Kemper Direct Auto and Home Insurance (Kemper Direct) was a direct to consumer auto and home insurance writer headquartered in Chicago, Illinois and a former subsidiary of Kemper Corporation.
 | |
| Company type | Former subsidiary of Kemper Corporation |
|---|---|
| Industry | Insurance |
| Founded | 2000 |
| Headquarters | Chicago, Illinois, USA |
Key people | Donald G. Southwell (Former President, CEO, and Chairman, Kemper Corporation) |
| Products | Insurance |
| Website | www |
Kemper Direct is now part of Kemper Personal Insurance, a provider of both auto and home insurance with a concentration on preferred/standard insurance.
History
editUnitrin 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
editKemper Direct provided 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.
Other Brands
editKemper Direct had two other brands of its product - iMingle Insurance and Teachers.com Insurance. They offered essentially the same products as Kemper Direct and were not legally considered companies of their own. Thus, their financial ratings, underwriting guidelines, etc. were listed under Kemper Direct and not under these specialized brands.
iMingle Insurance
editiMingle was targeted towards what the company called the "i Generation". iMingle launched in 2010 [5] and was available in select states that offered Kemper Direct-branded products.[6]
Teachers.com Insurance
editTeachers.com was a brand primarily targeted towards current and retired professional educators. Teachers.com offered specialized, educator-focused discounts on auto insurance.[7] It launched in 1992,[8] although it was not acquired by Kemper Corporation (then Unitrin, Inc.) until 2009.[9]
References
edit- ^ 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, archived from the original on December 20, 2010, retrieved 2011-10-26
- ^ iMingle® Insurance Launches in New Jersey with Group Buying for Car Insurance, PRWeb, 2011-09-20, archived from the original on September 26, 2015, 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, archived from the original on March 4, 2016, retrieved 2012-01-04
