Answer Financial begins hiring after Allstate takeover, AIG slashes workforce

Following its acquisition by insurance giant Allstate Corporation, Answer Financial has announced it will increase its sales staff at its customer service center in Tennessee. The news comes in the wake of mass losses for the industry with AIG saying it will be cutting its property and casualty insurance unit, Chartis.

Allstate recently confirmed that it has completed its purchase of Answer Financial, which currently employs approximately 160 workers at the Oak Ridge sales center, according to the News Sentinel.

The company said it is looking to fill 60 sales position, with an average annual salary of $45,000, to help with the busy auto insurance enrollment period in January.

Meanwhile, the news is not so positive for AIG as it gets ready to slash a number of insurance-related jobs due to falling profits from high catastrophe losses and increased competition, according to Forbes.

AIG said it would be cutting jobs at its insurance division, Chartis, which has approximately 40,000 employees. The company said it was reducing its workforce by 1 percent, but said it would also continue to hire where it saw the best growth potential. There's been no word as to how many people Chartis may eventually hire.