Ethan Johnson introduced Aaron Paiton to present his classification talk. Ethan introduced Aaron as a former track start at the University of Southern Maine (USM) in decathlon and an “up and comer” at MEMIC, the largest workers compensation insurer in Maine.
Aaron grew up in Minot ME where his family has lived for three or four generations. His parents remain active in that community. He attended Hebron Academy, a private school that he told us set him up for success in college because it required him to be self-motivated and manage his own time. He graduated from USM in 2015 with a degree in Small Business & Entrepreneurship.
Since the insurance industry has a strong presence in the Portland area, he applied to pretty much every insurance company in the area while taking a summer job as a ski instructor. Fortunately, he was offered an opportunity at MEMIC. MEMIC got its start in 1993 at time when workers comp was out of control and insurers were leaving the state. Largely thanks to MEMIC, fast forward 26 years to a stable and affordable market in 2019. About 65% of workers compensation coverage in Maine is written by MEMIC and they consistently give back about 15% of premiums at the end of each year.As an underwriter, Aaron’s is responsible for profitability, sales, and customer service. With thin margins, the challenge is to set premiums high enough to be profitable, but low enough to not be punitive. He is responsible for bringing in new business while maintaining and managing relationships with specific agencies like Chalmers Insurance Group. He told us that rates are down despite the fact that medical costs and wages keep rising. The is partly due to a focus on safety by both employers and insurers. Another contributing factor is auditing to verify worker classifications are correct.
Aaron has an older sister in Manchester NH, a younger sister in California and he is uncle to three. He has a camp on Weld Lake near Mount Blue which is perfect for his hobbies that including hunting and fishing. He is currently dating Molly, a teacher at Hollis Elementary.
At the end of his presentation, we asked Aaron to sign a children's book for the Baxter Library in Gorham.