Erie Insurance Veteran Dufala to Head P/C Unit for Kemper

Kemper Corp. has named George D. Dufala, Jr. as president of its Property & Casualty division.

Dufala will report directly to Joseph P. Lacher, Jr., Kemper’s president and chief executive officer, and will be based in Chicago.

He is succeeding Joseph W. Metz, who has been serving as interim head of the Property & Casualty division since the departure in February of Denise Lynch. Metz will resume his duties as president, Personal and Commercial Lines.

Dufala’s direct reports will include the executives who lead the Kemper Personal and Commercial Lines, Kemper Specialty California and Alliance United businesses as well as various P/C insurance supporting functions.

Most recently Dufala was executive vice president of Services, at Erie Insurance Group, where he was responsible for claims and services, as well as crisis prevention and management. His 23 year experience at Erie also included a series of roles of increasing responsibility spanning sales and operational leadership functions. He is “particularly experienced in helping turn around underperforming businesses,” according to the announcement.

Kemper reported its P/C segment had a $5.1 million operating loss in the fourth quarter 2015, driven by the poor performance of its Alliance United, a non-standard auto provider Kemper acquired in May, 2015. In addition to poor results at Alliance United, under-performance of the legacy book of business also contributed to the loss, the insurer said.

Topics Property Casualty