HEMIC Declares Record $5M Dividend
- Hawaii Employers’ Mutual Insurance Co. Inc., the state’s largest workers’ compensation insurer, has declared a $5 million dividend for the third consecutive year, marking the largest payout in company history and the 20th straight year policyholders have received a dividend.
- To qualify, a policyholder must have been insured with HEMIC for more than one consecutive policy term and demonstrate strong workplace safety history, with more than 80% of policyholders qualifying this year and payments expected in mid-October.
- Including this year’s payout, HEMIC has returned more than $63 million to policyholders since issuing its first dividend in 2007.
- CEO Martin Welch said the dividend represents “a return on the safety efforts of our policyholders,” crediting fewer workplace injuries with driving higher annual payouts, and said the board treats the dividend program as a standing commitment rather than a one-time response to favorable conditions.
- CFO Jason Yoshimi said the company maintains a conservative, disciplined capital management strategy to ensure it can meet future claims obligations to policyholders and injured workers.
Board’s Finding that Bricklayer Didn’t Falsely Report Medical History Upheld
- New York’s Appellate Division, Third Department upheld a Workers’ Compensation Board decision finding that a bricklayer for Cosan Construction Corp., did not knowingly provide false information about his medical history in his workers’ compensation claim, affirming the Board’s rejection of Cosan’s insurance company’s fraud allegation.
- The worker filed a claim for injuries sustained in April 2022 when a piece of cinderblock fell on him, and after a workers’ compensation law judge initially disqualified him from benefits and permanently barred him from future wage replacement over alleged nondisclosure of prior injuries. The board later found insufficient proof of any violation and rescinded that decision.
- The carrier had submitted Insurance Services Office reports and an arbitration award report attempting to link Loja-Saula to prior undisclosed motor vehicle accidents and injury claims, but the court found these records inconsistent, including matches with different names, birth years, and addresses than the worker’s. The court noted two records matching his name and address likely referred to his own April 15, 2022 work injury rather than a separate accident.
- The court reiterated that the board serves as the sole arbiter of witness credibility and factual disputes, and since its finding of insufficient evidence was supported by substantial evidence in the record, the court declined to second-guess that determination even though some evidence might have supported a contrary conclusion.