MEMIC Group acquiring comp insurer The Dakota Group

The MEMIC Group announced Thursday it has agreed to acquire The Dakota Group, a workers compensation insurer based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in a deal expanding its national footprint.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The deal includes Risk Administration Services and four affiliated insurance services companies, and will create the third-largest multistate workers compensation specialist in the U.S.

The Dakota Group will add more than 200 employees to MEMIC, bringing its total staff to more than 700.

The combined group will have estimated 2025 writings of more than $600 million and provide cover for more than 25,000 employers nationwide, MEMIC said.

Under the deal, MEMIC will acquire OHARA, TLC Advantage and Precision Bill Review, insurance services companies that provide coverage and cost-containment services to clients across the Midwest.

It will also acquire Risk Administration Services, which serves as an attorney-in-fact to Dakota Truck Underwriters, a reciprocal insurer, and take a controlling interest in First Dakota Indemnity, which is managed by RAS.

The deal will position MEMIC to be able to compete nationally, President and CEO Michael Bourque said in a news release.

MEMIC Group comprises MEMIC Indemnity, MEMIC Casualty and parent company Maine Employers’ Mutual Insurance. The Portland, Maine-based insurer, licensed to write workers compensation coverage across all 50 states, had direct written premiums of $435 million in 2024.

The Dakota Group is the leading voluntary workers compensation writer in South Dakota and operates across eight Midwest states, including Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska.

The deal is expected to close in January next year.