Bob Barnes (left), chairman of Texas Mutual’s board of directors, and Ron Wright (right), Texas Mutual president, present a dividend check to Jim Sierra, TxOGA vice president for financial affairs.
Texas Mutual Insurance Company announced that the Texas Oil and Gas Association (TxOGA) safety group earned a $449,557 dividend. Texas Mutual President Ron Wright and Chairman of the Board Bob Barnes presented the check to TxOGA Vice President for Financial Affairs Jim Sierra at Texas Mutual’s Austin headquarters on Aug. 29 during the company’s board of directors meeting.
The workers’ compensation dividend was based largely on the group’s overall safety record.
Since 2001, Texas Mutual has paid nearly $19 million in group dividends to TxOGA safety group members. That total is in addition to individual policyholder dividends group members have earned based on their individual safety records.
“As a mutual insurance company, our responsibility is to our policyholders,” said Barnes. “They own the company, and this money belongs to them. We are proud to share Texas Mutual’s success with those who have contributed to that success.”
Unlike publicly traded insurance companies, mutual insurance companies are owned by their policyholders, and they do not answer to stockholders. Dividends allow Texas Mutual to share its financial success with its policyholder owners.
By the end of the year, Texas Mutual will have paid $1.2 billion in dividends. The majority of that total – more than $1 billion – will have been paid since 2005.
Wright said the company’s dividend track record is a direct reflection of its financial strength, as well as policyholders’ efforts to keep employees safe.
“Our status as a mutual company gives us the freedom to focus on what matters most: preventing workplace accidents and their associated costs,” said Wright. “Texas Mutual is fortunate to have owners who share our vision. I hope this return on their investments will keep their businesses strong far into the future.”
Texas Mutual notes that past dividends are not a guarantee of future dividends. The Texas Department of Insurance must approve all dividends.
