlying reasons for the decline in fair value.  Our conclusions on such assessments are judgmental and include assumptions and projections of future cash flows which may ultimately prove to be incorrect as assumptions, facts and circumstances change.  Furthermore, historical trends may not be indicative of future impairments and additional impairments may need to be recorded in the future.

The determination of the fair value of our fixed income and equity securities is subjective and could materially impact our operating results and financial condition

In determining fair values we principally use the market approach which utilizes market transaction data for the same or similar instruments.  The degree of management judgment involved in determining fair values is inversely related to the availability of market observable information.  The fair value of assets may differ from the actual amount received upon sale of an asset in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date.  Moreover, the use of different valuation assumptions may have a material effect on the assets’ fair values.  The difference between amortized cost or cost and fair value, net of deferred income taxes, certain DAC, certain deferred sales inducement costs, and certain reserves for life-contingent contract benefits, is reflected as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income in shareholder’s equity.  Changing market conditions could materially affect the determination of the fair value of securities and unrealized net capital gains and losses could vary significantly.

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Risks Relating to the Insurance Industry

Our future growth and profitability are dependent in part on our ability to successfully operate in an insurance industry that is highly competitive

The insurance industry is highly competitive.  Many of our primary insurance competitors have well-established national reputations and market similar products.

Because of the competitive nature of the insurance industry, there can be no assurance that we will continue to effectively compete with our industry rivals, or that competitive pressures will not have a material effect on our business, operating results or financial condition.  This includes competition for producers such as exclusive agents and their licensed sales professionals.  In the event we are unable to attract and retain these producers or they are unable to attract customers for our products, growth could be materially affected.  Furthermore, certain competitors operate using a mutual insurance company structure and therefore may have dissimilar profitability and return targets.  Our ability to successfully operate may also be impaired if we are not effective in developing the talent and skills of our human resources, attracting and assimilating new executive talent into our organization, or deploying human resource talent consistently with our business goals.

Difficult conditions in the global economy and capital markets generally could adversely affect our business and operating results and these conditions may not improve in the near future

As with most businesses, we believe difficult conditions in the global economy and capital markets, such as significant negative macroeconomic trends, including relatively high and sustained unemployment, reduced consumer spending, lower residential and commercial real estate prices, substantial increases in delinquencies on consumer debt, including defaults on home mortgages, and the relatively low availability of credit could have an adverse effect on our business and operating results.

Stressed conditions, volatility and disruptions in global capital markets, particular markets or financial asset classes could adversely affect our investment portfolio.  Disruptions in one market or asset class can also spread to other markets or asset classes.  Although the disruption in the global financial markets has moderated, not all global financial markets are functioning normally, and the rate of recovery from the U.S. recession has been below historic averages.  Several governments around the world have announced austerity actions to address their budget deficits that may lead to a decline in economic activity.  While European policy makers have developed mechanisms to address funding concerns, risks to the European economy and financial markets remain.

General economic conditions could adversely affect us in the form of consumer behavior and pressure investment results.  Consumer behavior changes could include decreased demand for our products.  In addition, holders of some of our interest-sensitive life insurance and annuity products may engage in an elevated level of discretionary withdrawals of contractholder funds.  Our investment results could be adversely affected as deteriorating financial and business conditions affect the issuers of the securities in our investment portfolio.

There can be no assurance that we can accurately predict the timing and impact of changes in the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy

The Federal Reserve has indicated that it may change its highly accommodative monetary policy as the U.S. economic recovery strengthens and unemployment declines.  There can be no assurance as to the long-term impact such actions will have on the financial markets or on economic conditions, including potential inflationary effects.  Continued volatility and rising interest rates could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Losses from legal and regulatory actions may be material to our operating results, cash flows and financial condition

As is typical for a large company, from time to time we are involved in various legal actions, including class action litigation challenging a range of company practices and coverage provided by our insurance products, some of which involve claims for substantial or indeterminate amounts.  We are also involved in various regulatory actions and inquiries, including market conduct exams by state insurance regulatory agencies.  In the event of an unfavorable outcome in one or more of these matters, the ultimate liability may be in excess of amounts currently accrued and may be material to our operating results or cash flows for a particular quarter or annual period and to our financial condition.

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We are subject to extensive regulation and potential further restrictive regulation may increase our operating costs and limit our growth

As insurance companies, broker-dealers, investment advisers and/or investment companies, many of our subsidiaries are subject to extensive laws and regulations.  These laws and regulations are complex and subject to change.  Changes may sometimes lead to additional expenses, increased legal exposure, and additional limits on our ability to grow or to achieve targeted profitability.  Moreover, laws and regulations are administered and enforced by a number of different governmental authorities, each of which exercises a degree of interpretive latitude, including state insurance regulators; state securities administrators; state attorneys general and federal agencies including the SEC, the FINRA and the U.S. Department of Justice.  Consequently, we are subject to the risk that compliance with any particular regulator’s or enforcement authority’s interpretation of a legal issue may not result in compliance with another’s interpretation of the same issue, particularly when compliance is judged in hindsight.  In addition, there is risk that any particular regulator’s or enforcement authority’s interpretation of a legal issue may change over time to our detriment, or that changes in the overall legal environment may, even absent any particular regulator’s or enforcement authority’s interpretation of a legal issue changing, cause us to change our views regarding the actions we need to take from a legal risk management perspective, thus necessitating changes to our practices that may, in some cases, limit our ability to grow or to improve the profitability of our business.  Furthermore, in some cases, these laws and regulations are designed to protect or benefit the interests of a specific constituency rather than a range of constituencies.  For example, state insurance laws and regulations are generally intended to protect or benefit purchasers or users of insurance products.  In many respects, these laws and regulations limit our ability to grow or to improve the profitability of our business.

Regulatory reforms, and the more stringent application of existing regulations, may make it more expensive for us to conduct our business

The federal government has enacted comprehensive regulatory reforms for financial services entities.  As part of a larger effort to strengthen the regulation of the financial services market, certain reforms are applicable to the insurance industry, including the FIO established within the Treasury Department.

In recent years, the state insurance regulatory framework has come under public scrutiny, members of Congress have discussed proposals to provide for federal chartering of insurance companies, and the FIO and FSOC were established.  We can make no assurances regarding the potential impact of state or federal measures that may change the nature or scope of insurance and financial regulation.

These regulatory reforms and any additional legislative change or regulatory requirements imposed upon us in connection with the federal government’s regulatory reform of the financial services industry, and any more stringent enforcement of existing regulations by federal authorities, may make it more expensive for us to conduct our business, or limit our ability to grow or to achieve profitability.

Reinsurance may be unavailable at current levels and prices, which may limit our ability to write new business

Market conditions beyond our control impact the availability and cost of the reinsurance we purchase.  No assurances can be made that reinsurance will remain continuously available to us to the same extent and on the same terms and rates as is currently available.  If we were unable to maintain our current level of reinsurance or purchase new reinsurance protection in amounts that we consider sufficient and at prices that we consider acceptable, we would have to either accept an increase in our risk exposure, reduce our insurance writings, or develop or seek other alternatives.

