On Thursday, October 17, 2019

AGENDA:

• Welcome & Introductions: Megan Brown, ARM, CWCP, CAWC, Vice President of Sales & Marketing
• Company Overview: A Year in Review: John R. Karlen, CPCU, APA, ARe, President
• MTMIC Dividend History: An Early Look at 2019: Chris Doebler, CPA, Chief Financial Officer
• Maintaining a Safe and Drug Free Workplace: Lori Schuck Barresi, Allied Safety Consultants
• Creating a Safety and Security Plan for Your Business: Darcy Leutzinger and Lindsay Gietzen, Premier Safety Group

Well, after having no spring, summer has finally arrived and it’s in full force. Hot, humid, mosquitos – the summer we all know in Michigan. With July here, the first six months of 2019 of MTM loss results are now in the books. During my recent visits to MTM members, the most common question is how does it look for our next dividend. Here’s my answer on that subject with the caveats: 1) things can change good or bad. 2) we still have half of the year to complete. With that said, the first six months of 2019 were good. The results if this was the whole year would be a nice member’s dividend to distribute. 2019 losses are lower than expected both in frequency and severity. As an example on the severity side, last year, in 2018 we experienced two fatalities. So far in 2019 (knock very hard on wood) we are at zero. On this one metric, over the last six years: 3 of the years we have had one fatality per year, two years at 0, and then last year, at 2. Even with “regular” claims, frequency this year is looking good. Congratulations to our members for their Loss Control efforts and a special shout-out to the MTM Loss Control team.

My goal/hope is that the second half of 2019 is as good as the first half of 2019. This would make delivery of member dividend checks early in 2020 a lot of fun. This would be the sixth year in a row of owner dividends.

Lastly, every October we have the annual MTM members’ meeting and lunch. As in past years this lunch is held in the delightful location/facility of The Inn at St. John’s, Plymouth, Michigan. The date has been set for October 17th. A “Save the Date” notice was recently mailed out. Last year’s presenter was “active shooters”. This was a very interesting presentation and our members gave it high marks. This year the topic is “MTM is providing tools to a safe, secure, and drug-free workplace”. MTM’s own Megan Brown, Vice-President of Marketing and Sales does a great job finding outstanding speakers on hot topics. I hope you can join MTM staff and another 100 MTM members.

Until next month, enjoy the summer. — John

By Chris Demeter, Senior Loss Control Consultant

This year marks my 16th year with MTMIC as a Senior Loss Control Consultant. My prior job was a Safety Director at a prototype stamping manufacturer in Livonia and our sister pattern shop company in St. Clair Shores. I was responsible for developing safety policy, employee safety training, monitoring all health and safety incidents, and ensuring the overall safety of the workplace of over 200-employees. Every year and a half or so, I would receive a visit from a MIOSHA Compliance officer. It was not because we had above average injuries; it was because we were in a targeted industry with historically high rate of occupational injuries and illnesses. Some of those targeted industries would include press shops, forgers, foundries, platers, heat treat, and fabrication shops just to name a few. Those industries are targeted because there are greater risk factors for injury then let’s say a grocery store. The company I worked for had power presses ranging from 50-ton to 1,400-ton and we had a Kirksite foundry, hence the frequent visits. 

By Donna Motley, Vice President of Claims

Truly, it wasn’t that long ago everyone was complaining about snow, ice, cold and asking the question “Where is Spring?” As most assumed, we really didn’t have a “Spring”, instead, we went right into summer. That “sudden change” is a stressor to our bodies. Being immediately thrust into heat and humidity can take a toll on anyone. Typically, Spring gives us time to gradually acclimate to warmer weather conditions. Now that the heat has arrived we have to learn to deal with it!

Be on the lookout for the 2020 Election Ballots that will be mailed to you in the next few weeks. The nominees for re-election are:Jack Accardo – Haller InternationalKurt Heuser – Tooling Solutions GroupJoe Keppler – Shuert Industries, Inc.The results of the election will be announced at the Annual Meeting in October.

Did you know that you could be rewarded by referring business to MTMIC?

If a policyholder or their staff makes a referral they are eligible to receive a $100 gift card when the referred company binds coverage with MTMIC.

Please contact Megan Brown for more information.

We are excited to announce that we have enhanced our customer portal so that you will now have the ability to upload medical documents as a means to get them to the claims adjuster that is handling your claim. This can be done by following these simple steps: