News Details

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Unitrin, Inc. (NYSE:UTR) cited an erroneous news item reported by the Associated Press ("AP") on Monday, February 23, 2009 which stated incorrectly that Unitrin's subsidiary, Fireside Bank, had suffered losses in 2007 and 2008 from "subprime mortgages" and that the Fitch rating agency "anticipates additional losses from the home loans." Fireside Bank engages solely in automobile lending and does not make mortgage loans of any kind and has no mortgage loans in its portfolio.

While noting that the AP corrected this misstatement late in the day on Monday, Unitrin's CEO, Don Southwell, stated that, "In light of the current negative market connotations associated with home mortgage lending, we feel that it is important to make sure that the investing public is not mislead or confused by this factual error, which might have shelf-life absent a correction by Unitrin. While Fireside Bank does engage in subprime automobile lending, the characteristics of auto loans differ markedly from home mortgage loans. I urge investors to consult our public SEC filings for a full description of Fireside's business."

Unitrin is a financial services company focused on creating shareholder value by providing a diverse array of insurance and automobile finance products and services for individuals, families and small businesses.

Among the brands in Unitrin'sProperty and Casualty Insurance businesses are Kemper(R)¹ and Unitrin Specialty, which sell personal and commercial insurance through networks of independent agents, and Unitrin Direct, which sells automobile and homeowners insurance directly to consumers or through employer-sponsored voluntary benefit programs. Unitrin'sLife and Health Insurance businesses bring a high-level of personalized service to their customers. Unitrin's automobile finance subsidiary, Fireside Bank, specializes in automobile loans for the purchase of pre-owned vehicles. Additional information about Unitrin is available by visiting its website (www.unitrin.com).

¹Unitrin uses the registered trademark "Kemper" under license, for personal lines insurance only, from Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Company, which is not affiliated with Unitrin.

    Source: Unitrin, Inc.