2021 annual report
Our annual report provides Oregon legislators and the public with SAIF’s financial results of the previous year and reflects on some of the ways we served Oregon workers and employers.
In 2021, we continued to deliver on our mission of serving Oregon's workers and employers. With more than 54,000 policyholders, SAIF is the largest workers’ compensation provider in the state. SAIF serves employers of all sizes, from small businesses that have only one employee to large companies with tens of thousands of employees. SAIF has unparalleled experience in serving Oregon’s high-hazard industries, such as logging, construction, and agriculture.
SAIF remained strong through the unpredictable business landscape brought on by the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic. As businesses worked to stay open and serve their customers during the pandemic, we provided innovative services to help workers and workplaces manage the impact of COVID-19, including virtual safety consultations and other virtual services. SAIF continued to set the standard for quality customer service for injured workers and policyholders.
SAIF also launched several initiatives to strengthen interactions with workers and policyholders and improve their overall experience, including:
- Continuing SAIF’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. We launched Inclusive Leadership Certification, a companywide program that impacts employees at all levels. More than 250 leaders completed the training in 2021, increasing their cultural effectiveness and creating a greater sense of belonging. This has continued to expand in 2022. All SAIF employees are required to undergo the training and recertify annually to ensure sustainability with relevant, up-to-date content.
- Exploring emerging safety technology alongside policyholders to enhance their injury prevention efforts, including virtual reality training and testing of wearable exosuits designed to reduce strain on the body. Find out more at saif.com/safetytech.
Serving workers
SAIF handled about 70% of Oregon’s COVID-19 claims in 2021 where the worker had paid time away from work, and accepted more than 85% of them. We made initial claim decisions on average within 34 days. That is 26 days faster than Oregon law requires, and 24 days faster than our competitors, on average. This allowed injured workers to focus on recovery instead of wondering about the status of their claim.
For all claims in 2021, we helped 87.3% of injured workers return to the job within 60 days. If an injured worker could not return to regular work due to physical limitations, SAIF's return-to-work consultants helped them return to a temporary or transitional job.
Making workplaces safer
SAIF has 67 safety and health experts who work with policyholders to create safer and healthier workplaces. Even though the pandemic limited in-person visits in 2021, our safety experts conducted more than 9,700 virtual and in-person consultations to help keep workplaces safe. In addition, our free safety and health videos were viewed more than 320,000 times in 2021.
Since 2009, nearly 270,000 people have participated in Safety in Motion® Trainer seminars, which trains workers to avoid or reduce some of the most common workplace injuries. For more details on Safety in Motion®, visit our page on ergonomics resources. SAIF offers many other free safety resources at saif.com/safety.
Supporting employers
SAIF is the largest workers' compensation insurance carrier in Oregon. Our strong results in claims management, return-to-work, and safety and health help drive down Oregon's overall pure premium rates.
SAIF returned $210 million to policyholders in 2021 through a dividend to help alleviate the financial toll of the pandemic. We also helped policyholders save almost $155 million by auditing more than 502,000 medical bills.
Almost all our policyholders — 99.2% — chose to renew with us in 2021, marking the 20th year in a row SAIF's retention rate has been above 99%.
2021 financials
SAIF strives to be an accountable partner and a trustworthy steward of the Industrial Accident Fund. In 2021, strong fiscal management enabled us to remain financially stable, despite difficult economic conditions.
