Kemper Direct
 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary of Kemper Corporation |
|---|---|
| Industry | Insurance |
| Founded | 2000 |
| Headquarters | Chicago, Illinois, USA |
Key people | Donald Southwell, Chairman, President, and CEO (Kemper Corporation); James Schulte, CPCU, Group Executive, Kemper Corporation |
| Products | Insurance |
| Revenue | $267.7 Million USD (2007) |
Number of employees | 650 |
| Website | www |
Kemper Direct Auto and Home Insurance is a direct to consumer auto insurance writer headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It is a subsidiary of Kemper Corporation, which has over $8 billion in assets and more than six million policyholders.
History
Unitrin Direct was founded in 2000 as a subsidiary of Unitrin, Inc. (NYSE: UTR ).
In 2002 Unitrin Direct acquired eKemper and combined the business under Unitrin Direct.
On June 29, 2007 Trinity Universal Insurance Company, a subsidiary of Unitrin Inc., purchased Merastar Insurance Company: a company based in Chattanooga, Tennessee that specialized in the sale of personal automobile, homeowners, boat, and personal umbrella insurance through employer-sponsored voluntary benefit programs. The sale was completed for a cash payment of approximately $47 Million. Merastar Insurance became a part of Unitrin Direct.[1]
Starting August 25, 2011, Unitrin officially began operations as Kemper Corporation, with trading on the New York Stock Exchange as the KMPR ticker symbol.[2] On May 2, 2012, Unitrin Direct officially changed its name to Kemper Direct.[3]
On July 19, 2012, Kemper Corporation announced it would cease direct marketing activities for Kemper Direct, after having placed Kemper Direct into a runoff strategy.[4]
States
Kemper Direct provides a combination of Auto, Renters, Condo, and/or Homeowners Insurance in 28 states, including Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Offices
Kemper Direct is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The company also has offices in Carlsbad, Scranton, Plymouth Meeting, Chattanooga, and Tampa.
Other Brands
Kemper Direct currently has two other brands of its product, iMingle Insurance and Teachers.com Insurance. They offer essentially the same products as Kemper Direct and are not legally considered to be companies of their own. Thus, their financial ratings, underwriting guidelines, and other pieces of information are listed under Kemper Direct, not these specialized brands.
iMingle
Mingle is a brand targeted towards what the company calls the "i Generation". iMingle launched in 2010 [5] and is available in many, but not all, states that the Kemper Direct-branded products are.[6]
Teachers.com
Teachers.com is a brand primarily targeted towards current or retired professional educators by offering them specialized, educator-focused discounts on their auto insurance.[7] It launched in 1992,[8] although it wasn’t acquired by Kemper Corporation (then Unitrin, Inc.) until 2009.[9]
References
- ^ Unitrin Completes Acquisition of Merastar Insurance Company, Business Wire, 2007-07-02, retrieved 2007-12-09[permanent dead link]
- ^ Unitrin announces name change to Kemper, CBS MoneyWatch, 2011-08-25, retrieved 2011-08-31[permanent dead link]
- ^ Kemper Corporation Announces Name Change for Its Direct Business, PRWeb, 2012-05-02, archived from the original on 2012-07-12, retrieved 2012-05-07
- ^ Kemper Corp ratings unaffected Kemper Direct action, Fitch Ratings, 2012-07-20, retrieved 2014-04-30
- ^ iMingle® Launches as the First Insurance Provider for the i Generation, PRWeb, 2010-11-30, retrieved 2011-10-26
- ^ iMingle® Insurance Launches in New Jersey with Group Buying for Car Insurance, PRWeb, 2011-09-20, retrieved 2011-10-26
- ^ Discount Car Insurance for Teachers – Educator Auto Insurance Discounts, archived from the original on 2012-01-25, retrieved 2012-01-04
- ^ About Teachers.com Insurance – Auto Insurance Companies, Teachers.com, archived from the original on 2012-01-12, retrieved 2012-01-04
- ^ Pending Purchase of Direct Response Corporation for KEMPER Corp (UTR), wikinvest, 2009-02-04, retrieved 2012-01-04
