Oregon employers to receive $160 million from SAIF

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SAIF declares two dividends, one based on premium and one tied to safety performance.

SAIF customers will receive $160 million in dividends this year.

Today the 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.

Safety pays dividends

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Employers who insure with SAIF may be eligible for two dividends this year: one based on premium, and another tied to safety performance.

September 14, 2016
Contact: Lauren Casler | laucas@saif.com | 503.373.8615

When it comes to workers’ compensation, safety pays the best dividends. The reason is simple—costs remain low because accidents and injuries are avoided in the first place.

To underscore this point, the SAIF Board of Directors today declared two dividends for customers: a $120 million primary dividend to be paid to all eligible policyholders based on their premium, and a new, $20 million safety performance dividend to be paid based on each policyholder’s safety results.

“The safety performance dividend creates an important incentive for policyholders to maintain and improve safety,” said President and CEO Kerry Barnett. “It advances our mission to make Oregon the safest and healthiest place to work.”

This is the seventh year in a row SAIF has returned a substantial dividend to its customers, but it’s the first time since 2000 SAIF has rewarded safety performance through a dividend. The safety component will be distributed on a graduated scale based on the policyholder’s losses and premiums, with the greatest amount paid to those with the best safety results as measured by paid losses to standard premium.

Together, the dividends represent a return of approximately 22 to 26 percent of premium that eligible customers paid in 2015. They are possible because of SAIF’s overall financial results, including investment returns and favorable trends in claim costs.

“We’re able to pay dividends because of strong financial results, and the best driver of those results are the injuries that don’t happen as Oregon workplaces become safer and healthier,” Barnett said. “More importantly, safety and health programs have helped thousands of workers avoid the pain and anguish of a workplace injury. That’s the best dividend of all.”

More than 46,000 customers are eligible for SAIF’s primary dividend. Of those, about 95 percent are also eligible to receive all or part of the additional safety performance dividend.

Checks will be mailed in October to those who are eligible for the dividends.

About SAIF
SAIF is Oregon’s not-for-profit, state-chartered workers’ compensation insurance company. Since 1914 it has been caring for injured workers and helping to make workplaces safer. For more, visit the About SAIF page on saif.com.

 

http://www.saif.com/news/safety-pays-dividends.html

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Workers’ compensation costs to drop for third-straight year

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Salem, OR—In 2016, Oregon workers’ compensation costs will decrease an average 5.3 percent, the Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS) announced today. This marks the third year in a row – and eighth year in the past decade – that Oregon businesses are seeing an average decrease.

The department approved the average decrease in “pure premium,” which is the portion of the premium employers pay insurers to cover anticipated claims costs for job-related injuries and deaths.

Workers’ compensation pays injured workers for lost wages and medical care for job-related injuries. A four-year decline in average medical care costs and stable wage replacement costs are the key factors continuing to drive down the pure premium.

“Keeping workers’ compensation costs low contributes to a healthy business climate for Oregon employers,” said Patrick Allen, DCBS director. “Oregon is unique in achieving these low costs while also maintaining strong benefits and programs for injured workers.”

The decrease is based on a recommendation from the Florida-based National Council on Compensation Insurance Inc. (NCCI), which analyzes industry trends and prepares rate recommendations for the majority of states. Pure premium reflects only a portion of workers’ compensation costs but is the key factor behind annual cost changes. The decrease is an average, so an individual employer may see a larger decrease, no change, or even an increase depending on the employer’s own industry, claims experience, and payroll. Also, pure premium doesn’t take into account the varying expenses and profit of insurance companies.

The rate decrease is effective Jan. 1, 2016, but employers will see the changes when they renew their policies in 2016.

Oregon’s workers’ compensation premium rates have ranked low nationally for many years. Only seven states and the District of Columbia had average rates lower than Oregon in 2014, according to a biennial study conducted by DCBS. In contrast to changes made in some other states, Oregon has seen no meaningful reduction in worker benefits since at least the early 1990s.

In addition to any change in pure premium, other workers’ compensation costs reviewed annually by the department include:

• An assessment on workers’ compensation premiums to fund the state costs of running workers’ compensation and safety and health programs.

• An assessment on hours worked to fund Oregon’s highly successful return-to-work programs that help injured workers return to work quickly and earn close to their pre-injury wages. This assessment also provides increased benefits over time for workers who are permanently and totally disabled, and gives benefits to families of workers who die from workplace injuries or diseases.

This chart summarizes all the changes: http://www.cbs.state.or.us/external/dir/wc_cost/fi…

Annual Oregon average pure premium rate changes and average changes by industry: http://www.cbs.state.or.us/external/dir/wc_cost/fi…

More information about Oregon workers’ compensation costs can be found at http://www.cbs.state.or.us/external/dir/wc_cost/in…

For more information:
Jake Sunderland, 503-947-7897
Jake.W.Sunderland@oregon.gov

http://www.oregon.gov/newsroom/Pages/NewsDetail.aspx?newsid=796

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Safety and health efforts result in $120 million dividend from SAIF for Oregon employers

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Approximately 23 to 27 percent of the premium employers paid in 2014 will come back to them when checks are distributed in October.

When thousands of companies all focus on health and safety, good things happen.

Due to a joint effort between SAIF and its policyholders to make workplaces healthier and reduce on-the-job injuries, more than 47,000 Oregon employers will receive a dividend in October.

SAIF’s Board of Directors announced the $120 million dividend today. It amounts to a return of approximately 23 to 27 percent of premium that eligible customers paid in 2014.

“The most important dividend is the one received by workers who aren’t suffering the pain and anguish of a workplace injury,” said President and CEO Kerry Barnett. “Our employers have earned this by making their workplaces safer and reducing the costs of on-the-job injuries.”

“Our goal is to make Oregon the safest and healthiest place to work, and this is another sign that we’re headed in the right direction,” he said.

The dividend is possible because of SAIF’s overall financial results, including investment returns and favorable trends in claim costs. In recent years, there has been a particular emphasis on overall worker health and wellness, which is closely connected to prevention of workplace injuries.

Approximately 85 percent of the 47,000 employers who will receive dividends are small businesses. SAIF board chair Jenny Ulum said small businesses and their workers will especially appreciate the dividend because they often have less ready access to capital to seed growth or invest in additional safety measures.

This is the sixth year in a row in which SAIF has returned a substantial dividend to its customers.

About SAIF

SAIF Corporation is Oregon’s not-for-profit, state-chartered workers’ compensation insurance company. Since 1914 it has been caring for injured workers and helping to make workplaces safer.

For more information about SAIF, go to the About SAIF page on saif.com.