Maine Employers Mutual Rewards Employers with $4 Million in Dividends

This week, Maine’s largest workers’ compensation insurer Maine Employers’ Mutual Insurance Company (MEMIC) is mailing $4 million in dividends to its policyholders for performance in 2002.

More than 19,500 checks will go out to policyholders in amounts of up to $50,000 and approximately 3.3 percent of each policyholders paid premium for policies that began in 2002, according to the company. MEMIC has returned cash to its policyholders every year since 1998, totaling $59.0M.

“Our policyholders have shown loyalty to our company and many have worked hard to reduce injuries,” said MEMIC President and Chief Executive Officer John T. Leonard. “This dividend is a reward for that effort and for working with a mutual insurer whose interest is not in serving stockholders. Further, it is an indication that Maine’s workers’ compensation system is stable and is serving both employers and employees very well.”

Leonard said MEMIC’s customers should look forward to future dividends if they can maintain their attention toward workplace safety. Leonard cautioned, however, that MEMIC was keeping a close eye on medical inflation, which makes treatment of injured workers more expensive every year.

Finally, Leonard pledged that his company will do all in its power to make sure that any fraud or abuse of workers’ compensation, whether by employers or employees, would be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

In August, MEMIC was cited for the fourth consecutive year by an insurance industry study as being among the top two percent of insurers in the country when measured for performance. This Ward 50 designation is indicative of the company’s financial management and its ability to meet its obligations to pay claims.