SAN RAMON, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In 1974, a set of ambitious Real Estate Brokers founded a small home warranty startup in California. Its product was designed to protect Plan Holders’ budgets from the high cost to repair and replace home systems and appliances. Just eight years later, Dependable Home Warranty joined the Old Republic family of companies to become Old Republic Home Protection (ORHP). From its humble beginnings, ORHP now serves more than 380,000 homes across 22 states.
ORHP’s substantial growth has continued despite a fluctuating real estate market. From 2003 to 2013, ORHP’s coverage grew to 380,000 homes from 218,000 at the beginning of the decade. In 2013 alone, its total number of covered homes rose by 50,000.
“Our success is directly tied to our vision of `People Helping People,’ our innovative coverage, and our commitment to providing stellar service,” said company President Gwen Gallagher.
ORHP maintains its customer-centered culture through effective hiring and in-depth training, ensuring all staff members are capable of delivering competent and caring service. “Thanks to our commitment to being a company that truly cares about its customers, and the sincere desire and dedication of our staff to make a positive difference in the lives of others, we have experienced exceptionally low turn-over—23% of our employees have been with ORHP for more than a decade. That’s unheard of in most industries that depend on call-center services,” said Gallagher. “A knowledgeable, experienced, committed staff has resulted in powerful loyalty from both the real estate community and the Plan Holders we serve.”
About Old Republic Home Protection
Old Republic Home Protection has been a leader in the Home Warranty Industry since 1974, is currently the third largest home warranty company in the nation, and conducts business in 22 states nationwide.
A Home Warranty Plan is a renewable service contract that repairs/replaces a home’s systems and appliances that fail due to normal use during the term of the contract. Optional coverage is also available to custom-fit coverage to the home. Please see your state-specific Plan for details of coverage.
For more information regarding Old Republic Home Protection, visit www.orhp.com.
About Old Republic International Corporation
Chicago-based Old Republic International Corporation is one of the nation’s 50 largest publicly held insurance organizations. Its most recent financial statements reflect consolidated assets of approximately $16.81 billion and common shareholders’ equity of $3.86 billion, or $14.97 per share. Its current stock market valuation is approximately $4.40 billion, or $16.91 per share.
The Company is organized as an insurance holding company whose subsidiaries actively market, underwrite, and provide risk management services for a wide variety of coverages mostly in the general and title insurance fields. A long-term interest in mortgage guaranty and consumer credit indemnity lines has devolved to a run-off operating mode in recent years.
The nature of Old Republic’s business requires that it be managed for the long run. For the 25 years ended in 2013, the Company’s total market return, with dividends reinvested, has grown at a compounded annual rate of 12.0 percent per share. For the same period, the total market return, with dividends reinvested, for the S&P 500 Index has grown at a 10.3 percent annual compound rate. During those years, Old Republic’s shareholders’ equity account, inclusive of cash dividends, has risen at an average annual rate of 10.0 percent per share, and the regular cash dividend has grown at a 9.7 percent annual compound rate. According to the most recent edition of Mergent’s Dividend Achievers, Old Republic is one of just 100 qualifying companies, out of thousands considered, that have posted at least 25 consecutive years of annual dividend growth.
