MEMIC, the Portland provider of workers compensation insurance to businesses across the country, is returning $18 million in dividends to thousands of policyholders.
The dividend represents about 12% of the premiums paid by policyholders in 2020, the company said in a statement. Dividend payments lag by a few years because the insurer needs to complete claims filed each year before it can calculate its liabilities and determine dividends.
“Our policyholders and their employees continue to be effective partners in driving down the number, severity and cost of their workplace injuries,” MEMIC President and CEO Michael Bourque said in the statement. “In addition, this dividend is made possible by the work we all do to help workers who get injured to get the best medical treatment possible so they can safely return to productive livelihoods.”
About 14,000 policyholders will get a check from MEMIC. The average dividend for Maine employers will be $1,250; the largest will exceed $250,000. Checks will go out to eligible Maine employers beginning in mid-November, Bourque said.
The dividends reflect the collective success of employers in avoiding injuries and effective injury management, as well as MEMIC’s efficient operations and investment performance. MEMIC reviews all factors annually to determine if dividends are appropriate.
Dividend payments are based on a rolling three-year history of loss experience. The dividends to be distributed in 2023 are based on the 2020, 2021 and 2022 loss years.
It is the 25th time a dividend has been issued and the 12th consecutive double-digit declaration, the company said.
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