Kemper Corporation
Company typePublic
NYSE: KMPR
S&P 400 Component
IndustryInsurance
Founded1990
Headquarters200 East Randolph Street
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Key people
Joseph P. Lacher, Jr. (President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board)
RevenueIncrease US$5,206 million (2020)[1]
Increase US$510.1 million (2020)[1]
Increase US$409.9 million (2020)[1]
Total assetsIncrease US$14,342 million (2020)[2]
Number of employees
10,000 (2021)[1]

Kemper is an American insurance provider with corporate headquarters located in Chicago, Illinois. With nearly $13 billion in assets, the Kemper family of companies provides insurance to individuals, families, and businesses.[3]

History

Kemper Corporation was originally founded as Unitrin, Inc. in April 1990, when it spun off from Henry Singleton's conglomerate Teledyne. Singleton expected the new venture to duplicate the successful spin off of the Argo Group, originally a workers’ compensation insurance provider, created in 1986. Argonaut's original $20 per share stock appreciated 240 percent by 1990.[3] 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.[3]

In 2002, Unitrin purchased the renewal rights for the homeowners and automobile insurance lines of Kemper Insurance, a long-time Chicago insurance and financial services firm.[4][5][6]

In 2010, Unitrin purchased all rights to the Kemper name, and began operations as Kemper Corporation on August 25, 2011, with trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the KMPR ticker symbol.[7]

In November 2015, Joseph P. Lacher, Jr. was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer.

The company unified and refreshed its brand in October 2018.[8]

Fortune Magazine included Kemper on its 2020 list of the 100 Fastest-Growing Companies.[9]

In May 2021, Joseph P. Lacher, Jr. was elected Chairman of the Board, in addition to his role as President and Chief Executive Officer. Since Lacher was appointment Chairman, Kemper Corporation has posted consecutive quarterly losses, had its credit ratings lowered by Fitch and Standard & Poor's, lost $2 billion in market cap, reduced policies in force by 15 percent and extended its credit to pay for its dividend.

On November 23, 2020, the company announced it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire American Access Casualty Company and its related captive insurance agency, Newins Insurance Agency Holdings, LLC, and its subsidiaries (collectively “AAC”), in a cash transaction valued at $370 million.[10] On April 1, 2021, the company announced it had completed the acquisition of AAC.[11] AAC provided specialty private passenger auto insurance in Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Nevada and Texas.

The Kemper Open was a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour for 35 years, from 1968 through 2002.[12][13]

Acquisitions

In April 2015, Kemper acquired Alliance United Insurance Company, one of the fastest growing auto insurance providers in the State of California. Source:[14]

In July 2018, Kemper acquired Infinity Property and Casualty Corporation (NASDAQ: IPCC), an auto insurance provider focused on serving the specialty, nonstandard segment, in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $1.4 billion.[15]

In April 2021, Kemper completed the acquisition of Downers Grove, Illinois based American Access Casualty Company. American Access Casualty Company specializes in automobile insurance directed towards the Hispanic community.[16]

Subsidiaries

Kemper Property & Casualty

Kemper’s Property & Casualty Insurance segment includes the following businesses:

Property & Casualty Insurance Companies

Kemper Life & Kemper Health

Kemper’s Life & Health insurance segment is made up of the following businesses:

Life & Health Insurance Companies

Other Affiliated Insurance Companies

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Kemper site". Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  2. ^ "Kemper Corporation". Retrieved 2011-08-31.
  3. ^ a b c "Kemper Corporation". Kemper.com. Retrieved 2021-09-29.
  4. ^ "Unitrin buys rights to Kemper Insurance name". 2010. Retrieved 2016-01-10.
  5. ^ "Kemper runoff saga nearing conclusion". 2010. Retrieved 2016-01-10.
  6. ^ "Kemper". Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2016-01-10.
  7. ^ Wells, Andrea (2011). "Unitrin Changes Name to Kemper". Insurance Journal. Retrieved 2011-08-31.
  8. ^ "Kemper Announces Brand Refresh". Bloomberg.com. 2018-10-25. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
  9. ^ "Kemper | 2020 Fastest-Growing Companies". Fortune. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
  10. ^ "Kemper to Acquire American Access in $370 Million Transaction" (Press release). 23 November 2020. Retrieved 2021-09-29.
  11. ^ "Kemper Completes Acquisition of American Access" (Press release). April 2021. Retrieved 2021-09-29.
  12. ^ "Palmer charges home to win Kemper Open". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. September 16, 1968. p. 9.
  13. ^ "Kemper victory on par for Estes". Wilmington Morning Star. (North Carolina). Associated Press. June 3, 2002. p. 3C.
  14. ^ "Kemper to Buy Alliance United in California Car Insurance Push". Bloomberg.com. 11 December 2014. Retrieved 2014-12-11.
  15. ^ says, Former Infinity IA (2018-02-20). "Kemper Corp. Acquires Infinity Property & Casualty of Alabama for $1.4B". Insurance Journal. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
  16. ^ "Kemper Completes Acquisition of American Access" (Press release). April 2021.
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