March 29, 2023

Similar to the broader national economy, Horace Mann saw the impact of external factors like inflation and market volatility on our 2022 financial results. While the short-term impact on the P&C segment is disappointing, Horace Mann made substantial progress toward our long-term goals over the course of the year. We are serving more educators, partnering with more districts, and helping more educators plan for a lifetime of financial success.

The need for more financial resources and guidance for educators is clear. The combined burden of financial stress, heavier workloads, and the conflicting expectations of parents, administrators and lawmakers are driving more professionals out of the job they love. Understaffed schools are already having a negative impact on student learning across the country. An astounding 60%+ of educators told Horace Mann in a late 2022 survey that they either have an exit plan for their education career, within the next three years, or are seriously considering changing jobs.

We asked educators what would help. Alongside higher pay, more administrative and community support topped the list. It’s a sentiment Horace Mann is built on – the educators who dedicate themselves to helping our students prepare for the future deserve our support and respect. Additionally, 27% of educators said they would be more likely to stay in education if they felt more financially secure – which is where Horace Mann’s contributions can truly make an impact in educator retention nationwide. In 2022 alone:

  • We assisted educators in identifying $160 million in student loan forgiveness available – at no cost to them. The most common path for educators is Public Service Loan Forgiveness – which is separate from the Biden administration’s blanket student loan forgiveness plan.
  • We completed hundreds of financial wellness workshops in schools across the country on topics like state teacher retirement systems, classroom crowdfunding and financial literacy.
  • We brought the combined strengths of Horace Mann and newly acquired Madison National Life Insurance Company to the market, providing employer-sponsored protection options that administrators can use to bolster employee benefit packages.

As a mission-centric organization, helping educators achieve a lifetime of financial success is not just what we do – it’s who we are. Our company strives to be a responsible corporate citizen and have a positive impact on all our stakeholders. Since 2019, we have cut our Scope 1 and Scope 2 carbon emissions in half – far ahead of our target year of 2030. The Horace Mann Educators Corporation and Horace Mann Educators Foundation contributed nearly $1 million to charitable causes in 2022. The company supported classroom crowdfunding organization DonorsChoose with a $500,000 sponsorship, and the Foundation donated $425,000 to support educator projects, employees’ charitable giving matches, and grants that support communities where employees live and work.

To promote transparency, we’ve expanded our corporate disclosures in the areas of business ethics, human capital management, data security and privacy, and responsible product offerings. To highlight a few:

Following the guidance of our ESG strategic plan, and informed by our stakeholders’ materiality input, we plan to further increase our transparency in 2023. More importantly, we will continue to support educators and administrators with the products, solutions and resources they need to help address the critical shortage of educational staff nationwide.

Marita Zuraitas, President and CEO of Horace Mann, wears a blue blazer and looks confidently into the camera.

Sincerely,

Zuraitis-Marita-signature

Marita Zuraitis

President and Chief Executive Officer