Unitrin says it purchased the Kemper personal lines business in 2002, and this segment now represents the company’s largest business unit with just less than $1 billion in total earned premiums in 2010. For marketing purposes, this unit will become Kemper Preferred, effective Aug. 25. The holding company will incorporate the Kemper name in many of its other business units over time.
Unitrin says the name change closely aligns with the corporate changes during the last five years. The company has worked to redefine itself from a holding company with an eclectic portfolio of companies and investments to a straightforward insurance provider with more than $8 billion in assets. Unitrin says it was established as a holding company after its spin-off from
Unitrin says that, after purchasing the name, a top-to-bottom study of its brands to explore how best to use the name more aggressively was conducted. The Kemper brand name, its attributes and recognition remain strong, Unitrin notes, with about a 30 percent greater awareness of the Kemper name versus Unitrin among consumers surveyed.
