Employers receive $21 million workers compensation refund

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine Employers' Mutual Insurance Company has returned $21 million to Maine employers insured by the workers compensation provider.

About 18,000 employers in the state will see insurance returns from the Portland-based insurer. MEMIC president Michael Bourque attributes the lower costs to better workplace safety. Bourque says fewer injuries keep costs down.

The state Legislature created MEMIC in 1992 to fill the void left by commercial insurers that left Maine because of rising costs. MEMIC provides 65 percent of workers compensation insurance in Maine. According to Bourque, the mutual insurance company has returned more than $240 million in dividends to thousands of Maine employers since 1998.