Our Partnership Pays Dividends

As Montana’s not-for-profit option for workers’ comp coverage, we share strong financial results through dividends. Through efficient claims management, improved safety efforts by employers and their workers, and responsible stewardship and investment of policyholder premium dollars, we take what would otherwise be considered profit to another carrier and share it with our customers.

On September 8, 2023, our Board of Directors declared a $35 million dividend to more than 24,000 policyholders. MSF has returned $431 million to our customers since 1999.

Both current and former MSF policyholders with policy start dates between July 1, 2020, to December 31, 2021 who have expired on or before December 31, 2022 receive a dividend. Dividend recipients must have been insured with MSF for six months or more.

Policyholders will not receive a dividend if:

• They did not have at least 6 months of coverage in the policy year stated above;
• They had past due payroll reports or audits from the policy year stated above that were not resolved prior to July 31, 2023;
• They were written as a large deductible policy, or a retrospectively rated policy that has not reached final premium.

Policyholders will receive an account credit for their dividend if:

• Their policy has an outstanding item such as a collection, bad debt, promissory note, bankruptcy, or are cancelled with a balance or payroll report owed to MSF. After the credit has been applied, if a balance remains, a check will be issued.

Yes, the minimum dividend amount is $100.

Dividend amounts are a flat percentage of premium paid. If the dividend calculates to less $100, the dividend is $100.

All policyholders are receiving the same percent, unless their calculated dividend is less than $100, in which case, their dividend is $100.

You may still be eligible for a dividend. The resulting dividend percentage will be applied to premium net of any premium adjustments or group retrospective returns.

More than 24,000 employers will receive a dividend from MSF this year.

No. Many insurance companies are owned by stockholders and are more likely to pay dividends to the stockholders than to policyholders. Others pay stockholders and policyholders. MSF pays dividends solely to policyholders.

Dividends cannot be guaranteed. Each year, MSF’s Board of Directors examines our independent actuary’s analysis of our policyholder equity and determines if a dividend can safely be declared.

Dividends are separate from rates. Most of the time, MSF operates at an underwriting loss or break-even, meaning premium collected from rates either does not cover, or just covers expenses. Investment income covers any expense deficit. Dividends are a product of better-than-expected investment performance, and fewer than expected losses (accidents). Dividends are not guaranteed as investment performance can vary from year-to-year.

MSF strives to create a stable rate environment while returning a share of the financial gains to policyholders through a dividend declaration, rather than fluctuate rates up and down as financial gains or losses occur.

Call your team’s Customer Service Specialist at 800-332-6102 and we will look up your account. If our system indicates that you belonged to one of our PEO organizations, your premium was combined with all accounts belonging to the PEO, and if a dividend was awarded, it was mailed to your PEO as one check.

Please contact a Customer Service Specialist at 800-332-6102 and we will find out what happened. It may be that your address or business name has changed, and the check was initially sent to the wrong place.

MSF can issue you a quote directly, or we have partnerships with many independent insurance agents throughout the state, and these agents will be able to assist you with reestablishing your policy with us. There is no extra charge to use an agent.

Access an alphabetical listing of all appointed agents by city.