On April 24, 2015, BETA Risk Management Authority’s (BETARMA’s) governing board, the BETA Council, approved its fifth special dividend in the past five years, bringing the total to over $53 million. BETARMA continues to demonstrate its commitment to its mission by returning surplus funds to its current members.

Unlike other insurers that will attempt to “buy your business” with an unrealistically low first-year premium, limited services and no plan to provide dividends, if BETARMA collects more contributions than we need to pay claims and fund operations, we return monies over time in an equitable manner. These dividends, coupled with our broad coverages and leading-edge services, make us the preferred risk financing solution for California hospitals, healthcare facilities and medical groups.

This most recent special dividend will result in a payment of $10 million to our current members beginning in August 2015, to be paid out in four equal quarterly installments. These payments are in addition to the renewal dividend BETARMA has returned to current members for the past 23 consecutive years, which in 2015 will total $6.5 million. When you combine both dividends totaling $16.5 million, the average BETARMA member saves an additional 35%.

Thanks to outstanding financial results, the impact of our patient safety initiatives and the continuation of positive claim trends, BETARMA has an additional $44 million on its balance sheet designated for future dividends so current members can expect to be the beneficiaries of dividend payouts for many years to come. No competitor will be able to match our dividend program or level and quality of services, so please consider this fact if you are being pitched a proposal to leave BETARMA.

To be eligible for dividend consideration, a member must do two things: 1) renew each coverage contract with BETARMA on July 1, 2015 with similar contributions, scope and terms to that purchased for the 2014 contract year; and 2) be a BETARMAmember in good standing with prospective coverage in effect when each of the quarterly dividend checks is issued. Former members, including those with tail coverage, are not eligible for dividends, even if those dividends were declared when they were current members.

The special dividend amount will be based on a member’s claims experience valued as of March 31, 2015, for the HCL, D&O and Auto coverage contracts from 2004 through 2013. A member will not be eligible for a special dividend if its incurred loss ratio (claims costs paid and reserved divided by net contributions less all dividends) for the primary limits of coverage is greater than 85% for all years that a member has been in BETARMA. Members that satisfy the 85% loss ratio threshold for all years, but have an incurred loss ratio equal to or greater than 75% for the ten contract years from 2004 through 2013 will receive dividends that are reduced by 50%. All claims and contributions are capped based on coverage limits of $5 million for HCL, $3 million for D&O and $1 million for Auto. The maximum special dividend a member may receive is capped at 40% of the total primary HCL, D&O and Auto contributions for the current contract year.