Reinsurance subjects us to the credit risk of our reinsurers and may not be adequate to protect us against losses arising from ceded insurance, which could have a material effect on our operating results and financial condition

The collectability of reinsurance recoverables is subject to uncertainty arising from a number of factors, including changes in market conditions, whether insured losses meet the qualifying conditions of the reinsurance contract and whether reinsurers, or their affiliates, have the financial capacity and willingness to make payments under the terms of a reinsurance treaty or contract.  Our inability to collect a material recovery from a reinsurer could have a material effect on our operating results and financial condition.

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A large scale pandemic, the continued threat of terrorism or military actions may have an adverse effect on the level of claim losses we incur, the value of our investment portfolio, our competitive position, marketability of product offerings, liquidity and operating results

A large scale pandemic, the continued threat of terrorism, within the United States and abroad, or military and other actions, and heightened security measures in response to these types of threats, may cause significant volatility and losses in our investment portfolio from declines in the equity markets and from interest rate changes in the United States, Europe and elsewhere, and result in loss of life, property damage, disruptions to commerce and reduced economic activity.  Some of the assets in our investment portfolio may be adversely affected by declines in the equity markets and reduced economic activity caused by a large scale pandemic or the continued threat of terrorism.  Additionally, a large scale pandemic or terrorist act could have a material effect on the sales, profitability, competitiveness, marketability of product offerings, liquidity, and operating results.

A downgrade in our financial strength ratings may have an adverse effect on our competitive position, the marketability of our product offerings, our liquidity, operating results and financial condition

Financial strength ratings are important factors in establishing the competitive position of insurance companies and generally have an effect on an insurance company’s business.  On an ongoing basis, rating agencies review our financial performance and condition and could downgrade or change the outlook on our ratings due to, for example, a change in one of our insurance company’s statutory capital; a change in a rating agency’s determination of the amount of risk-adjusted capital required to maintain a particular rating; an increase in the perceived risk of our investment portfolio; a reduced confidence in management or our business strategy; as well as a number of other considerations that may or may not be under our control.  Our insurance financial strength ratings from A.M. Best, Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s are subject to continuous review, and the retention of current ratings cannot be assured.  A downgrade in any of these ratings could have a material effect on our sales, our competitiveness, the marketability of our product offerings, our liquidity, operating results and financial condition.

Adverse capital and credit market conditions may significantly affect our ability to meet liquidity needs or our ability to obtain credit on acceptable terms

In periods of extreme volatility and disruption in the capital and credit markets, liquidity and credit capacity may be severely restricted.  In such circumstances, our ability to obtain capital to fund operating expenses, financing costs, capital expenditures or acquisitions may be limited, and the cost of any such capital may be significant.  Our access to additional financing will depend on a variety of factors such as market conditions, the general availability of credit, the overall availability of credit to our industry, our credit ratings and credit capacity, as well as lenders’ perception of our long- or short-term financial prospects.  Similarly, our access to funds may be impaired if regulatory authorities or rating agencies take negative actions against us.  If a combination of these factors were to occur, our internal sources of liquidity may prove to be insufficient and in such case, we may not be able to successfully obtain additional financing on favorable terms.

Changes in accounting standards issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board or other standard-setting bodies may adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition

Our financial statements are subject to the application of generally accepted accounting principles, which are periodically revised, interpreted and/or expanded.  Accordingly, we are required to adopt new guidance or interpretations, or could be subject to existing guidance as we enter into new transactions, which may have a material effect on our results of operations and financial condition that is either unexpected or has a greater impact than expected.  For a description of changes in accounting standards that are currently pending and, if known, our estimates of their expected impact, see Note 2 of the consolidated financial statements.

The change in our unrecognized tax benefit during the next 12 months is subject to uncertainty

We have disclosed our estimate of unrecognized tax benefits and the reasonably possible increase or decrease in its balance during the next 12 months in Note 13 of the consolidated financial statements.  However, actual results may differ from our estimate for reasons such as changes in our position on specific issues, developments with respect to the governments’ interpretations of income tax laws or changes in judgment resulting from new information obtained in audits or the appeals process.

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The failure in cyber or other information security systems, as well as the occurrence of events unanticipated in our disaster recovery systems and management continuity planning could result in a loss or disclosure of confidential information, damage to our reputation, additional costs and impairment of our ability to conduct business effectively

We depend heavily upon computer systems to perform necessary business functions.  Despite our implementation of a variety of security measures, our computer systems could be subject to cyber attacks and unauthorized access, such as physical and electronic break-ins or unauthorized tampering.  Like other global companies, we have experienced threats to our data and systems, including malware and computer virus attacks, unauthorized access, system failures and disruptions.  Events such as these could jeopardize the confidential, proprietary and other information (including personal information of our customers or employees) processed and stored in, and transmitted through, our computer systems and networks, or otherwise cause interruptions or malfunctions in our operations, which could result in damage to our reputation, financial losses, litigation, increased costs, regulatory penalties and/or customer dissatisfaction or loss.  These risks may increase in the future as we continue to expand our internet and mobile strategies and develop additional remote connectivity solutions to serve our customers.

In the event of a disaster such as a natural catastrophe, industrial accident, terrorist attack, war, cyber attack or computer virus, unanticipated problems with our disaster recovery systems, or a support failure from external providers, could have an adverse effect on our ability to conduct business and on our results of operations and financial condition, particularly if those events affect our computer-based data processing, transmission, storage, and retrieval systems or destroy data.  If a significant number of our managers were unavailable in the event of a disaster, our ability to effectively conduct our business could be severely compromised.

Third parties to whom we outsource certain of our functions are also subject to the risks outlined above, any one of which may result in our incurring substantial costs and other negative consequences, including a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.

Loss of key vendor relationships or failure of a vendor to protect personal information of our customers or employees could affect our operations

We rely on services and products provided by many vendors in the United States and abroad.  These include, for example, vendors of computer hardware and software.  In the event that one or more of our vendors suffers a bankruptcy or otherwise becomes unable to continue to provide products or services, or fails to protect personal information of our customers or employees, we may suffer operational impairments and financial losses.

We may not be able to protect our intellectual property and may be subject to infringement claims

We rely on a combination of contractual rights and copyright, trademark, patent and trade secret laws to establish and protect our intellectual property.  Although we use a broad range of measures to protect our intellectual property rights, third parties may infringe or misappropriate our intellectual property.  We may have to litigate to enforce and protect our intellectual property and to determine its scope, validity or enforceability, which could divert significant resources and prove unsuccessful.  An inability to protect our intellectual property could have a material effect on our business.

We may be subject to claims by third parties for patent, trademark or copyright infringement or breach of usage rights.  Any such claims and any resulting litigation could result in significant expense and liability.  If our third party providers or we are found to have infringed a third-party intellectual property right, either of us could be enjoined from providing certain products or services or from utilizing and benefiting from certain methods, processes, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets or licenses.  Alternatively, we could be required to enter into costly licensing arrangements with third parties or implement a costly work around.  Any of these scenarios could have a material effect on our business and results of operations.

Item 1B.  Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

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Item 2.  Properties

Our home office is part of the Parent Group’s home office complex in Northbrook, Illinois.  As of December 31, 2013, the Home Office complex consists of several buildings totaling 2.3 million square feet of office space on a 278-acre site.  In addition, the Parent Group operates various administrative, data processing, claims handling and other support facilities.

