May 8, 2020

For 75 years, Horace Mann has helped educators protect what they have today and prepare for a successful tomorrow. Our business decisions and strategy are guided by our dedication to the educational community, and informed by the needs of all our stakeholder groups.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected each of these stakeholder groups, and we’ve responded as a company, with financial aid, new resources and expanded programs. But I’m especially proud of how we have responded as individuals during a particularly challenging time for all of us — with compassion, empathy and grace. Like our agent in Maine, who upon hearing that a customer was worried about being able to get groceries after being in an accident, delivered them himself. Or our customer care representative in Illinois who listened at length to a retired educator’s concerns about market volatility on her savings. It’s kindness like this that makes Horace Mann special. As a company, and as people, we’re all in this together.

As COVID-19 began to spread in March, we transitioned 95% of our employees to “work from home” within a matter of weeks, without disrupting service levels. We instituted an emergency paid leave policy, put in place stringent safeguards for the essential workers in our buildings, and launched an employee care initiative to aid employees whose families are hardest hit by the pandemic.

We are offering customers financial relief through our Teacher Appreciation Giveback Program, which includes a 15% auto premium credit for two months; a grace period of three months on auto, property, life and supplemental insurance payments; and an extension of personal auto coverage to those delivering food, medicine and other essential goods. We’re also providing teachers with remote learning resources to help adjust their teaching to a virtual environment.

We accelerated planned technology upgrades for our agency force, enabling them to better serve educators in a virtual environment. For example, we are transitioning our traditional in-person events to virtual ones, such as Financial Wellness workshops on saving for retirement, classroom crowdfunding and managing student loan debt.

In the communities where we live and work, we’ve partnered with DonorsChoose and local teachers to “Keep Kids Learning.” Our $100,000 donation will help local teachers equip the highest-need students with educational materials for home. In our headquarters location of Springfield, Ill., we contributed to the Central Illinois Foodbank to help “keep kids fed” and to the COVID-19 response fund for The United Way, as well as a small business relief fund for The Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce.

Today marks the end of the 2020 Teacher Appreciation Week. It’s been different from past years — we’re showing our appreciation virtually, or at least from a distance. But the sentiment is the same: Teachers are the heart of our communities, and while their focus is on their students, our focus is on them.

As a company, we believe our long-term success relies on keeping that commitment to educators and responsibility to our stakeholders at the forefront of everything we do. In every interaction and decision, we aim to be living proof of that mission.

As always, we encourage your feedback at csr@horacemann.com.

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