EMPLOYERS® has named Samuel V. King as vice president, fraud investigations for EMPLOYERS. With 24 years of fraud investigations leadership experience and 10 years of law enforcement experience, King brings to EMPLOYERS his valuable expertise in the field of workers compensation fraud. This position will work under the senior vice president of claims, and will bring best-in-class thinking to fraud investigation function.
A recognized expert in the area of workers’ compensation fraud, King served as past chairman of the California Workers Compensation Institute’s (CWCI) Anti-Fraud Committee, founding member of California Department of Insurance Fraud Division Anti-Fraud Advisory Committee and former chairman of the California Department of Insurance committee on SIU training. King holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from Azusa Pacific University and is a licensed private investigator, which will add a valued contribution to the EMPLOYERS organization.
King will be based in Glendale, CA.
Earlier this month EMPLOYERS® reported operating income for the fourth quarter and full year 2015 of $34.3 million and $81.3 million, or $1.05 and $2.50 per diluted share, respectively, and announced a $50 million share repurchase program and a 50% increase in the first quarter 2016 cash dividend to $0.09 per share. Operating earnings benefited from favorable prior year reserve development of $8.5 million and $7.2 million for the quarter and full year, respectively. Combined ratio before the LPT of 93.0% and 97.1% for the quarter and full year, respectively, down 9.2 and 7.9 percentage points, respectively, year over year.
The Company commented: “We strengthened our performance throughout 2015 and we are pleased to report our best operating results in the fourth quarter and the full year since 2007. We achieved an annualized operating return on equity of 16.1% in the fourth quarter and 9.8% in the full year, representing a 9.4 and 5.1 percentage point increase in the quarter and full year, respectively, year-over-year. Our underwriting profitability, measured by the combined ratio before the LPT, improved 9.2 percentage points in the quarter and 7.9 points in the full year relative to 2014 and our adjusted book value per share increased 8% year-over-year.”