Allstate apologizes for Zodiac confusion

NORTHBROOK, Ill., Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Illinois-based Allstate Insurance is apologizing for a study ranking road safety on the basis of Zodiac signs.

The Northbrook-based company said Saturday the study, which was released two days earlier, had been intended for "entertainment purposes only," but had unintentionally caused confusion about "whether astrological signs are part of the underwriting process," the Chicago Tribune reported Tuesday.

"Astrological signs have absolutely no role in how we base coverage and set rates. Rating by astrology would not be actuarially sound," the company said in a statement.

The Zodiac study had said Virgos were involved in the most road accidents during 2010, while Scorpios were the least likely to have been involved in accidents that year.