Kemper Corporation

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Kemper Corporation
Public
Traded as NYSEKMPR
Industry Insurance and Consumer Finance
Founded 1990
Headquarters One East Wacker Drive
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Key people
Donald G. Southwell, Chairman, President & CEO
Total assets Over $8 billion (2011)[1]
Number of employees
7,000+ (2011)
Slogan Insurance with you in mind.
Website www.kemper.com

Kemper Corporation (formerly known as Unitrin) is one of America's major insurance and consumer finance providers. The group of companies specializes in property and casualty insurance, life and health insurance products for individuals, families, and small businesses.[2]

History

Unitrin, Inc. was founded in April 1990 when it was spun off from Henry Singleton's conglomerate Teledyne. Singleton hoped that the spin-off of Unitrin would duplicate the successful results of the Argo Group, originally a worker's compensation insurance provider, spun off in 1986. Argonaut's original $20 per share stock appreciated 240 percent by 1990.

Singleton remained Chairman of Unitrin after it was spun off to shareholders at $31.25 per share, trading on NASDAQ. Unitrin divided its business into three major categories: life and health insurance; property and casualty insurance; and consumer finance, which covered a variety of services including automobile and industrial loans.

During the second part of 1994, Unitrin was targeted for a hostile takeover because of its increasing success. American General Corp., an insurance carrier headquartered in Houston, sent a $2.6 billion takeover bid. On June 26, Unitrin rejected the $50.38 per share offer and adopted a poison pill defense by initiating a stock buyback plan of ten million shares or 19% of its stock. American General then took Unitrin to court. A Delaware Chancery Court judge agreed and issued a restraining order against Unitrin's proposed stock buyback until September 27, 1994. Unitrin continued to resist the merger offer, and, on December 13, 1994, the Delaware Supreme Court overturned the lower court's injunction, allowing Unitrin to continue buying back its stock. (For details see Unitrin, Inc. v. American General Corp.) As 1994 ended, Unitrin's total revenues rose slightly to $1.37 billion, just over the previous year's $1.36 billion. However, Unitrin's net income rose from $95 million in 1993 to a shocking $148 million for 1994 fiscal year. As Unitrin entered its fifth year as an independent company, it continued buying back its stock to keep American General and, possibly, other suitors at bay. By the end of 1995, Unitrin had bought back 13.5 million shares at a cost of $661 million. Unitrin's poison pill defense worked: American General's takeover bid expired on February 7, 1995 and was not renewed.[3]

In 2002, Unitrin purchased the homeowners and automobile insurance lines of Kemper Insurance, a long-time Chicago insurance and financial services firm that had failed.[4][5][6] In 2010, Unitrin purchased all rights to the Kemper name, and on August 25, 2011, Unitrin officially began operations as Kemper Corporation, with trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the KMPR ticker symbol.[7]

In 2015, three Kemper Corp. life insurance companies sued the Illinois state treasurer, claiming the office is improperly demanding records to identify families that are owed life insurance money after a death of a family member.[8] The Illinois state treasurer wants to audit about 40 life insurance companies to determine whether people in Illinois are entitled to money from life insurance policies that have been forgotten after the insured person has died.

File:Unitrin-logo.PNG
A historical logo

Alliance United Insurance Company

Kemper is currently in the process of purchasing Alliance United Insurance Company, one of the fastest growing auto insurance providers in the State of California. Source:[9]

Kemper subsidiaries

Source:[10]

Property and casualty insurance

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  • Alpha Property & Casualty Insurance Company
  • Charter County Mutual
  • Charter Indemnity Company
  • Financial Indemnity Company
  • Kemper Independence Insurance
  • Merastar Insurance Company
  • Mutual Savings Fire Insurance Company
  • National Merit Insurance Company
  • Response Insurance Company
  • Response Worldwide Direct Auto
  • Response Worldwide Insurance Company
  • Trinity Universal Insurance Company
  • Union National Fire Insurance Company
  • United Casualty Insurance Company of America
  • Unitrin Advantage Insurance Company
  • Unitrin Auto and Home Insurance Company
  • Unitrin Casualty Insurance Company of America
  • Unitrin Advantage Insurance Company
  • Unitrin Auto & Home Insurance Company
  • Kemper Direct
  • Unitrin Direct Property & Casualty Company
  • Unitrin Preferred Insurance Company
  • Unitrin Safeguard Insurance Company
  • Valley Property & Casualty Insurance Company
  • Warner Insurance Company

Life and health insurance

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  • Mutual Savings Life Insurance Company
  • Reserve National Insurance Company
  • The Reliable Life Insurance Company
  • Union National Life Insurance Company
  • United Insurance Company of America

Affiliated insurance companies

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  • Fireside Bank
  • Capitol County Mutual Fire Insurance Company
  • Old Reliable Casualty Company
  • Unitrin County Mutual Insurance Company

References

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External links