Unitrin Direct relocates Chattanooga call center and cuts 30 local jobs

Unitrin Direct, formerly Merastar Insurance Co., plans to relocate a call center from Chattanooga to Scranton, Pa., this spring, cutting 30 local jobs.

Kemper Corp., which bought the former Merastar in 2007, said the move is designed to cut costs for the online and telephone-based auto and home insurance provider.

But it will limit the size of the insurer, which operates at Eastgate Town Center in Brainerd.

“As part of its effort to improve profitability, the company is streamlining its customer service function by moving call center work from Chattanooga to Scranton,” said Leslie Kolleda, a spokeswoman for Kemper Insurance.

“We are working closely with all of our affected employees to find them other positions and help them with outplacement,” she said.

Merastar was spun off from the former Provident Life and Accident Insurance Co., and was sold nearly five years ago to Unitrin Inc., a subsidiary of Kemper, when the company generated more than $50 million in annual premiums.

After Unitrin’s purchase, the 170-employee Merastar insurance operation in Chattanooga grew to more than 200 employees.

But the company has pared operations in the past year, including the cutback of more than a dozen jobs in December, according to former employees.

The latest staff cuts are scheduled over the next couple of months.