All of the facilities from which we operate are owned or leased by our direct parent, AIC, except for office space in Lincoln, Nebraska that is leased by Lincoln Benefit Life Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of ALIC, for general operations, file storage and information technology.  Expenses associated with facilities owned or leased by AIC are allocated to us on both a direct and an indirect basis, depending on the nature and use of each particular facility.  We believe that these facilities are suitable and adequate for our current operations.

The locations out of which the Allstate exclusive agencies operate in the U.S. are normally leased by the agencies as lessees.

Item 3.  Legal Proceedings

Information required for Item 3 is incorporated by reference to the discussion under the heading “Regulation and Compliance” in Note 12 of the consolidated financial statements.

Item 4.  Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

Part II

Item 5.  Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

No established public trading market exists for Allstate Life’s common stock.  All of its outstanding common stock is owned by its parent, Allstate Insurance Company (“AIC”).  All of the outstanding common stock of AIC is owned by Allstate Insurance Holdings, LLC, which is wholly owned by The Allstate Corporation.

The Company paid a return of capital of $500 million to AIC in 2013.  The Company did not pay dividends or a return of capital in 2012.  For additional information on dividends, including restrictions on the payment of dividends by Allstate Life and its subsidiaries, see the Limitations on Dividends by Insurance Subsidiaries subsection of the “Regulation” section of Item 1. Business of this Form 10-K and the discussion under the heading “Dividend Limitations” in Note 15 of our consolidated financial statements, which are incorporated herein by reference.

Item 6.  Selected Financial Data

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Item 7.  Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

OVERVIEW

The following discussion highlights significant factors influencing the consolidated financial position and results of operations of Allstate Life Insurance Company (referred to in this document as “we,” “our,” “us,” the “Company” or “ALIC”).  It should be read in conjunction with the 5-year summary of selected financial data, consolidated financial statements and related notes found under Part II. Item 6. and Item 8. contained herein.  We operate as a single segment entity based on the manner in which we use financial information to evaluate business performance and to determine the allocation of resources.

The most important factors we monitor to evaluate the financial condition and performance of our company include:

·                  For operations:  benefit and investment spread, asset-liability matching, amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs (“DAC”), expenses, operating income, net income, new business sales, invested assets, and premiums and contract charges.

·                  For investments:  exposure to market risk, credit quality/experience, total return, net investment income, cash flows, realized capital gains and losses, unrealized capital gains and losses, stability of long-term returns, and asset and liability duration.

·                  For financial condition:  liquidity, financial strength ratings, operating leverage, capital position, and return on equity.

Summary of Results:

·                  Net loss was $38 million in 2013 compared to net income of $426 million in 2012 and $469 million in 2011.  The change in 2013 compared to 2012 was primarily due to the estimated loss on disposition related to the pending Lincoln Benefit Life Company sale.  The decrease in 2012 compared to 2011 was primarily due to net realized capital losses in 2012 compared to net realized capital gains in 2011, partially offset by decreased interest credited to contractholder funds and lower amortization of DAC.

·                  Capital management actions during 2013 included a $500 million return of capital to Allstate Insurance Company (“AIC”) and the $200 million repayment of surplus notes to AIC.  Consolidated shareholder’s equity decreased to $6.07 billion as of December 31, 2013 from $7.31 billion as of December 31, 2012.

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APPLICATION OF CRITICAL ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) requires management to adopt accounting policies and make estimates and assumptions that affect amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements.  The most critical estimates include those used in determining:

·                  Fair value of financial assets

·                  Impairment of fixed income and equity securities

·                  Deferred policy acquisition costs amortization

·                  Reserve for life-contingent contract benefits estimation

In making these determinations, management makes subjective and complex judgments that frequently require estimates about matters that are inherently uncertain.  Many of these policies, estimates and related judgments are common in the insurance and financial services industries; others are specific to our business and operations.  It is reasonably likely that changes in these estimates could occur from period to period and result in a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

A brief summary of each of these critical accounting estimates follows.  For a more detailed discussion of the effect of these estimates on our consolidated financial statements, and the judgments and assumptions related to these estimates, see the referenced sections of this document.  For a complete summary of our significant accounting policies, see the notes to the consolidated financial statements.

Fair value of financial assets  Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date.  We are responsible for the determination of fair value of financial assets and the supporting assumptions and methodologies.  We use independent third-party valuation service providers, broker quotes and internal pricing methods to determine fair values.  We obtain or calculate only one single quote or price for each financial instrument.

Valuation service providers typically obtain data about market transactions and other key valuation model inputs from multiple sources and, through the use of proprietary models, produce valuation information in the form of a single fair value for individual fixed income and other securities for which a fair value has been requested under the terms of our agreements.  The inputs used by the valuation service providers include, but are not limited to, market prices from recently completed transactions and transactions of comparable securities, interest rate yield curves, credit spreads, liquidity spreads, currency rates, and other information, as applicable.  Credit and liquidity spreads are typically implied from completed transactions and transactions of comparable securities.  Valuation service providers also use proprietary discounted cash flow models that are widely accepted in the financial services industry and similar to those used by other market participants to value the same financial instruments.  The valuation models take into account, among other things, market observable information as of the measurement date, as described above, as well as the specific attributes of the security being valued including its term, interest rate, credit rating, industry sector, and where applicable, collateral quality and other issue or issuer specific information.  Executing valuation models effectively requires seasoned professional judgment and experience.  For certain equity securities, valuation service providers provide market quotations for completed transactions on the measurement date.  In cases where market transactions or other market observable data is limited, the extent to which judgment is applied varies inversely with the availability of market observable information.

For certain of our financial assets measured at fair value, where our valuation service providers cannot provide fair value determinations, we obtain a single non-binding price quote from a broker familiar with the security who, similar to our valuation service providers, may consider transactions or activity in similar securities among other information.  The brokers providing price quotes are generally from the brokerage divisions of leading financial institutions with market making, underwriting and distribution expertise regarding the security subject to valuation.

The fair value of certain financial assets, including privately placed corporate fixed income securities, auction rate securities (“ARS”) backed by student loans, equity-indexed notes, and certain free-standing derivatives, for which our valuation service providers or brokers do not provide fair value determinations, is determined using valuation methods and models widely accepted in the financial services industry.  Our internal pricing methods are primarily based on models using discounted cash flow methodologies that develop a single best estimate of fair value.  Our models generally incorporate inputs that we believe are representative of inputs other market participants would use to determine fair value of the same instruments, including yield curves, quoted market prices of

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comparable securities, published credit spreads, and other applicable market data as well as instrument-specific characteristics that include, but are not limited to, coupon rates, expected cash flows, sector of the issuer, and call provisions.  Judgment is required in developing these fair values.  As a result, the fair value of these financial assets may differ from the amount actually received to sell an asset in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date.  Moreover, the use of different valuation assumptions may have a material effect on the financial assets’ fair values.

For most of our financial assets measured at fair value, all significant inputs are based on or corroborated by market observable data and significant management judgment does not affect the periodic determination of fair value.  The determination of fair value using discounted cash flow models involves management judgment when significant model inputs are not based on or corroborated by market observable data.  However, where market observable data is available, it takes precedence, and as a result, no range of reasonably likely inputs exists from which the basis of a sensitivity analysis could be constructed.

