Type Public Founded 1990 | Industry Insurance Number of employees 6,000 | |
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Traded as NYSE: KMPR
S&P 400 Component Key people Robert J. Joyce, Chairman, Joseph P. Lacher (CEO) Revenue US$2,521.9 million (2016) Total assets US$8,210.5 million (2016) Headquarters Chicago, Illinois, United States Stock price KMPR (NYSE) US$ 41.25 +0.35 (+0.86%)10 Mar, 4:02 PM GMT-5 - Disclaimer CEO Joseph P. Lacher Jr. (Nov 2015–) Subsidiaries Kemper Direct, Unitrin Insurance Company | ||
Kemper Corporation (formerly known as Unitrin, Inc.) is one of America's major insurance providers. The group of companies specializes in home, auto, life and health insurance products for individuals, families and small businesses.
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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. 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.
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 that had financial difficulties. 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.
Alliance United Insurance Company
In April 2015, Kemper acquired Alliance United Insurance Company, one of the fastest growing auto insurance providers in the State of California. Source:
Kemper subsidiaries
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