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MEMIC
Portland-based MEMIC was founded in 1993 as a mutual insurance company focused solely on workers' compensation. Michael P. Bourque serves as President and CEO,...
MEMIC
Portland-based MEMIC was founded in 1993 as a mutual insurance company focused solely on workers' compensation. Michael P. Bourque serves as President and CEO, while Eileen Moran Fongemie holds the CFO and Treasurer roles and Hilary Rapkin chairs the board. The firm emerged from a state-chartered mandate to provide a stable workers' compensation market for Maine employers. Today it underwrites policies across the Northeast while running what it calls the “Best Workers' Comp Crew in America.” The insurer deploys policyholder premiums into an invested asset portfolio centered on its home city of Portland, Maine. The firm directly owns at least four commercial properties on or near Commercial Street in the Old Port — 261 Commercial Street (headquarters), 59 Center Street, 8 Cotton Street, and the Nathan Winslow Block at 245-253 Commercial Street — plus additional mixed-use holdings. Its underwriting activity spans first-call injury triage, loss-control engineering, and safety training workshops, serving a regional employer base that includes both small businesses and larger accounts through independent agents. MEMIC engages the broader insurance ecosystem through board-level participation in NAMIC, AASCIF, and NCCI, giving it institutional relationships across the mutual and state-fund insurance networks. It endowed the John T. Leonard Chair for Risk Management & Insurance at the University of Southern Maine, signaling a long-term commitment to cultivating regional underwriting talent. The firm also maintains community leadership visibility through the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce. The firm’s structural differentiator is its ownership of hard assets inside its insurance balance sheet — a rarity among mid-sized workers' compensation carriers. Rather than outsourcing surplus management entirely to third-party asset managers, MEMIC directly holds and operates commercial real estate concentrated in Portland’s Old Port, creating a geographic double-bet on the local economy where it also underwrites many of its policies.
General information
Firm type
Insurance
Year founded
1993
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Portland
Corporate office
Portland, ME, United States
Principals
Michael P. Bourque
President and CEO
Hilary A. Rapkin
Chair of the Board of Directors
Eileen Moran Fongemie
Senior Vice President, CFO, and Treasurer
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
How does MEMIC's ownership structure affect its investment strategy?
As a mutual insurance company, MEMIC is owned by its policyholders rather than outside shareholders. That structure allows surplus capital to be deployed over long cycles without pressure for quarterly earnings growth. The firm has chosen to concentrate a portion of its assets in directly owned commercial real estate in Portland, Maine — a tangible, long-duration allocation unusual among workers' compensation carriers of its size.
Does MEMIC invest outside of its real estate holdings?
Yes. MEMIC maintains an invested asset portfolio beyond its directly held properties, though the firm does not publicly detail its full asset allocation. The Portland real estate holdings — including 261 Commercial Street, 59 Center Street, 8 Cotton Street, and the Nathan Winslow Block — are the only investments disclosed in public records.
What geographic footprint does MEMIC's underwriting business cover?
While MEMIC is headquartered in Maine and concentrates its owned real estate in Portland's Old Port, the firm underwrites workers' compensation policies across the Northeastern United States. It markets to employers through independent agents and emphasizes loss-control services as an underwriting differentiator.
How is MEMIC governed at the board level?
Hilary A. Rapkin chairs MEMIC's board of directors while simultaneously serving as Chief Legal Officer at WEX Inc. The board draws from insurance, legal, and corporate governance backgrounds. Michael P. Bourque leads day-to-day operations as President and CEO alongside CFO Eileen Moran Fongemie.
Does MEMIC maintain philanthropic or educational programs?
MEMIC endowed the John T. Leonard Chair for Risk Management & Insurance at the University of Southern Maine and operates the Harvey Picker Horizon Scholarship program. These efforts reflect a focus on workforce development in insurance and risk management rather than broad-based philanthropy.
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