# Hawaii Employers' Mutual Insurance Company Hawaii Employers' Mutual Insurance Company is an Insurance based in Honolulu, United States. ## Overview - **Organization type:** Insurance - **Headquarters:** Honolulu, United States - **Region:** North America - **Address:** Honolulu, HI, United States - **Founded:** 1995 - **Assets under management:** Undisclosed - **Website:** hemic.com - **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/hemic ## Regulatory record - **Reports private funds:** No ## About Hawaii Employers' Mutual Insurance Company was chartered by the Hawaii State Legislature in 1995, after private carriers exited the market, leaving local businesses unable to secure mandatory workers' compensation coverage. HEMIC launched as a competitive state fund — a mutual insurance company owned entirely by its policyholders — and quickly became the dominant underwriter in the state. Martin J. Welch serves as chief executive officer, guiding the firm's dual mission of market stability and capital preservation. HEMIC's investment portfolio supports its claims-paying obligations through a conservative allocation typical of property and casualty insurers — predominantly investment-grade fixed income with selective allocations to real assets. The firm directly owns HEMIC Tower, a commercial office building at 915 Fort Street Mall in Honolulu's central business district. Real estate exposure is further reflected in board composition: John Morgan, president of Kualoa Ranch Hawaii, and Kathleen Kagawa, president and CEO of Hawaii 5-0 Properties, bring on-island real-asset expertise to the boardroom. HEMIC maintains industry affiliations through NCCI and AASCIF, the national associations for workers' compensation insurers and state funds. The firm's leadership extends into community infrastructure. President and CFO Jason Yoshimi manages the balance sheet, while Faye Bueno leads administration and serves as president of the HEMIC Foundation, the company's philanthropic vehicle. Tammy Teixeira oversees business development and sits as vice president of the foundation, linking commercial growth with grantmaking across the islands. Board member Michelle Galimba, owner of Kuahiwi Contractors, provides policyholder perspective from the construction sector, which remains one of HEMIC's largest insured groups. HEMIC is structurally distinct from nearly every other insurance allocator profiled here: it is a legislatively created monopoly-adjacent mutual in an island economy. No parent company, no private-equity sponsor, no external capital markets mandate — just a captive pool of Hawaii employers, a single-line insurance book, and a real-estate-anchored investment portfolio governed by local business owners and operators. ## Sectors - Insurance - Real Estate ## People - Martin J. Welch — Chief Executive Officer - Jason Yoshimi — President & Chief Financial Officer - Faye Bueno — Vice President of Administration - Tammy Teixeira — Senior Vice President of Business Development - Kathleen Kagawa — Board Member - Michelle Galimba — Board Member - John Morgan — Board Member ## Questions ### How does HEMIC's structure as a mutual insurance company shape its investment strategy? As a mutual company owned by policyholders rather than public shareholders, HEMIC faces no pressure to maximize quarterly earnings. Investment returns, combined with underwriting profits, can be returned to policyholders as dividends — which HEMIC has done regularly. This structure incentivizes a liability-driven investment approach focused on capital preservation rather than aggressive return-seeking. ### What role does HEMIC Tower play in the firm's investment portfolio? HEMIC Tower, located at 915 Fort Street Mall in downtown Honolulu, represents the firm's most visible direct real-estate holding. The commercial office property generates rental income within the investment portfolio, giving HEMIC direct exposure to Honolulu's central business district real-estate market alongside its more traditional fixed-income insurance assets. ### What is the HEMIC Foundation and how does it relate to the insurance company? The HEMIC Foundation is the firm's philanthropic arm, led by HEMIC executives — Faye Bueno serves as foundation president and Tammy Teixeira as vice president — alongside CEO Martin J. Welch and CFO Jason Yoshimi, who sit on the board. The foundation extends HEMIC's community role beyond insurance, directing grants across Hawaii, though investment assets and charitable assets are maintained separately. ### Is HEMIC a state agency or a private company? HEMIC is a private mutual insurance company, not a state agency. It was created by the Hawaii State Legislature in 1995 as a competitive state fund to address a market failure in workers' compensation insurance, but it operates independently as a policyholder-owned entity rather than a government program. ### What industries does HEMIC primarily insure, and do the board members reflect those industries? Workers' compensation insurance in Hawaii is concentrated in construction, agriculture, hospitality, and related sectors — the backbone of the island economy. HEMIC's board composition reflects this concentration, with directors such as Michelle Galimba, who owns a contracting firm, and John Morgan, who runs a major ranch and tourism operation, providing direct policyholder perspective on underwriting and claims. ### Is HEMIC's investment portfolio externally managed or run internally? Publicly available information does not detail HEMIC's investment management structure. As a mid-sized property and casualty mutual insurer, it is common for such firms to use external institutional asset managers for fixed-income mandates while directly holding certain real-asset positions — such as HEMIC Tower. The board and executive leadership maintain strategic oversight. ## Related profiles - [Haviland & Sams](https://altss.com/profile/haviland-sams) - [Hawaii Iron Workers' Pension Plan](https://altss.com/profile/hawaii-iron-workers-pension-plan) --- Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/hawaii-employers-mutual-insurance-company Maintained by Altss — https://altss.com — methodology: https://altss.com/methodology