Comp insurer to pay back employers almost $18 million in dividends

Maine employers will receive nearly $18 million in dividends from workers comp insurer MEMIC amid continued workplace safety improvements.

About 17,000 employers in the state will receive an average payout of more than $1,040 per employer, with the largest check exceeding $200,000, the Portland, Maine-based insurer said in a statement Tuesday.

The total amount was equal to the record dividend issued in 2014, and represented more than 14% of premium paid by policyholders in 2012, the qualifying year for this dividend declaration, according to the insurer. The dividend checks were mailed this week to employers who buy their workers comp coverage from the MEMIC Group's mutual company, Maine Employers' Mutual Insurance Co.

“This dividend is the result of the partnership we create with our policyholders to reduce workplace injuries,” MEMIC President and CEO John Leonard said in the statement. “When we work together to reduce injuries and to control the cost of those injuries that do occur by getting people well and back to work promptly, this is a result we can achieve together.”

With this dividend, the MEMIC Board of Directors has authorized the return to policyholders of approximately $200 million since 1998 and the company has issued a dividend in each of the last 11 years, the insurer said.