We gain assurance that our financial assets are appropriately valued through the execution of various processes and controls designed to ensure the overall reasonableness and consistent application of valuation methodologies, including inputs and assumptions, and compliance with accounting standards.  For fair values received from third parties or internally estimated, our processes and controls are designed to ensure that the valuation methodologies are appropriate and consistently applied, the inputs and assumptions are reasonable and consistent with the objective of determining fair value, and the fair values are accurately recorded.  For example, on a continuing basis, we assess the reasonableness of individual fair values that have stale security prices or that exceed certain thresholds as compared to previous fair values received from valuation service providers or brokers or derived from internal models.  We perform procedures to understand and assess the methodologies, processes and controls of valuation service providers.  In addition, we may validate the reasonableness of fair values by comparing information obtained from valuation service providers or brokers to other third party valuation sources for selected securities.  We perform ongoing price validation procedures such as back-testing of actual sales, which corroborate the various inputs used in internal models to market observable data.  When fair value determinations are expected to be more variable, we validate them through reviews by members of management who have relevant expertise and who are independent of those charged with executing investment transactions.

We also perform an analysis to determine whether there has been a significant decrease in the volume and level of activity for the asset when compared to normal market activity, and if so, whether transactions may not be orderly.  Among the indicators we consider in determining whether a significant decrease in the volume and level of market activity for a specific asset has occurred include the level of new issuances in the primary market, trading volume in the secondary market, level of credit spreads over historical levels, bid-ask spread, and price consensuses among market participants and sources.  If evidence indicates that prices are based on transactions that are not orderly, we place little, if any, weight on the transaction price and will estimate fair value using an internal model.  As of December 31, 2013 and 2012, we did not alter fair values provided by our valuation service providers or brokers or substitute them with an internal model for such securities.

The following table identifies fixed income and equity securities and short-term investments, including those classified as held for sale, as of December 31, 2013 by source of fair value determination.

For additional detail on fair value measurements, see Note 7 of the consolidated financial statements.

Impairment of fixed income and equity securities  For investments classified as available for sale, the difference between fair value and amortized cost for fixed income securities and cost for equity securities, net of certain other items and deferred income taxes (as disclosed in Note 6), is reported as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income on the Consolidated Statements of Financial Position and is not reflected in the operating results of any period until reclassified to net income upon the consummation of a transaction with an unrelated third party or when a write-down is recorded due to an other-than-temporary decline in fair value.  We

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have a comprehensive portfolio monitoring process to identify and evaluate each fixed income and equity security whose carrying value may be other-than-temporarily impaired.

For each fixed income security in an unrealized loss position, we assess whether management with the appropriate authority has made the decision to sell or whether it is more likely than not we will be required to sell the security before recovery of the amortized cost basis for reasons such as liquidity, contractual or regulatory purposes.  If a security meets either of these criteria, the security’s decline in fair value is considered other than temporary and is recorded in earnings.

If we have not made the decision to sell the fixed income security and it is not more likely than not we will be required to sell the fixed income security before recovery of its amortized cost basis, we evaluate whether we expect to receive cash flows sufficient to recover the entire amortized cost basis of the security.  We use our best estimate of future cash flows expected to be collected from the fixed income security, discounted at the security’s original or current effective rate, as appropriate, to calculate a recovery value and determine whether a credit loss exists.  The determination of cash flow estimates is inherently subjective and methodologies may vary depending on facts and circumstances specific to the security.  All reasonably available information relevant to the collectability of the security, including past events, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable assumptions and forecasts, are considered when developing the estimate of cash flows expected to be collected.  That information generally includes, but is not limited to, the remaining payment terms of the security, prepayment speeds, foreign exchange rates, the financial condition and future earnings potential of the issue or issuer, expected defaults, expected recoveries, the value of underlying collateral, vintage, geographic concentration, available reserves or escrows, current subordination levels, third party guarantees and other credit enhancements.  Other information, such as industry analyst reports and forecasts, sector credit ratings, financial condition of the bond insurer for insured fixed income securities, and other market data relevant to the realizability of contractual cash flows, may also be considered.  The estimated fair value of collateral will be used to estimate recovery value if we determine that the security is dependent on the liquidation of collateral for ultimate settlement.  If the estimated recovery value is less than the amortized cost of the security, a credit loss exists and an other-than-temporary impairment for the difference between the estimated recovery value and amortized cost is recorded in earnings.  The portion of the unrealized loss related to factors other than credit remains classified in accumulated other comprehensive income.  If we determine that the fixed income security does not have sufficient cash flow or other information to estimate a recovery value for the security, we may conclude that the entire decline in fair value is deemed to be credit related and the loss is recorded in earnings.

There are a number of assumptions and estimates inherent in evaluating impairments of equity securities and determining if they are other than temporary, including: 1) our ability and intent to hold the investment for a period of time sufficient to allow for an anticipated recovery in value; 2) the length of time and extent to which the fair value has been less than cost; 3) the financial condition, near-term and long-term prospects of the issue or issuer, including relevant industry specific market conditions and trends, geographic location and implications of rating agency actions and offering prices; and 4) the specific reasons that a security is in an unrealized loss position, including overall market conditions which could affect liquidity.

Once assumptions and estimates are made, any number of changes in facts and circumstances could cause us to subsequently determine that a fixed income or equity security is other-than-temporarily impaired, including: 1) general economic conditions that are worse than previously forecasted or that have a greater adverse effect on a particular issuer or industry sector than originally estimated; 2) changes in the facts and circumstances related to a particular issue or issuer’s ability to meet all of its contractual obligations; and 3) changes in facts and circumstances that result in changes to management’s intent to sell or result in our assessment that it is more likely than not we will be required to sell before recovery of the amortized cost basis of a fixed income security or causes a change in our ability or intent to hold an equity security until it recovers in value.  Changes in assumptions, facts and circumstances could result in additional charges to earnings in future periods to the extent that losses are realized.  The charge to earnings, while potentially significant to net income, would not have a significant effect on shareholder’s equity, since our securities are designated as available for sale and carried at fair value and as a result, any related unrealized loss, net of deferred income taxes and related DAC, deferred sales inducement costs and reserves for life-contingent contract benefits, would already be reflected as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income in shareholder’s equity.

The determination of the amount of other-than-temporary impairment is an inherently subjective process based on periodic evaluations of the factors described above.  Such evaluations and assessments are revised as conditions

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change and new information becomes available.  We update our evaluations regularly and reflect changes in other-than-temporary impairments in results of operations as such evaluations are revised.  The use of different methodologies and assumptions in the determination of the amount of other-than-temporary impairments may have a material effect on the amounts presented within the consolidated financial statements.

For additional detail on investment impairments, see Note 6 of the consolidated financial statements.

Deferred policy acquisition costs amortization  We incur significant costs in connection with acquiring insurance policies and investment contracts.  In accordance with GAAP, costs that are related directly to the successful acquisition of new or renewal insurance policies and investment contracts are deferred and recorded as an asset on the Consolidated Statements of Financial Position.

