Allstate Insurance Co. (ALL) agreed to provide refunds or credits to nearly 700,000 of its current and former Texas homeowner insurance customers.

The Northbrook, Ill., personal lines insurance company also intends to cut rates for many Texas customers by about 3%, beginning June 2.

The changes are part of a deal Allstate Texas Lloyd, an Allstate affiliate, reached with the Texas Department of Insurance and the Office of Public Insurance Counsel.

The refunds apply to Allstate Texas customers with a homeowner policy effective from Dec. 1, 2004 through April 23, 2006, or customers who processed renewals between Aug. 20, 2007 through June 1, 2008.

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