SAIF declares two dividends, one based on premium and one tied to safety performance.
SAIF customers will receive $160 million in dividends this year.
The SAIF Board of Directors declared a $120 million primary dividend to be paid to policyholders based on their premium, and a $40 million safety performance dividend to be paid based on each policyholder’s safety results.
This is the tenth year in a row SAIF has been able to offer dividends, and the 22nd dividend in the past 30 years.
“As a not-for-profit with a public mission to make workers’ comp available and affordable, paying dividends is an important part of the value we offer Oregon employers,” said Kerry Barnett, president and CEO of SAIF. “SAIF is the only insurance carrier in Oregon that regularly returns dividends to policyholders at this level.”
SAIF determines whether a policyholder dividend is appropriate based on capital levels, claim trends, and the overall economic environment. This year SAIF has seen strong investment returns and favorable trends in injury prevention and claim cost containment.
The safety performance dividend rewards policyholders for their claims experience for policies whose annual term ended in 2018, based on a scale ranging from zero to 10.6% of their standard premium.
“Our vision is to make Oregon the safest and healthiest place to work,” said Barnett. “We appreciate our policyholders’ efforts to ensure their workers go home safely at the end of each day.”
48,508 policyholders are eligible for SAIF’s primary dividend. Of those, about 93.9% are also eligible to receive all or a portion of the additional safety performance dividend.
“In addition to dividends, we are proud to offer our customers some of the lowest rates, best-in-class service, and the largest network of workplace safety professionals of any insurance carrier in Oregon,” said Barnett. “Our goal is to deliver workers’ comp that really works.”
Checks will be mailed in October to eligible employers.
Detailed dividend distribution process information is available in an FAQ document provided by SAIF.
About SAIF
SAIF is Oregon’s not-for-profit workers’ compensation insurance company. Since 1914, we’ve been taking care of injured workers, helping people get back to work, and striving to make Oregon the safest and healthiest place to work. For more information, visit the About SAIF page on saif.com.