CEO Guilty Of DUI Had Three Times Legal Limit After Crash -Police

Louis Lower, the insurance company chief executive who pled guilty to drunk driving in Florida last week, had "difficulty standing," was "swaying in all directions" and later fell to the ground as police investigated the May 29 car crash that led to his arrest, according to police records.

Lower, the chief executive of Horace Mann Educators Corp. (HMN), refused to take a field sobriety test or submit to a police breathalyzer after he drove on the wrong side of the road and crashed head-on into another car in Vero Beach, Fla., according to the police file. He insisted instead on having a lawyer present. When police obtained a search warrant from a judge to test his blood more than three hours later, a laboratory found he had a blood-alcohol content of .21--nearly three times the legal limit.

Lower struck the vehicle after a "sudden swerve," causing about $30,000 worth of damage to the two vehicles, according to the report. Neither person in the other car reported injuries at the scene.

At the scene, police said Lower initially had a "blank stare," and smelled strongly of alcohol. Later, "Lower lost his balance and fell against his vehicle and then on the ground."

Lower's arrest came to light late Monday, when the board of directors at Horace Mann announced they were placing him on leave after he was sentenced to 60 days in jail. Horace Mann, based in Springfield, Ill., sells auto, home and life insurance to teachers.

Lower had told some company executives about his arrest in mid-July, but the board was first notified of the incident after he was convicted and put in jail on Sept. 8, a company spokesman said Monday.

Lower is scheduled to be released on Oct. 26, according to the Indian River County website. In a statement whose title referred to a "situation involving" its CEO, the insurer said Monday that the board was considering whether to impose further disciplinary actions on Lower.

Still, the statement said, he is expected to return to his job in late October or November. Chief Financial Officer Peter Heckman will serve as interim chief executive.

"There are no excuses to offer other than a lapse of personal character for which I take full responsibility," Lower said in the statement. The statement said it was Lower's first offense.

Lower has been Horace Mann's chief executive since 2000. He was previously chief executive of Allstate Corp's (ALL) life insurance operation, and serves as a board member of mortgage insurer PMI Group Inc. (PMI). Bill Horning, a spokesman for PMI, didn't respond to several phone calls and voicemail messages seeking comment.

Horace Mann shares were down 0.8% to $17.63 in afternoon trading, after earlier falling to as low as $16.92.

-By Erik Holm, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2892; erik.holm@dowjones.com

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