Joseph E. Luecke, 64, will retire early...

Joseph E. Luecke, 64, will retire early next year as chairman of Kemper National Insurance Cos., the company announced Monday.

Luecke, chairman of the Long Grove, Ill., firm since 1986, will leave Feb. 1 and be replaced by Gerald L. Maatman, who is president and chief executive.

Maatman joined Kemper in 1966 as director of loss control engineering.

Kemper National is the 16th-largest property-casualty insurance group in the United States.