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Consumer research and agent preference push company to make the move earlier than planned.
Unitrin, Inc., a diversified insurance holding company with subsidiaries that provide auto, homeowners, life, health and other insurance products for individuals, has changed its name to Kemper Corporation.
“Unitrin has been a very fine company, and we are very proud of our heritage,” said Don Southwell, chairman, president and chief executive officer, in a phone interview with IN&V. “But when we got the Kemper brand, we realized we had a much stronger brand to work with. And if you marry the strength of Unitrin and the brand of Kemper, you’ve really got a winning proposition for agents and customers.”
In 2002, Unitrin purchased the Kemper name. With just under $1 billion in total earned premiums, this segment now represents the company’s largest business unit, according to a press release the company issued this week. Over time, the Kemper name will be incorporated into the company’s other business units.
“When we bought Kemper personal lines, we thought we would have to migrate off the name over a period of 5 years,” Southwell said. “And our agents told us they really value the Kemper name. So when we had an opportunity to buy the broad right to the Kemper name, we jumped on it and involved agents in the process. Agents certainly value an addition market with high quality products and a recognizable trusted name.”
The company name is not the only thing to change over the five years. Unitrin has worked to be a more straightforward insurance provider rather than a company with an electric portfolio of companies and investments. Unitrin originated after leaving Teledyne in 1990, and now possesses over $8 billion in assets, according to the press release.
“[The name change] allows us to position this brand for the future and add in concepts that we believe are already well represented,” Southwell said. “We are a straight forward company, trusted to provide our claims fitted to our agents and other customers when it’s needed.”
The purchase of the name inspired the company to invite a third-party research team to begin a survey of all its brands. The company studied how to position the name and make it most useful to the company. Through extensive research, the study found that the “the Kemper brand name, its attributes and recognition remain strong, with about a 30% greater awareness of the Kemper name over Unitrin among consumers surveyed,” according to the press release.
About 10,000 independent agents work with the Unitrin company, know the company products and value its commitment to customer service. Southwell explains that despite the name change, he wants agents and customers to keep thinking of Unitrin the way they do now, as a great company to work with, with great product offerings and claim service.
“Unitrin has been a very fine company, and we are very proud of our heritage,” Southwell said. “But when we got the Kemper brand, we realized we had a much stronger brand to work with. And if you marry the strength of Unitrin and the brand of Kemper, you’ve really got a winning proposition for agents and customers. We’re hopeful they will continue to do business with us.”
SOURCE: Unitrin, Inc.
Unitrin, Inc.
Frank J. Sodaro, (312) 661-4930
investor.relations@unitrin.com
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