MEMIC to distribute $18M in annual dividends

Photo / Kevin Brusie Photography Michael Bourque is president and CEO of the MEMIC Group, a Portland-based workers’ compensation insurance company.

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By Renee Cordes

About 14,000 Maine employers are in line to receive a share of $18 million in dividends from the MEMIC Group, a workers’ compensation insurance company based in Portland.

The dividend, announced by MEMIC President and CEO Michael Bourque at a Mainebiz event on Wednesday, represents about 12% of premium paid by policyholders in 2020 and marks the 12th consecutive double-digit return to Maine policyholders and 25th time a divided has been issued.

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.

MEMIC insures and serves more than 20,000 employers and their estimated 300,000 employees with dedicated safety and injury management service teams from Maine to Florida.

“Our policyholders and their employees continue to be effective partners in driving down the number, severity and cost of their workplace injuries,” Bourque said. “In addition, this dividend is made possible by the work we all do to help workers who do get injured to get the best medical treatment so that they can safely return to productive livelihoods.”

“As a mutual insurance company we know that diligent injury prevention and management is the right thing for our policyholders and their workers, and it’s also good financially,” he added. “We salute all our policyholder members for earning this dividend.”

The average dividend for Maine employers will be $1,250 and the largest will exceed $250,000, in checks to be mailed starting in mid-November. The 2023 dividend brings the total sum of capita and dividend declarations for Maine policyholders since 1998 to $351 million.

“Ultimately, the money returned to our policyholders is a reminder that our safety partnership really does pay dividends for them,” Bourque said. “The dividend also is money that likely will go back into Maine’s economy in the form of investments, wage and job growth as well as benefits in all 16 counties.”

MEMIC noted in an announcement that the annual dividend is not guaranteed, but is the result of
of the collective success of employers in avoiding injuries and effective injury management, as well as MEMIC’s efficient operations and investment performance.