One point of pride for those of us at PLM is our active membership in several lumber, woodworking and building material industry trade organizations. Through those associations, we are able to offer Safety Group Dividend Plans to their members. In 2017, we reviewed all of our dividend programs and decided it was time for a few key changes.
First, payout dates are changing. Dividends will be paid no more than 120 days from the end of the plan year (as opposed to the previous 180 days).
We will also be increasing our minimum threshold requirements, and that increase will be spread out over the next four years. Currently, for a group to be eligible for dividends, it must have a combined earned premium of at least $1 million. Beginning in 2019, the minimum premium requirement will increase to $1,250,000. It will then increase on a yearly basis to $1,500,000, then $1,750,000, and then ending at $2,000,000.
Finally, the dividend payout schedule is changing. Please see below for a side-by-side comparison of the new dividend payout schedule with the previous schedule.
| NEW Dividend Payout Schedule | |
|---|---|
| LOSS RATIO | POTENTIAL DIVIDEND PAYABLE |
| 0.00% to 10.00% | 10% |
| 10.01% to 20.00% | 7.5% |
| 20.01% to 30.00% | 5% |
| 30.01% to 40.00% | 3.5% |
| 40.01% to 50.00% | 2% |
| 50.01% and Over | 0% |
| Previous Dividend Payout Schedule | |
|---|---|
| LOSS RATIO | POTENTIAL DIVIDEND PAYABLE |
| 0.00% to 10.00% | 10% |
| 10.01% to 20.00% | 7.5% |
| 20.01% to 44.99% | 5% |
| 45.00% to 50.00% | 2.5% |
| 50.01% and Over | 0% |
These changes will go into effect at the beginning of each group’s new plan year, so the start dates will vary from group to group with many that have gone into effect as of 1/1/18.
For questions about when and how these changes will take effect, or any other dividend questions, please contact Susan Cho at scho@plmins.com or 267-825-9350. You can learn more about our dividend programs at https://www.plmins.com/dividend-programs/.
