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Corporate Governance

Horace Mann is committed to following corporate governance best practices to ensure a financially strong company that operates ethically and with integrity.

We follow corporate governance best practices:

  • Independent board majority; CEO only non-independent director
  • Separate CEO and Chairman
  • Diversity of director expertise, including leadership, insurance operations, agency management, finance, education, marketing and technology
  • Stock ownership requirement for directors and top executives
  • Limited executive benefits and perquisites
  • Clawback provision for both cash and equity awards
  • No company stock hedging or pledging
  • No excise tax gross-ups from a change in control
  • No poison pill

Board Diversity

Horace Mann believes in the importance of having a diverse Board in terms of age, ethnicity, gender, tenure and professional experience. The Nominating & Governance Committee is responsible for annually reviewing skills and characteristics of new Board members and the composition of the Board as a whole. This assessment includes consideration of experience, perspective, background, skill sets, age, ethnicity and gender makeup of the current Board, as well as candidates’ individual qualities in leadership, character judgment and ethical standards. Of the 10 current Board members, five bring gender and racial/ethnic diversity to the board.

Executive Compensation

The guiding principles of the executive compensation program include pay for performance, aligning executives’ interests with those of shareholders, driving long-term value creation, and ensuring a significant proportion of compensation is “at risk” based on the company’s performance. More than 70% of our CEO’s compensation, and more than 60% of compensation for the other named executive officers, is linked to performance- or equity-based incentives. Performance measures focus on absolute and relative shareholder return and are designed to incentivize operating growth and risk management.

ESG Oversight & Engagement

The Horace Mann Board of Directors is committed to overseeing the company’s environmental, social and governance strategy, with various committees responsible for different ESG aspects. Additionally, as part of our efforts to strengthen our ESG initiatives, our General Counsel is the strategic lead for our ESG/CSR activities and briefs the Board quarterly on the company’s environmental, social and governance initiatives and progress.

ESG Oversight graphic that demonstrates the oversight chain of command. The Full Board (at the top of the chain) oversees CSR function and reviews CSR report. Next, the Nominating and Governance Committee oversees E&S risks and goals, human rights statements, DEI efforts, Employee Health and Safety Procedures, Environmental and climate change statements. They also review annual CSR updates from management. On the same level, the Audit Committee oversees information security audits, data protection standards implementation, and cyber security employee trainings. It also reviews data privacy and cyber security risks. On the same level is the Compensation Committee, which oversees executive officer leadership development and executive officer succession. It also identifies high-potential diverse employees and candidates to strengthen talent pipeline.

Horace Mann launched its corporate social responsibility program in 2016 and continues to encourage internal and external dialogue on ESG topics. In 2018, the company completed an initial stakeholder engagement of interviews, surveys, and other research to identify areas of interest to various stakeholder groups. In 2020, we continued to engage with our stakeholders in a variety of ways, such as conducting pulse surveys for employees and discussing ESG topics — such as diversity — with 24 investors representing more than 35% of outstanding shares.