DAC related to traditional life insurance is amortized over the premium paying period of the related policies in proportion to the estimated revenues on such business.  Significant assumptions relating to estimated premiums, investment returns, as well as mortality, persistency and expenses to administer the business are established at the time the policy is issued and are generally not revised during the life of the policy.  The assumptions for determining the timing and amount of DAC amortization are consistent with the assumptions used to calculate the reserve for life-contingent contract benefits.  Any deviations from projected business in force resulting from actual policy terminations differing from expected levels and any estimated premium deficiencies may result in a change to the rate of amortization in the period such events occur.  Generally, the amortization periods for these policies approximates the estimated lives of the policies.  The recovery of DAC is dependent upon the future profitability of the business.  We periodically review the adequacy of reserves and recoverability of DAC for these policies on an aggregate basis using actual experience.  We aggregate all traditional life insurance products and immediate annuities with life contingencies in the analysis.  In the event actual experience is significantly adverse compared to the original assumptions and a premium deficiency is determined to exist, any remaining unamortized DAC balance must be expensed to the extent not recoverable and a premium deficiency reserve may be required if the remaining DAC balance is insufficient to absorb the deficiency.  In 2013, 2012 and 2011, our reviews concluded that no premium deficiency adjustments were necessary, primarily due to projected profit from traditional life insurance more than offsetting the projected losses in immediate annuities with life contingencies.

DAC related to interest-sensitive life, fixed annuities and other investment contracts is amortized in proportion to the incidence of the total present value of gross profits, which includes both actual historical gross profits (“AGP”) and estimated future gross profits (“EGP”) expected to be earned over the estimated lives of the contracts.  The amortization is net of interest on the prior period DAC balance using rates established at the inception of the contracts.  Actual amortization periods generally range from 15-30 years; however, incorporating estimates of the rate of customer surrenders, partial withdrawals and deaths generally results in the majority of the DAC being amortized during the surrender charge period, which is typically 10-20 years for interest-sensitive life and 5-10 years for fixed annuities.  The cumulative DAC amortization is reestimated and adjusted by a cumulative charge or credit to income when there is a difference between the incidence of actual versus expected gross profits in a reporting period or when there is a change in total EGP.

AGP and EGP primarily consist of the following components: contract charges for the cost of insurance less mortality costs and other benefits (benefit margin);  investment income and realized capital gains and losses less interest credited (investment margin); and surrender and other contract charges less maintenance expenses (expense margin).  The principal assumptions for determining the amount of EGP are persistency, mortality, expenses, investment returns, including capital gains and losses on assets supporting contract liabilities, interest crediting rates to contractholders, and the effects of any hedges, and these assumptions are reasonably likely to have the greatest impact on the amount of DAC amortization.  Changes in these assumptions can be offsetting and we are unable to reasonably predict their future movements or offsetting impacts over time.

Each reporting period, DAC amortization is recognized in proportion to AGP for that period adjusted for interest on the prior period DAC balance.  This amortization process includes an assessment of AGP compared to EGP, the actual amount of business remaining in force and realized capital gains and losses on investments supporting the product liability.  The impact of realized capital gains and losses on amortization of DAC depends upon which product liability is supported by the assets that give rise to the gain or loss.  If the AGP is greater than EGP in the period, but the total EGP is unchanged, the amount of DAC amortization will generally increase, resulting in a current period decrease to earnings.  The opposite result generally occurs when the AGP is less than the EGP in the period, but the total EGP is unchanged.  However, when DAC amortization or a component of gross profits for a quarterly period is potentially negative (which would result in an increase of the DAC balance) as a

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result of negative AGP, the specific facts and circumstances surrounding the potential negative amortization are considered to determine whether it is appropriate for recognition in the consolidated financial statements.  Negative amortization is only recorded when the increased DAC balance is determined to be recoverable based on facts and circumstances.  Negative amortization was not recorded for certain fixed annuities during 2012 and 2011 periods in which capital losses were realized on their related investment portfolio.  For products whose supporting investments are exposed to capital losses in excess of our expectations which may cause periodic AGP to become temporarily negative, EGP and AGP utilized in DAC amortization may be modified to exclude the excess capital losses.

Annually, we review and update all assumptions underlying the projections of EGP, including persistency, mortality, expenses, investment returns, comprising investment income and realized capital gains and losses, interest crediting rates and the effect of any hedges.  At each reporting period, we assess whether any revisions to assumptions used to determine DAC amortization are required.  These reviews and updates may result in amortization acceleration or deceleration, which are commonly referred to as “DAC unlocking”.  If the update of assumptions causes total EGP to increase, the rate of DAC amortization will generally decrease, resulting in a current period increase to earnings.  A decrease to earnings generally occurs when the assumption update causes the total EGP to decrease.

The following table provides the effect on DAC amortization of changes in assumptions relating to the gross profit components of investment margin, benefit margin and expense margin during the years ended December 31.

In 2013, DAC amortization deceleration for changes in the investment margin component of EGP primarily related to fixed annuities and interest-sensitive life insurance and was due to increased projected investment margins.  The acceleration related to benefit margin was primarily due to interest-sensitive life insurance and was due to an increase in projected mortality.  The acceleration related to expense margin related to interest-sensitive life insurance and was due to an increase in projected expenses.  In 2012, DAC amortization acceleration for changes in the investment margin component of EGP primarily related to fixed annuities and was due to lower projected investment returns.  The acceleration related to benefit margin was primarily due to increased projected mortality on variable life insurance, partially offset by increased projected persistency on interest-sensitive life insurance.  The deceleration related to expense margin related to interest-sensitive life insurance and fixed annuities and was due to a decrease in projected expenses.  In 2011, DAC amortization deceleration related to changes in the investment margin component of EGP primarily related to equity-indexed annuities and was due to an increase in projected investment margins.  The deceleration related to benefit margin was primarily due to increased projected persistency on interest-sensitive life insurance.  The acceleration related to expense margin primarily related to interest-sensitive life insurance and was due to an increase in projected expenses.

The following table displays the sensitivity of reasonably likely changes in assumptions included in the gross profit components of investment margin or benefit margin to amortization of the DAC balance as of December 31, 2013.

Any potential changes in assumptions discussed above are measured without consideration of correlation among assumptions.  Therefore, it would be inappropriate to add them together in an attempt to estimate overall variability in amortization.

For additional detail related to DAC, see the Operations section of this document.

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Reserve for life-contingent contract benefits estimation  Due to the long term nature of traditional life insurance, life-contingent immediate annuities and voluntary accident and health insurance products, benefits are payable over many years; accordingly, the reserves are calculated as the present value of future expected benefits to be paid, reduced by the present value of future expected net premiums.  Long-term actuarial assumptions of future investment yields, mortality, morbidity, policy terminations and expenses are used when establishing the reserve for life-contingent contract benefits payable under these insurance policies.  These assumptions, which for traditional life insurance are applied using the net level premium method, include provisions for adverse deviation and generally vary by characteristics such as type of coverage, year of issue and policy duration.  Future investment yield assumptions are determined based upon prevailing investment yields as well as estimated reinvestment yields.  Mortality, morbidity and policy termination assumptions are based on our experience and industry experience.  Expense assumptions include the estimated effects of inflation and expenses to be incurred beyond the premium-paying period.  These assumptions are established at the time the policy is issued, are consistent with assumptions for determining DAC amortization for these policies, and are generally not changed during the policy coverage period.  However, if actual experience emerges in a manner that is significantly adverse relative to the original assumptions, adjustments to DAC or reserves may be required resulting in a charge to earnings which could have a material effect on our operating results and financial condition.  We periodically review the adequacy of reserves and recoverability of DAC for these policies on an aggregate basis using actual experience.  In the event actual experience is significantly adverse compared to the original assumptions and a premium deficiency is determined to exist, any remaining unamortized DAC balance must be expensed to the extent not recoverable and the establishment of a premium deficiency reserve may be required.  In 2013, 2012 and 2011, our reviews concluded that no premium deficiency adjustments were necessary, primarily due to projected profit from traditional life insurance more than offsetting the projected losses in immediate annuities with life contingencies.  We will continue to monitor the experience of our traditional life insurance and immediate annuities.  We anticipate that mortality, investment and reinvestment yields, and policy terminations are the factors that would be most likely to require premium deficiency adjustments to these reserves or related DAC.

