Customers can now communicate with Allstate through Alexa

Allstate is releasing a new application on Amazon Echo, the company announced Wednesday.

The Northbrook, Illinois-based insurer becomes the fifth carrier with a presence on Amazon's connected device, which provides hands-free access to streaming music and controlling smart home devices, among other features. Grange Insurance, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, and Safeco Insurance make up the shortlist of carriers to partner with Amazon on Echo, commonly known to users as Alexa.

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An attendee holds an "Echo" device during the U.K. launch event for the Amazon.com Inc. Echo voice-controlled home assistant speaker in this arranged photograph in London, U.K., on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. The Seattle-based company today announced that its Echo product line will be available in the U.K. and Germany starting in the fall, the first time the gadget will be available outside the U.S. Photographer: Luke MacGregor/Bloomberg

"Amazon's innovation with Alexa provided a great avenue for us to connect with our customers in a delightful way, providing them useful information when, where and how they want it," said Roger Tye, Allstate’s vice president of digital and user experience, in a statement.

Similar to past insurance skills on Amazon Echo, Allstate’s is tailored to helping customers receive basic policy information or contacting local agents. Users are able to find agents via zip code and ask Alexa for billing information; such as, payment due date and minimum amount required.

"This is a new platform for us, but we continuously look for innovative ways to reach our consumers directly and make it easy to do business with Allstate," Tye concluded.

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Internet of things Customer experience Allstate Amazon
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