Unitrin Direct, a unit of insurer Unitrin Inc., had an operating loss of $7 million in fourth quarter 2001, compared with an operating loss of $2.2 million a year ago. For all of 2001 it lost $22.6 million, compared to $6.1 million in 2000. The quarter and the year ended Dec. 31.
Unitrin Direct is a direct marketing based automotive insurance provider. During fourth quarter 2001 it wrote $8.1 million in premiums and generated $5.4 million in premium earnings. Its premium earnings for the year were $10.4 million.
Unitrin Direct was launched in January 2000. The company said that it expects to take a loss on the subsidiary during the next few years, but that “its first full year of results are primarily meeting or exceeding the company’s expectations.” The company began marketing within California, Florida, Michigan and Pennsylvania during 2001, and expects to add several more states during 2002.
The parent company generated $513 million in fourth quarter revenue, and had a net loss of $47.3 million. For the year it had $2.53 billion in revenue and a net loss of $22.2 million, compared with $1.95 billion in revenue and net income of $56.2 million in 2001.
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