1630 Chicago Ave., Evanston 60201, 708-570-3200
Founded: 1968
Fiscal year-end: Dec. 31
Chief executive: Robert W. Patin, 48, elected 1988
1990 cash compensation: $567,421
Shares owned: 18,603 of 9.99 million common shares
Employees: 1,367; 1,100 in Illinois
Foreign revenues: None; $702.6 million total
May 1, 1991 value of $1,000 in company stock:
Purchased May 1, 1990: $759
Purchased May 1, 1986: $537
Co-founder George R. Kendall delivered Washington National`s first insurance policy by bicycle in 1911. The company rode out the Great Depression by pioneering the sale of group disability insurance to teachers, who weren`t hit as hard as others by the economic crisis.
Washington National still sells teachers` disability policies, along with group and individual life and health insurance. But in the last few years CEO Robert Patin has engineered a sweeping restructuring, selling several businesses and chopping expenses. The work force is less than half the size it was a year ago. George P. Kendall Jr., grandson of the co-founder, stepped down as president of the main insurance unit in January.
In 1990 Washington National posted its third net loss in the last four years, although operating results edged into the black. Problems included claims backlogs in its individual health operations; the company says it has corrected that problem, but earlier this month it announced a $11.9 million first-quarter loss due to a $12 million charge related to municipal bonds backed by failed Executive Life Insurance Co.
