Allstate Corporation’s ALL first-quarter 2019 earnings of $2.3 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.44% but decreased 25.3% on a year-over-year basis.The decrease was mainly due to heavy catastrophe loss. Adjusted revenues came in at $10.33 billion, outpacing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 15.22%. The top line was up 12.5% year over year, driven by an increase in property and casualty insurance premium (up 6.9% year over year).In the quarter under review, total expenses increased 10.1% year over year to $9.37 billion on higher property and casualty insurance claims, and operating cost and expenses.The company incurred catastrophe loss of $680 million, which was 88.4% higher year over year.Total policies in force as of Mar 31, 2019 were 123.5 million, up 44.3% year over year.Net investment income of $648 million declined 17.6% year over year due to lower performance-based income.The Allstate Corporation Price and EPS Surprise The Allstate Corporation Price and EPS Surprise | The Allstate Corporation QuoteSolid Segmental PerformanceProperty-Liability insurance premiums of $8.8 billion increased 6.2% year over year due to rise in premium in auto, homeowners and Ensurance brand.The segment’s underwriting income of $700 million was down 30.3% year over year due to catastrophe losses incurred in the reported quarter.Service Businesses’ total revenues were $392 million, up 25% year over year. This upside was primarily driven by higher revenues (up 34.4%) from the company’s Square Trade business, followed by revenue growth of 14.3% and 11.5% respectively, in Arity and Allstate Dealer Services.Allstate Life’s total revenues of $486 million increased 3% year over year, driven by growth in premiums and net investment income.Allstate Benefits’ total revenues grew 2.6% year over year to $311 million, driven by growth in premium and gains from realized capital losses.Allstate Annuities’ revenues of $349 million grew 32% year over year mainly due to high realized capital gains.Capital Position (As of Mar 31, 2019)Total shareholders’ equity was $20.5 billion, down 1.4% year over year.Total assets were $115.8 billion, up 2.3% year over year.Long-term debt of $6.45 billion decreased 5.8% year over year.Ratio of debt-to-equity was 27.6%, down 180 basis points year over year.Adjusted return on equity of 13.5% declined from 16.2% in the year-ago quarter.Zacks Rank and Performance of Other InsurersAllstate carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Among the other players from the insurance industry that have reported first-quarter earnings so far, the bottom line of Torchmark Corp. TMK, RLI Corp. RLI and W.R. Berkley Corp. WRB beat the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.14%, 20.3% and 54%.Today's Best Stocks from ZacksWould you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2018, while the S&P 500 gained +15.8%, five of our screens returned +38.0%, +61.3%, +61.6%, +68.1%, and +98.3%.This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. From 2000 – 2018, while the S&P averaged +4.8% per year, our top strategies averaged up to +56.2% per year.See their latest picks free >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Torchmark Corporation (TMK): Free Stock Analysis Report RLI Corp. (RLI): Free Stock Analysis Report W.R. Berkley Corporation (WRB): Free Stock Analysis Report The Allstate Corporation (ALL): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research