CHICAGO & BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 30, 2025--
Dearborn Group, one of the nation’s largest ancillary benefits providers, and Symetra Life Insurance Company, a national provider of life, retirement and employee benefit insurance products, today announced a definitive agreement under which Symetra will acquire Dearborn’s group life and disability (L&D) business through a reinsurance transaction and enter into a product distribution arrangement with Dearborn Group’s parent company, Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), a Mutual Legal Reserve Company. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2025, pending applicable regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
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Under the reinsurance transaction, Symetra will assume Dearborn Group’s L&D business, including group and individual life, accidental death and dismemberment, group short-term and long-term disability, paid family leave and medical leave, and absence management businesses. Upon closing, Symetra and HCSC will enter into an exclusive multi-year distribution agreement during which Symetra’s L&D products will be available to HCSC health care customers.
Following the closing of the transaction, Dearborn Group intends to focus on its large and growing dental, vision and supplemental health product and service lines.
“This is a significant transaction for Symetra and Dearborn Group, and an important opportunity for our Benefits division,” said Margaret Meister, President and Chief Executive Officer, Symetra Financial Corporation. “Symetra’s strategic plan envisions opportunities across many parts of our business. Dearborn Group’s well-regarded life and disability business complements our own, allowing us to reach a wider range of employer groups and accelerating the growth of our workforce benefits line. In addition, the distribution agreement with HCSC will significantly broaden the reach of our workforce benefits products. We expect this to be an important growth driver in the years ahead.”
Dearborn Group is a wholly owned subsidiary of HCSC, which serves more than 26 million people across the United States through its health insurance plans. HCSC also offers related health care benefits, capabilities and services through a network of affiliates and subsidiaries.
“This agreement further enhances the focus of HCSC and Dearborn Group on expanding access to health care by providing market-leading solutions critical to being the partner of choice for the health benefits and care coordination needs of individuals of all ages and all reimbursement arrangements,” said Arun Prasad, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer and President, Diversified Businesses at HCSC. “Concurrently, the transaction provides our life and disability customers with a partner that will further enhance the value of the services provided to them. We continue to serve our 26 million members and expand access to medical, pharmacy, dental and vision coverage.”
Barclays is acting as financial advisor to Dearborn Group, and Sidley Austin LLP is serving as corporate legal and regulatory counsel. Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP is serving as legal counsel to Symetra.
About Symetra
Symetra Life Insurance Company is a subsidiary of Symetra Financial Corporation, a diversified financial services company based in Bellevue, Washington. In business since 1957, Symetra provides employee benefits, annuities and life insurance through a national network of benefit consultants, financial institutions, and independent financial professionals and insurance producers. For more information, visit www.symetra.com.
About Dearborn Group
Dearborn Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of HCSC, provides ancillary benefits to employer groups across the country. When combined with medical coverage, our suite of employer-paid and voluntary insurance solutions—Life, Disability, Dental, Vision and Supplemental Health—creates a comprehensive benefits package that gives employers, their employees and their families complete peace of mind. To learn more, visit mydearborngroup.com.
Dearborn Group insurance products are issued by Dearborn Life Insurance Company, a domestic stock insurance company organized under the laws of the State of Illinois, 701 E. 22nd St. Suite 300, Lombard, IL 60148.
About Health Care Service Corporation
HCSC is the country's largest customer-owned health insurer, serving more than 26 million people across the United States. HCSC provides coverage options for employers large and small, individuals and families, and Medicare and Medicaid plans. HCSC also offers related health care products and services such as pharmacy solutions, life and dental insurance, and health technology through a network of affiliates and subsidiaries.
Dearborn Group and Symetra Reach Agreement on Acquisition of Dearborn Group’s Life & Disability Business
Dearborn Group and Symetra Reach Agreement on Acquisition of Dearborn Group’s Life & Disability Business
NEW YORK (AP) — Thousands of nurses in three hospital systems in New York City went on strike Monday after negotiations through the weekend failed to yield breakthroughs in their contract disputes.
The strike was taking place at The Mount Sinai Hospital and two of its satellite campuses, with picket lines forming. The other affected hospitals are NewYork-Presbyterian and Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.
About 15,000 nurses are involved in the strike, according to New York State Nurses Association.
“After months of bargaining, management refused to make meaningful progress on core issues that nurses have been fighting for: safe staffing for patients, healthcare benefits for nurses, and workplace violence protections,” the union said in a statement issued Monday. “Management at the richest hospitals in New York City are threatening to discontinue or radically cut nurses’ health benefits.”
The strike, which comes during a severe flu season, could potentially force the hospitals to transfer patients, cancel procedures or divert ambulances. It could also put a strain on city hospitals not involved in the contract dispute, as patients avoid the medical centers hit by the strike.
The hospitals involved have been hiring temporary nurses to try and fill the labor gap during the walkout, and said in a statement during negotiations that they would “do whatever is necessary to minimize disruptions.” Montefiore posted a message assuring patients that appointments would be kept.
“NYSNA’s leaders continue to double down on their $3.6 billion in reckless demands, including nearly 40% wage increases, and their troubling proposals like demanding that a nurse not be terminated if found to be compromised by drugs or alcohol while on the job," Montefiore spokesperson Joe Solmonese said Monday after the strike had started. "We remain resolute in our commitment to providing safe and seamless care, regardless of how long the strike may last.”
New York-Presbyterian accused the union of staging a strike to “create disruption,” but said in a statement that it has taken steps to ensure patients receive the care they need.
"We’re ready to keep negotiating a fair and reasonable contract that reflects our respect for our nurses and the critical role they play, and also recognizes the challenging realities of today’s healthcare environment,” the statement said.
The work stoppage is occurring at multiple hospitals simultaneously, but each medical center is negotiating with the union independently. Several other hospitals across the city and in its suburbs reached deals in recent days to avert a possible strike.
The nurses’ demands vary by hospital, but the major issues include staffing levels and workplace safety. The union says hospitals have given nurses unmanageable workloads.
Nurses also want better security measures in the workplace, citing incidents like a an incident last week, when a man with a sharp object barricaded himself in a Brooklyn hospital room and was then killed by police.
The union also wants limitations on hospitals’ use of artificial intelligence.
The nonprofit hospitals involved in the negotiations say they’ve been working to improve staffing levels, but say the union’s demands overall are too costly.
Nurses voted to authorize the strike last month.
Both New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani had expressed concern about the possibility of the strike. As the strike deadline neared, Mamdani urged both sides to keep negotiating and reach a deal that “both honors our nurses and keeps our hospitals open.”
“Our nurses kept this city alive through its hardest moments. Their value is not negotiable,” Mamdani said.
State Attorney General Letitia James voiced similar support, saying "nurses put their lives on the line every day to keep New Yorkers healthy. They should never be forced to choose between their own safety, their patients’ well-being, and a fair contract.”
The last major nursing strike in the city was only three years ago, in 2023. That work stoppage, at Mount Sinai and Montefiore, was short, lasting three days. It resulted in a deal raising pay 19% over three years at those hospitals.
It also led to promised staffing improvements, though the union and hospitals now disagree about how much progress has been made, or whether the hospitals are retreating from staffing guarantees.
Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
FILE - A medical worker transports a patient at Mount Sinai Hospital, April 1, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