For further detail on the reserve for life-contingent contract benefits, see Note 9 of the consolidated financial statements.

2013 HIGHLIGHTS

IMPACT OF LOW INTEREST RATE ENVIRONMENT

Despite the increase in interest rates during 2013, our current reinvestment yields are generally lower than the overall portfolio income yield, primarily for our investments in fixed income securities and commercial mortgage loans.  At the December 2013 meeting, the Federal Reserve Board announced its decision to reduce the amount of its purchases of both longer-term Treasury and agency mortgage-backed securities in the open market.  The Federal Open Market Committee also reaffirmed its view that a highly accommodative stance of monetary policy will remain appropriate for a considerable time after the asset purchase program ends and the economic recovery strengthens and stated that it now anticipates that it likely will be appropriate to maintain the current target range for the federal funds rate well past the time that the unemployment rate declines below 6.5 percent, especially if projected inflation continues to run below the Committee’s 2 percent longer-run goal.  We anticipate that interest

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rates will continue to increase but remain below historic averages and the portfolio income yield for some period.  We also expect capital markets to remain volatile.

Deferred annuity contracts with fixed and guaranteed crediting rates, or floors that limit crediting rate reductions, are adversely impacted by a prolonged low interest rate environment since we may not be able to reduce crediting rates sufficiently to maintain investment spreads.  Financial results of long duration products that do not have stated crediting rate guarantees but for which underlying assets may have to be reinvested at interest rates that are lower than portfolio rates, such as structured settlements and term life insurance, may also be adversely impacted.

The following table summarizes the weighted average guaranteed crediting rates and weighted average current crediting rates as of December 31, 2013 for certain fixed annuities and interest-sensitive life contracts where management has the ability to change the crediting rate, subject to a contractual minimum.  Other products, including equity-indexed, variable and immediate annuities, equity-indexed and variable life, and institutional products totaling $6.39 billion of contractholder funds, have been excluded from the analysis because management does not have the ability to change the crediting rate or the minimum crediting rate is not considered meaningful in this context.

Investing activity will continue to decrease our portfolio yield as long as market yields remain below the current portfolio yield.  The portfolio yield has been less impacted by reinvestment in the current low interest rate environment, as much of the investment cash flows have been used to fund the managed reduction in spread-based liabilities.  The declines in both invested assets and portfolio yield are expected to result in lower net investment income in future periods.

We expect approximately 4.4% of the amortized cost of fixed income securities not subject to prepayment and approximately 7.8% of commercial mortgage loans to mature in 2014.  We have $24.94 billion of such fixed income securities and $4.17 billion of such commercial mortgage loans as of December 31, 2013.  Additionally, for asset-backed securities (“ABS”), residential mortgage-backed securities (“RMBS”) and commercial mortgage-backed securities (“CMBS”) that have the potential for prepayment and are therefore not categorized by contractual maturity, we received periodic principal payments of $1.40 billion in 2013.  To the extent portfolio cash flows are reinvested, the average pre-tax investment yield of 5.6% is expected to decline due to lower market yields.  These amounts exclude assets classified as held for sale.

In order to mitigate the unfavorable impact that the current interest rate environment has on investment results, we are:

·     Shifting the portfolio mix to have less reliance on investments whose returns come primarily from interest payments to investments in which we have ownership interests and a greater proportion of return is derived from idiosyncratic operating or market performance including equities and real estate.

·                  Investing to the specific needs and characteristics of our business.

These topics are discussed in more detail in the respective sections of the MD&A.

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OPERATIONS

Overview and strategy  We sell life insurance and voluntary employee benefits products.  We serve our customers through Allstate exclusive agencies and exclusive financial specialists, and workplace distribution.  We bring value to our ultimate parent, the Corporation in three principal ways: through profitable growth, by bringing new customers to Allstate, and by improving the economics of the Corporation through increased customer loyalty and stronger customer relationships based on cross selling our products to existing customers.  Our strategy is focused on expanding Allstate customer relationships, growing the number of products delivered to customers through Allstate exclusive agencies, improving returns on our in-force annuity products, and emphasizing capital efficiency and shareholder returns.

On July 17, 2013, we announced our plans to exit the independent master brokerage agencies distribution channel.  In connection with this announcement, we entered into a definitive agreement with Resolution Life Holdings, Inc. to sell Lincoln Benefit Life Company, LBL’s life insurance business generated through independent master brokerage agencies, and all of LBL’s deferred fixed annuity and long-term care insurance business for $600 million subject to certain adjustments as of the closing date.  The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.  We expect the closing to occur in April 2014.  The estimated loss on disposition of $521 million, after-tax, was recorded in 2013.  The business being sold had $341 million of premiums and contract charges in 2013.  Effective July 18, 2013, we no longer offer any products through the independent master brokerage agency distribution channel.

The principal products we currently offer include interest-sensitive, traditional and variable life insurance.  These products are sold through Allstate exclusive agencies and exclusive financial specialists.  We also offer voluntary accident and health insurance through workplace enrolling independent agents in New York.  Effective January 1, 2014, we no longer offer fixed annuities such as deferred and immediate annuities.  We are planning to outsource the administration of our annuity business to a third party administration company by the end of 2014.  Institutional products consisting of funding agreements sold to unaffiliated trusts that use them to back medium-term notes were previously offered and $85 million remain outstanding as of December 31, 2013.

Based upon Allstate’s strong financial position and brand, we have a unique opportunity to cross-sell our products to meet the needs of more Allstate customers.  We will enhance trusted customer relationships established through Allstate exclusive agencies to serve those who are looking for assistance in meeting their protection and retirement needs by providing them with information, products and services.  To further strengthen our value proposition to Allstate exclusive agencies and drive further engagement in selling our products, the agent compensation structure incorporates sales of our products.

Our in-force deferred and immediate annuity business has been adversely impacted by the credit cycle and historically low interest rate environment.  Our immediate annuity business has also been impacted by medical advancements that have resulted in annuitants living longer than anticipated when many of these contracts were originated.  We have reduced the level of legacy deferred annuities in force and proactively manage annuity crediting rates to improve the profitability of the business.  The pending LBL sale will further reduce the level of deferred annuities in force.  We are managing the investment portfolio supporting our immediate annuities to ensure the assets match the characteristics of the liabilities and provide the long-term returns needed to support this business.  We are increasing investments in which we have ownership interests and a greater proportion of return is derived from idiosyncratic operating or market performance including equities and real estate to more appropriately match investment duration with these long-term liabilities.

Outlook

·                  Our growth initiatives continue to focus on increasing the number of customers served through the Allstate agency channel.

·                  We continue to focus on improving returns on our in-force deferred and immediate annuity products.

·                  We plan to accelerate growth of premiums and contract charges by offering a broad range of products to meet our customers’ needs.  The solutions we offer to meet customer life and retirement needs will include underwritten insurance products as well as third-party solutions where we choose not to offer certain products.

