One of the questions we’ve heard often from employers lately is, “Will BWC be issuing another dividend this year?” We typically don't have advance notice of the decision to release dividends, but we can help you understand the conditions that must be met in order for it to be considered. For dividend distributions to take place, Ohio BWC must meet and exceed their funding ratio guideline of 1.30 to 1.50. This means their assets must surpass their liabilities by 30-50%. With BWC assets totaling $25B and liabilities at $15.4B, this put them in a net position of $9.6 billion (as of their November financials). 

Using their Board of Directors guidance of a simple funding ratio between 1.30 - 1.50, the BWC should have a net position in the range of $4.6B - $7.7B. What this means is that they’re currently overfunded by $1.9B-$5B.  In comparison to the November 2020 net position of $7.2B, they’ve experienced a gain of $2.4B in the last 12 months. So, does that mean they have to issue dividends to employers? It’s simply a matter of discretion. Just because their guidelines state that they can (and in our opinion, should) issue dividends with that level of overfunding, they can simply choose not to. 

If you’re tired of letting BWC hold onto your money and use arbitrary logic to when they do or do not return excess premiums, reach out to Brian Davis at 440-249-5260 | Ext:107 to learn about coverage options outside of BWC’s state fund.