A major motivator for people choosing careers in education is its intangible rewards: The ability to make a difference in students’ lives and contribute to the greater good. But the combined burden of financial stress, heavier workloads due to the current U.S. educator shortage, and conflicting expectations of parents, administrators and lawmakers are driving more professionals out of the job they love.
More than a quarter of educators would be more likely to stay in their job if they felt more financially secure, according to Horace Mann research. We can help districts retain more educators through financial resources and support tailored to their unique needs.
Supporting educators isn’t just part of what we do; it’s who we are. At the heart of our company is a deep appreciation and respect for the impact educators have on our children and our communities. Our business is focused on helping all educators achieve lifelong financial success – because they deserve it.
Financial Education
Horace Mann agents provide complimentary financial wellness workshops for educators at schools and online, including financial literacy, retirement readiness and similar topics. Because each state has its own retirement system for educators—some with multiple options—we help educators navigate these systems by explaining their requirements, benefits and complexities. Our goal is to give educators a clear understanding of their potential retirement income.
More than three-quarters of public school teachers (77%) are women, who have historically faced more challenges to financial security, including lower pay compared to their male counterparts, more career interruptions and a longer life expectancy. One of our workshops specifically addresses these factors, helping women prepare for retirement.
Our newest program for educators is HMScore, a free tool giving educators access to their credit report, score and monitoring. This resource helps educators confidently understand their credit standing and actively take control of their financial health.
Student Loan Solutions
The U.S. Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program was designed to encourage careers in public service by allowing federal loans of public service workers to be forgiven after 10 years of qualifying payments. However, navigating the process can be confusing.
Horace Mann offers every public school educator in the country a complimentary Student Loan Solutions online account, which includes webinar education, online resources and expert loan coaches to help educators get the loan forgiveness they deserve.
In 2024, the program helped educators identify $28.8 million in total projected student loan forgiveness opportunities and find an average of more than $250 in monthly savings on student loan payments. Since its inception, the program has identified more than $716 million in projected loan forgiveness opportunities.
Classroom Crowdfunding
Teachers regularly spend hundreds of dollars of their own money to buy classroom supplies for their students. As a national sponsor of the classroom crowdfunding platform DonorsChoose, Horace Mann helps fund projects identified by teachers as critical to student learning—allowing educators to keep more of their own money. Since 2010, Horace Mann and its representatives have donated more than $7.75 million to DonorsChoose projects, funding nearly 31,000 projects and creating more than 2.72 million student learning experiences. In 2024, Horace Mann contributed $385,000 to DonorsChoose.
Educator Advantage®
We’re committed to helping educators protect what’s important to them, and our Educator Advantage® program is just one of the ways we thank educators for the work they do every day. The program provides educators with special benefits and extra coverages on their auto and home insurance at no additional cost, such as:
- No deductible on a covered vandalism loss at school or a school event
- No deductible on a collision claim at school or a school event
- Coverage if money or goods for a school event are stolen while in your possession
Horace Mann Insurance Company and its affiliates underwrite Horace Mann auto and home insurance. The benefits and discounts listed are only general descriptions of coverage and do not constitute a statement of contract. Additional terms and conditions, as described in the policy, must be met for the coverage to be provided. Not all discounts and benefits available in all states.
Responsible Products and Business Practices
Horace Mann designs innovative products for the K-12 market to help educators prepare for retirement. Products and services are centered around helping others, from offering affordable insurance to helping people prepare for retirement.
- We currently offer a mutual fund platform in Retirement Advantage® that has no surrender charges and does not revenue share with third-party investment firms, such as Vanguard, J.P. Morgan and Lincoln. Retirement Advantage® provides a competitive guaranteed fixed-income product as well.
- In addition to Retirement Advantage®, our current variable annuity products also have no surrender charges and no revenue sharing. These products provide a guaranteed fixed income rate with some of the lowest expenses in the industry.
- We clearly disclose the potential risk of our products in various ways, including descriptions of relevant investment risks and coverage considerations on our consumer websites and in our marketing materials.
Our mission is to help educators and others who serve their communities achieve lifelong financial success. In support of this mission, Horace Mann designs innovative products and services centered around helping others, from offering affordable insurance to helping people prepare for retirement.
Horace Mann offers several responsible products and services that have been carefully developed and vetted to benefit our customers, such as the Student Loan Solutions services and Educator Advantage programs. We continuously monitor and analyze the social impact of our products and have established processes and policies to ensure our products align with our mission. Beyond the products we offer, Horace Mann offers additional opportunities and services in various states to customers that help mitigate environmental-related risks, including climate change. For example:
- Fortified Roofing endorsement, providing a discount for customers installing impact-resistant roofs
- Wildfire mitigation discounts to customers who take steps to mitigate or prevent wildfire damage
- Full-time Underwriter and wildfire mitigation specialist who consults with our homeowner customers and recommends risk mitigation techniques.
Delivering distinctive customer service is a core priority for our organization. Our key objectives include maximizing first-call resolution and ensuring a prompt service experience that drives customer satisfaction. Specifically, we measure success through the percentage of customer inquiries resolved on the first call, call response time and the likelihood of customers recommending our services to others.
In 2024, our Customer Care Center handled nearly 496,000 customer calls. Of these:
- More than 73% were answered within 30 seconds or less, minimizing wait times
- More than 91% were successfully resolved during the initial contact—a seven-percentage-point improvement over two years
- More than 93% of surveyed customers said they would recommend Horace Mann for their insurance needs
Our ongoing focus on responsiveness, resolution efficiency and distinctive service continues to ensure we meet and exceed our customer expectations.
In 2024, we received 558 complaints, down from 597 in 2023, reflecting our ongoing commitment to service excellence.
Recognizing outstanding educators
We believe it is important to recognize outstanding educators at both a national and local level. We partner with educational organizations and school districts across the country to award outstanding teachers, school employees and administrators.
The Horace Mann Educators Foundation partners with the NEA Foundation to recognize, reward and promote excellence in teaching through the annual Horace Mann Awards for Teaching Excellence.
We also sponsor the Women in School Leadership Awards with AASA, The School Superintendents Association, as well as the District 186 Educator of the Year program in our corporate headquarters of Springfield, Ill.
Additionally, local Horace Mann agents often partner with their school districts to offer recognition and sponsorships specific to that district’s needs.