·                We expect lower investment spread due to reduced contractholder funds, the continuing low interest rate environment and changes in asset allocations.  The amount by which the low interest rate environment will reduce our investment spread is contingent on our ability to maintain the portfolio yield and lower interest crediting rates on spread-based products, which could be limited by market conditions, regulatory minimum

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rates or contractual minimum rate guarantees, and may not match the timing or magnitude of changes in asset yields.  We also anticipate changing our asset allocation for long-term immediate annuities to have less reliance on investments whose returns come primarily from interest payments to investments in which we have ownership interests and a greater proportion of return is derived from idiosyncratic operating or market performance including equities and real estate.  This shift could result in lower and more volatile investment income; however, we anticipate that this strategy will lead to higher total returns on shareholder’s equity.

·                  Shareholder’s equity may increase as there may be limitations on the amount of dividends we can pay without prior approval by our insurance department.

·                  We continue to review our strategic options to reduce our exposure and improve returns of the spread-based businesses.  As a result, we may take additional operational and financial actions that offer return improvement and risk reduction opportunities.

Summary analysis   Summarized financial data for the years ended December 31 is presented in the following table.

Net loss was $38 million in 2013 compared to net income of $426 million in 2012.  The change was primarily due to the estimated loss on disposition related to the pending LBL sale, lower net investment income and higher contract benefits, partially offset by net realized capital gains in 2013 compared to net realized capital losses in 2012 and decreased amortization of DAC.

Net income in 2012 was $426 million compared to $469 million in 2011.  The decrease was primarily due to net realized capital losses in 2012 compared to net realized capital gains in 2011, partially offset by decreased interest credited to contractholder funds and lower amortization of DAC.

Analysis of revenues   Total revenues increased 0.6% or $25 million in 2013 compared to 2012, primarily due to net realized capital gains in 2013 compared to net realized capital losses in 2012 and higher premiums and contract charges, partially offset by lower net investment income.  Total revenues decreased 9.8% or $456 million in 2012 compared to 2011 due to net realized capital losses in 2012 compared to net realized capital gains in 2011 and lower net investment income.

Premiums represent revenues generated from traditional life insurance, immediate annuities with life contingencies, and accident and health insurance products that have significant mortality or morbidity risk.

Contract charges are revenues generated from interest-sensitive and variable life insurance and fixed annuities for which deposits are classified as contractholder funds or separate account liabilities.  Contract charges are assessed against the contractholder account values for maintenance, administration, cost of insurance and surrender prior to contractually specified dates.

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The following table summarizes premiums and contract charges by product for the years ended December 31.

Total premiums and contract charges increased 2.8% in 2013 compared to 2012, primarily due to higher contract charges on interest-sensitive life insurance products primarily resulting from the aging of our policyholders and growth of insurance in force, and increased traditional life insurance premiums due to lower reinsurance premiums ceded and higher sales and renewals through Allstate agencies, partially offset by lower sales of immediate annuities with life contingencies.  Effective March 22, 2013, we no longer offer structured settlement annuities.  We continue to service the in-force structured settlement contracts.

Total premiums and contract charges decreased 0.6% in 2012 compared to 2011, primarily due to lower sales of immediate annuities with life contingencies, partially offset by higher contract charges on interest-sensitive life insurance products primarily resulting from the aging of our policyholders and lower reinsurance ceded, and increased traditional life insurance premiums due to lower reinsurance ceded and higher sales through Allstate agencies.

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Contractholder funds represent interest-bearing liabilities arising from the sale of products such as interest-sensitive life insurance, fixed annuities and funding agreements.  The balance of contractholder funds is equal to the cumulative deposits received and interest credited to the contractholder less cumulative contract benefits, surrenders, withdrawals, maturities and contract charges for mortality or administrative expenses.  The following table shows the changes in contractholder funds for the years ended December 31.

Contractholder funds decreased 38.9%, 7.3% and 10.3% in 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively.  The decrease in 2013 reflects the reclassification of contractholder funds held for sale relating to the pending LBL sale.  Contractholder funds including those classified as held for sale decreased 10.6% in 2013, reflecting a large institutional product maturity in 2013 and our continuing strategy to reduce our concentration in spread-based products.  Average contractholder funds decreased 22.5% in 2013 compared to 2012 and 8.9% in 2012 compared to 2011.

Contractholder deposits increased 7.2% in 2013 compared to 2012, primarily due to increased fixed annuity deposits driven by the new equity-indexed annuity products and higher deposits on immediate annuities, as well as higher deposits on interest-sensitive life insurance.  Contractholder deposits increased 16.6% in 2012 compared to 2011, primarily due to increased fixed annuity deposits driven by new equity-indexed annuity products launched in second quarter 2012.

Surrenders and partial withdrawals on deferred fixed annuities and interest-sensitive life insurance products decreased 17.4% to $3.28 billion in 2013 from $3.97 billion in 2012.  Surrenders and partial withdrawals on deferred fixed annuities and interest-sensitive life insurance products decreased 19.1% to $3.97 billion in 2012 from $4.91 billion in 2011.  2011 had elevated surrenders on fixed annuities resulting from crediting rate actions and a large number of contracts reaching the 30-45 day period (typically at their 5 or 6 year anniversary) during which there is no surrender charge.  The surrender and partial withdrawal rate on deferred fixed annuities and interest-sensitive life insurance products, based on the beginning of year contractholder funds, was 10.4% in 2013 compared to 11.5% in 2012 and 12.7% in 2011.

Maturities of and interest payments on institutional products in 2013 include a $1.75 billion maturity.  There are $85 million of institutional products outstanding as of December 31, 2013.  Maturities of and interest payments on

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institutional products decreased to $138 million in 2012 from $867 million in 2011, reflecting differences in the timing and magnitude of maturities.

Analysis of costs and expenses   Total costs and expenses decreased 1.5% or $56 million in 2013 compared to 2012, primarily due to lower amortization of DAC and lower interest credited to contractholder funds, partially offset by higher contract benefits.  Total costs and expenses decreased 9.1% or $364 million in 2012 compared to 2011, primarily due to lower interest credited to contractholder funds and amortization of DAC.

Contract benefits increased 5.6% or $85 million in 2013 compared to 2012, primarily due to an increase in reserves for secondary guarantees on interest-sensitive life insurance and worse mortality experience on life insurance.  Our 2013 annual review of assumptions resulted in a $37 million increase in reserves primarily for secondary guarantees on interest-sensitive life insurance due to higher concentration of and increased projected exposure to secondary guarantees.

Contract benefits increased 1.3% or $19 million in 2012 compared to 2011, primarily due to worse mortality experience on life insurance, partially offset by lower sales of immediate annuities with life contingencies and the reduction in reserves for secondary guarantees on interest-sensitive life insurance.  Our 2012 annual review of assumptions resulted in a $13 million decrease in the reserves for secondary guarantees on interest-sensitive life insurance due to favorable projected mortality.

We analyze our mortality and morbidity results using the difference between premiums and contract charges earned for the cost of insurance and contract benefits excluding the portion related to the implied interest on immediate annuities with life contingencies (“benefit spread”).  This implied interest totaled $527 million, $538 million and $541 million in 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively.

The benefit spread by product group for the years ended December 31 is disclosed in the following table.

