Oviedo, FL — Florida Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company announced this month that its Board of Directors has declared a dividend to be paid to qualifying policyholders during 2024. This marks the third consecutive year with a dividend declared for qualifying Florida Lawyers Mutual members.
“Because of your loyalty as members and your good practices as lawyers,” the Company told its members in an email released this week, “resulting in a favorable claims experience for the Company — combined with our strong financial standing as Florida Lawyers Mutual celebrates 35 years of serving Florida lawyers — we thank you by declaring a dividend this year for qualifying members.”
The dividend, which is in the amount of 8% of the premium paid to the Company during the prior policy year, will be paid to those members who hold an active policy on April 1, 2024 and who paid a full year premium for that prior policy. Dividends will be issued to the Named Insured and distributed beginning in late May through early June 2024. The Company is encouraging its members to monitor their email inboxes and U.S. mail for further communication.
The Company notes that dividends are paid at the sole discretion of the Company’s Board of Directors, and a past dividend does not guarantee the payment or amount of future dividends.
Florida Lawyers Mutual has attracted attention in recent years for its rollout of new value-added initiatives for its membership, which is comprised entirely of Florida lawyers.
The longstanding professional liability insurer had previously announced an objective of creating convenience and value for its insured lawyers, including resources and services beyond the insurance policy itself. Those initiatives have included a comprehensive CLE library providing Florida Lawyers Mutual members more than 35 hours of accredited, cost-free CLE video content — enough to satisfy a Florida lawyer’s entire reporting-period requirement — along with enhanced online payment options, hotlines for Lawyer to Lawyer and Cyber Risk Management guidance, an automatic cyber liability endorsement on every policy at no additional premium cost, newly expanded Cyber Security and Lawyer Well-Being Resource Centers, generative A.I. risk management tips, and more.
“I am delighted that Florida Lawyers Mutual is ringing in its 35th anniversary with the news of this latest dividend for our qualifying members,” said CEO Cathleen Sargent. “It is precisely because of our members’ loyalty and their careful practices throughout these 35 years that Florida Lawyers Mutual is in a position to thank and celebrate them with this momentous dividend. Our organization exists in service of those lawyers, and we are proud to provide them with the relationship, strength, and value they have come to expect from Florida Lawyers Mutual.”
“In declaring this third annual dividend for our members,” added Board Chair Ray Ferrero, Jr., “the Florida Lawyers Mutual Board of Directors has once again underscored what distinguishes Florida Lawyers Mutual as the only mutual company created by and for Florida lawyers: our enduring financial strength and our commitment to serving our members.”
The Company has encouraged its members to share the good news of the dividend announcement with friends and colleagues. Florida Lawyers Mutual plans to celebrate this latest member dividend at its exhibition during the 2024 Annual Florida Bar Convention in Orlando, where the Company will return as the Convention’s exclusive Diamond Sponsor.
About Florida Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company
Created by The Florida Bar so that Florida lawyers would have a high-quality source for professional liability insurance, Florida Lawyers Mutual is the state’s only direct-write lawyers’ professional liability insurer and the only one created by The Florida Bar. A-rated by AM Best for Excellent Financial Strength and owned by its member lawyers, Florida Lawyers Mutual offers high-quality policy features (including a cyber liability endorsement at no additional premium cost), valuable membership benefits, and legendary member service. The Company recently declared its third consecutive annual member dividend and expanded a library of free CLE for its member lawyers, along with new resource centers for Cyber Security Risk Management and Lawyer Well-Being. The Company celebrates its 35th anniversary this year. Learn more and get a quick, no-obligation premium indication at www.flmic.com.