MEMIC Triples Annual Dividend to $12M; More Than 20,000 Maine Employers to Benefit
October 06, 2006 | Financial
PORTLAND, Maine, October 6, 2006 – Workers’ compensation specialist Maine Employers’ Mutual Insurance Company (MEMIC) announced today that its Board of Directors has voted to pay a dividend totaling $12M to more than 20,000 company policyholders.
MEMIC will pay the dividend in November based upon premium paid to the company on 2003 policies. Employers who are eligible MEMIC policyholders will receive a check for about 8.6 percent of their paid premium from that year. Checks to employers will range up to $120,000.
The dividend announced today is triple the amount paid by the company last year. Including this dividend, MEMIC will have returned more than $70M to its customers since 1998.
According to MEMIC President and Chief Executive Officer John T. Leonard, MEMIC’s Board voted to increase the amount paid for two important reasons. First, the company’s effort to work with policyholders to continue to reduce injuries has yielded further reductions. Since the company’s inception, lost-time injuries in Maine are down by nearly 30 percent, he said. Second, the company has enjoyed a stream of income from its Manchester, N.H.-based subsidiary, MEMIC Indemnity Company. The subsidiary is now licensed to write workers’ compensation in 34 states.
“We continue to have great success in reducing injuries and now we’re seeing our diversification strategy pay off,” Leonard said. “By taking the expertise we developed here and applying it to our subsidiary, we’re effectively lowering costs for our policyholders here in Maine. Given the difficult economic news that Maine has endured, this has to be great news for employers in Maine.”
MEMIC insures more than 60 percent of the commercial workers’ compensation market in Maine. Its total written premium in Maine in 2005 was approximately $160M. As a mutual company, its Board of Directors can elect to offer a dividend when it deems the company’s finances are strong enough to support the payment.
The company issued a $4M dividend in 2005. Eligible policyholders are those who had a policy beginning at some point in 2003 and kept that policy in force for the full one-year term. The company’s subsidiary, established in Manchester, N.H., in 2000, is a specialty company, like its parent, writing only workers’ compensation insurance. In 2006, it will underwrite more than $30M in premium. The company is licensed in more than 34 states but writes most of its policies in New England.
“We see the growth of MEMIC Indemnity as producing value to the state’s economy in two ways,” Leonard said. “First, we believe that it will help us to continue to produce dividends to our policyholders. Second, our impact on the southern Maine economy is enhanced as we add jobs here in Portland because our back office operations help service the subsidiary.”
Leonard said MEMIC’s reputation continues to grow nationally. In the last year, two national insurance trade publications have featured company leaders on their cover. And in July, Ward Group, a nationally respected insurance consultant, named MEMIC to its “Ward 50” for the fifth consecutive year. The Ward 50 is a ranking of the top 50 (of more than 3,000) property casualty insurance companies in terms of financial performance and safety. The award puts MEMIC in the top two percent of property casualty insurers.
Since MEMIC was formed in the early 1990s, workers’ compensation insurance rates in Maine have decreased by nearly 30 percent while lost-time injuries have fallen by more than 30 percent.
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Maine Employers' Mutual Insurance Company (MEMIC), based in Portland, Maine, is Maine's largest and leading workers' compensation insurer, providing coverage to more than 21,000 Maine employers and their estimated 170,000 employees. The company is rated “A” (Excellent) by A.M. Best. MEMIC Indemnity Company, based in Manchester, NH, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MEMIC. It is licensed to write workers' compensation policies in 34 states. It is rated “A-” (Excellent) by A.M. Best.
MEMIC will pay the dividend in November based upon premium paid to the company on 2003 policies. Employers who are eligible MEMIC policyholders will receive a check for about 8.6 percent of their paid premium from that year. Checks to employers will range up to $120,000.
The dividend announced today is triple the amount paid by the company last year. Including this dividend, MEMIC will have returned more than $70M to its customers since 1998.
According to MEMIC President and Chief Executive Officer John T. Leonard, MEMIC’s Board voted to increase the amount paid for two important reasons. First, the company’s effort to work with policyholders to continue to reduce injuries has yielded further reductions. Since the company’s inception, lost-time injuries in Maine are down by nearly 30 percent, he said. Second, the company has enjoyed a stream of income from its Manchester, N.H.-based subsidiary, MEMIC Indemnity Company. The subsidiary is now licensed to write workers’ compensation in 34 states.
“We continue to have great success in reducing injuries and now we’re seeing our diversification strategy pay off,” Leonard said. “By taking the expertise we developed here and applying it to our subsidiary, we’re effectively lowering costs for our policyholders here in Maine. Given the difficult economic news that Maine has endured, this has to be great news for employers in Maine.”
MEMIC insures more than 60 percent of the commercial workers’ compensation market in Maine. Its total written premium in Maine in 2005 was approximately $160M. As a mutual company, its Board of Directors can elect to offer a dividend when it deems the company’s finances are strong enough to support the payment.
The company issued a $4M dividend in 2005. Eligible policyholders are those who had a policy beginning at some point in 2003 and kept that policy in force for the full one-year term. The company’s subsidiary, established in Manchester, N.H., in 2000, is a specialty company, like its parent, writing only workers’ compensation insurance. In 2006, it will underwrite more than $30M in premium. The company is licensed in more than 34 states but writes most of its policies in New England.
“We see the growth of MEMIC Indemnity as producing value to the state’s economy in two ways,” Leonard said. “First, we believe that it will help us to continue to produce dividends to our policyholders. Second, our impact on the southern Maine economy is enhanced as we add jobs here in Portland because our back office operations help service the subsidiary.”
Leonard said MEMIC’s reputation continues to grow nationally. In the last year, two national insurance trade publications have featured company leaders on their cover. And in July, Ward Group, a nationally respected insurance consultant, named MEMIC to its “Ward 50” for the fifth consecutive year. The Ward 50 is a ranking of the top 50 (of more than 3,000) property casualty insurance companies in terms of financial performance and safety. The award puts MEMIC in the top two percent of property casualty insurers.
Since MEMIC was formed in the early 1990s, workers’ compensation insurance rates in Maine have decreased by nearly 30 percent while lost-time injuries have fallen by more than 30 percent.
###
Maine Employers' Mutual Insurance Company (MEMIC), based in Portland, Maine, is Maine's largest and leading workers' compensation insurer, providing coverage to more than 21,000 Maine employers and their estimated 170,000 employees. The company is rated “A” (Excellent) by A.M. Best. MEMIC Indemnity Company, based in Manchester, NH, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MEMIC. It is licensed to write workers' compensation policies in 34 states. It is rated “A-” (Excellent) by A.M. Best.