Benefit spread decreased 15.9% or $47 million in 2013 compared to 2012, primarily due to the increase in reserves for secondary guarantees on interest-sensitive life insurance and worse mortality experience on life insurance and annuities, partially offset by higher cost of insurance contract charges on interest-sensitive life insurance.

Benefit spread decreased 5.1% or $16 million in 2012 compared to 2011, primarily due to worse mortality experience on life insurance and annuities, partially offset by lower reinsurance premiums ceded on life insurance, higher cost of insurance contract charges on interest-sensitive life insurance and the reduction in reserves for secondary guarantees on interest-sensitive life insurance.

Interest credited to contractholder funds decreased 2.9% or $38 million in 2013 compared to 2012, primarily due to lower average contractholder funds and lower interest crediting rates, partially offset by the valuation change on derivatives embedded in equity-indexed annuity contracts that reduced interest credited expense in 2012.  Interest credited to contractholder funds decreased 19.8% or $319 million in 2012 compared to 2011, primarily due to the valuation change on derivatives embedded in equity-indexed annuity contracts that reduced interest credited expense, lower average contractholder funds and lower interest crediting rates.  Valuation changes on derivatives embedded in equity-indexed annuity contracts that are not hedged increased interest credited to contractholder funds by $24 million in 2013 compared to a $126 million decrease in 2012 and an $18 million increase in 2011.  During third quarter 2012, we reviewed the significant valuation inputs for these embedded derivatives and reduced the projected option cost to reflect management’s current and anticipated crediting rate setting actions, which were informed by the existing and projected low interest rate environment and are consistent with our strategy to reduce exposure to spread-based business.  The reduction in projected interest rates resulted in a reduction of contractholder funds and interest credited expense by $169 million in 2012.

In order to analyze the impact of net investment income and interest credited to contractholders on net income, we monitor the difference between net investment income and the sum of interest credited to contractholder funds

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and the implied interest on immediate annuities with life contingencies, which is included as a component of contract benefits on the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (“investment spread”).

The investment spread by product group for the years ended December 31 is shown in the following table.

Investment spread before valuation changes on embedded derivatives that are not hedged increased 13.5% or $87 million in 2013 compared to 2012, primarily due to lower crediting rates, higher prepayment fee income and litigation proceeds and higher limited partnership income, partially offset by the continued managed reduction in our spread-based business in force.  Investment spread before valuation changes on embedded derivatives that are not hedged increased 27.3% or $138 million in 2012 compared to 2011 due to income from limited partnerships and lower crediting rates, partially offset by lower yields on fixed income securities and the continued managed reduction in our spread-based business in force.

To further analyze investment spreads, the following table summarizes the weighted average investment yield on assets supporting product liabilities and capital, interest crediting rates and investment spreads.  For purposes of these calculations, investments, reserves and contractholder funds classified as held for sale are included.

The following table summarizes our product liabilities as of December 31 and indicates the account value of those contracts and policies in which an investment spread is generated.

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Amortization of DAC decreased 25.9% or $84 million in 2013 compared to 2012 and 24.7% or $106 million in 2012 compared to 2011.  The components of amortization of DAC for the years ended December 31 are summarized in the following table.

The decrease in DAC amortization in 2013 compared to 2012 was primarily due to the absence of amortization on a large fixed annuity block that became fully amortized in 2012, lower amortization relating to valuation changes on derivatives embedded in equity-indexed annuity contracts due to a large valuation change in 2012, lower amortization on interest-sensitive life insurance resulting from decreased benefit spread, and lower amortization acceleration for changes in assumptions.  Amortization relating to valuation changes on derivatives embedded in equity-indexed annuity contracts was $1 million in 2013 compared to $25 million in 2012.

The decrease in DAC amortization in 2012 compared to 2011 was primarily due to decreased amortization relating to realized capital gains and losses and decreased amortization on fixed annuity products due to the DAC balance for contracts issued prior to 2010 being fully amortized, partially offset by increased amortization acceleration for changes in assumptions and increased amortization relating to valuation changes on embedded derivatives that are not hedged.

Our annual comprehensive review of the profitability of our products to determine DAC balances for our interest-sensitive life, fixed annuities and other investment contracts covers assumptions for persistency, mortality, expenses, investment returns, including capital gains and losses, interest crediting rates to policyholders, and the effect of any hedges in all product lines.  In 2013, the review resulted in an acceleration of DAC amortization (charge to income) of $18 million.  Amortization acceleration of $33 million related to interest-sensitive life insurance and was primarily due to an increase in projected mortality and expenses, partially offset by increased projected investment margins.  Amortization deceleration of $12 million related to fixed annuities and was primarily due to an increase in projected investment margins.  Amortization deceleration of $3 million related to variable life insurance.

In 2012, the review resulted in an acceleration of DAC amortization of $34 million.  Amortization acceleration of $38 million related to variable life insurance and was primarily due to an increase in projected mortality.  Amortization acceleration of $4 million related to fixed annuities and was primarily due to lower projected investment returns.  Amortization deceleration of $8 million related to interest-sensitive life insurance and was primarily due to an increase in projected persistency.

In 2011, the review resulted in an acceleration of DAC amortization of $9 million.  Amortization acceleration of $15 million related to interest-sensitive life insurance and was primarily due to an increase in projected expenses.  Amortization deceleration of $6 million related to equity-indexed annuities and was primarily due to an increase in projected investment margins.

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The changes in DAC for the years ended December 31 are detailed in the following table.

Operating costs and expenses decreased 0.7% or $3 million in 2013 compared to 2012 and increased 10.9% or $43 million in 2012 compared to 2011.  The following table summarizes operating costs and expenses for the years ended December 31.

General and administrative expenses decreased 1.9% or $7 million in 2013 compared to 2012, primarily due to lower employee related expenses and proceeds received from a litigation settlement.

General and administrative expenses increased 18.2% or $57 million in 2012 compared to 2011, primarily due to higher employee related expenses, lower reinsurance expense allowances and increased marketing costs, partially offset by a charge in 2011 related to the liquidation plan for Executive Life Insurance Company of New York.

Loss on disposition of $687 million in 2013 includes the estimated $698 million loss relating to the pending LBL sale.  Gain on disposition of $18 million in 2012 relates to the amortization of the deferred gain from the disposition through reinsurance of substantially all of our variable annuity business in 2006, and the sale of Surety Life Insurance Company, which was not used for new business, in third quarter 2012.

Reinsurance ceded               We enter into reinsurance agreements with unaffiliated reinsurers to limit our risk of mortality and morbidity losses.  In addition, we have used reinsurance to effect the acquisition or disposition of certain blocks of business.  We retain primary liability as a direct insurer for all risks ceded to reinsurers.  As of December 31, 2013 and 2012, 36% and 39%, respectively, of our face amount of life insurance in force was reinsured.  Additionally, we ceded substantially all of the risk associated with our variable annuity business.

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Our reinsurance recoverables, summarized by reinsurer as of December 31, are shown in the following table.

We continuously monitor the creditworthiness of reinsurers in order to determine our risk of recoverability on an individual and aggregate basis, and a provision for uncollectible reinsurance is recorded if needed.  No amounts have been deemed unrecoverable in the three-years ended December 31, 2013.

INVESTMENTS 2013 HIGHLIGHTS