CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Unitrin, Inc. (NYSE: UTR) announced today that it has purchased all
rights to the “Kemper” name owned by Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Company
and its affiliates (“Lumbermens”). These rights include registered
trademarks, logos and internet domain names incorporating the Kemper
name. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Lumbermens, based in Long Grove, Illinois, has for many years owned the
intellectual property rights to the Kemper name in the insurance
marketplace and has conducted its various insurance businesses under the
name “Kemper Insurance Companies.” Unitrin, based in Chicago, purchased
the personal lines property and casualty insurance business of
Lumbermens in 2002. As a part of that purchase, Unitrin acquired a
license to use the Kemper name in connection with the personal lines
business only. As a result of the transaction announced today, Unitrin
has acquired unrestricted use of the Kemper name in connection with all
of its operations. Lumbermens, which has been in the process of winding
down its remaining insurance operations since 2003, will refer to itself
henceforth as the “Lumbermens Mutual Group.”
Unitrin’s Chief Executive Officer, Donald Southwell, said “We are
pleased to have acquired such a venerable name in financial services as
Kemper and plan to increase the profile of the name in our insurance
operations over time.”
Unitrin is a diversified insurance holding company, with subsidiaries
that provide life, health, auto, homeowners and other insurance products
for individuals and small businesses.
Unitrin’s principal businesses are:
- Kemper®1, which provides auto, homeowners and
other insurance products to individuals through a network of
independent agents,
- Unitrin Direct, which markets auto and homeowners insurance to
consumers via direct mail, the Internet, employer-sponsored employee
benefit programs and other affinity relationships,
- Unitrin Specialty, which provides auto insurance through a
network of independent agents and brokers to individuals and small
businesses which have had difficulty procuring insurance through
traditional channels, usually due to adverse driving records or claim
or credit histories, and
-
Unitrin’s Career Agency Companies, which specialize in the sale
of life insurance products to persons of modest incomes through a
network of employee agents.
Additional information about Unitrin is available by visiting its
website http://www.unitrin.com/.
1 “Kemper” is a trademark of Unitrin, Inc.
Source: Unitrin, Inc.
Contact:
Unitrin, Inc.
Frank J. Sodaro, (312) 661-4930
investor.relations@unitrin.com