Mainebiz Special Editions

M a i n e — A P h oto P o rt r A i t o f t h e P i n e t r ee S tAt e P r o f i l e s i n e x c e l l e n c e 142 P ortland-based The MEMIC Group, headed by Maine Employers' Mutual Insurance Company, is a workers' compensation insurance company that began as the guaranteed insurer for the employers in Maine and has since grown into a strong re- gional company with its sights set on even more growth. When it began as a private mutual insurer in Janu- ary 1993, few believed that the company would survive its first few years, let alone become a foundation of the state's business economy. But over the last 20 years, that's exactly what has happened. At its formation, the company set out to be a dif- ferent kind of insurer, and its laser-like focus on in- jury prevention was the basis for that vision. As such, MEMIC's founders stressed the creation of an environ- ment where employers and employees would work to- gether to help reduce injuries. This required a change in workplace culture to place a high value on workplace safety. This action would ultimately help to control costs and keep jobs from fleeing the company's home state. MEMIC focused on working with its 20,000 policy- holders and their 200,000 employees to create safer work- places through regular training in the best safety prac- tices available. The company began this effort with the creation of a MEMIC department, which hired people directly from the industries they would serve to act as safety consultants and trainers. In addition, the company launched the "Partnership for Workplace Safety" pub- lic awareness campaign which emphasized workplace safety as prominent value in every Maine workplace. In recent years, the company has created innovative ways to help educate policyholders about workplace safety through online methods, including exclusive webinars and a web portal known as MEMIC Safety Director. To say that philosophy has worked would be an un- derstatement. Since MEMIC's formation in 1993, lost- time injuries in Maine have been reduced by nearly 40 percent, and the overall cost of workers' compensation insurance in the state has been reduced by nearly 50 per- cent. By working to resolve disputes between employ- ers and employees and by assuring appropriate medi- cal care for injured workers, the company has become a leader in the area of injury management. In a competi- tive market where there are nearly 200 insurance compa- nies licensed in Maine, MEMIC has remained the leader, insuring approximately 60 percent of Maine's commer- cially insured employers. "We opened for business nearly 20 years ago and our philosophy has remained intact for the past two decades — to make workplace safety our mission and to treat injured employees with the best and most effec- tive treatment available," says John T. Leonard, president and CEO since the company's inception in 1993. "These are tenets that help to reduce the cost of insurance and maintain a healthy relationship within the workplace. Our innovative programs in safety and claim manage- ment are the ingredients that lead to customer retention which approaches record levels for our industry." As a result of its success in Maine, the company at- tracted attention across the country, which helped it to grow strategically beyond Maine. Today, The MEMIC Group includes the original company plus two insur- ance subsidiaries. Together, the group is licensed to write workers' compensation in 45 states plus the Dis- "Our philosophy has remained intact for the past two decades — to make workplace safety our mission and to treat injured employees with the best and most effective treatment available," says President and CEO John T. Leonard. The MEMIC Group P h o t o s c o u r t e s y o f t h e M e M i c G r o u P The MEMIC Group's corporate office located in the historic Old Port area in Portland.

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