On the Road Again

Every time I think about a busy time at MTM, I remember many of my recent visits to our MTM shops. Our members are undergoing massive changes all the time. There are shortages of raw materials. There are shortages of personnel. The changing product line and the markets in which they serve all create a tech environment where every minute of the day is filled with important decisions. That always helps me keep a perspective for the busy times that MTM has. February is one of those extraordinarily busy times.

In actuality it starts the last couple days of January when Chris Doebler, MTM CFO, and Megan Brown, VP of Sales and Marketing and I meet with our actuarial team to discuss year-end results and loss reserves. It is a lively discussion/debate where we take many unknowns of future medical costs, future court decisions, and try to apply that to the over 500 open claims that we are presently working on. Once an agreement is reached for that, then we start plugging those into the expense categories and revenue of 2022 for a final financial statement. All of that needs to be completed in just a few days. On February 9th we presented our findings to the MTM Board Finance Committee and MTM Board Marketing Committee. These committees are made up of MTM members.

We met with the Finance Committee to discuss the year-end finances so they can make a dividend recommendation to the MTM Board for dividends which would be paid in March of 2023. Once the Board Finance Committee approves a dividend dollar amount, we then meet with the Board Marketing Committee, which is also made up of MTM members, to discuss how best to allocate and distribute those funds to MTM members. Finally, on February 16th those two committee recommendations go to the full MTM Board for discussion and final approval. The project then returns to management for production and distribution of those checks. Producing 924 checks with all the guidelines outlined by the Board Marketing Committee and total up the dollar amount from the Board Finance Committee is a significant task. The work is worth the effort. Dividend checks are always welcomed by MTM members.

With that long walk through the process, I’m pleased to say that this year’s distribution is $3.1 million to MTM members. On an average basis, that equates to 20% of the MTM premium. As a small mutual company owned by the MTM members, once losses are reviewed and fully funded, nearly all of the profit of the year is distributed to members. In this case, 91% of the profit from 2022 is distributed as dividends to MTM members. There are no outside interests, banks, or investors that take a cut from the MTM member dividend. For safety purposes the Board makes sure that all claims’ accounts are fully funded and there is reserve money set aside in case the claims go for higher amounts than anticipated.

Normally, right after the checks are produced, we start the delivery process to MTM members. It is as I said for nine years in a row, the best part of my job. Taking money with surprise visits to MTM members, and handing a check is a fun, fun job. We did make a slight change this year, in that our annual MTM member’s meeting is Thursday, March 16th. What better way to encourage people to attend, but also assist in a fast delivery process by handing out MTM dividend checks at that meeting.

There will be members who did not attend the meeting. So the following day, we started the delivery process to get to those members as quickly as possible. — John