Donegal Insurance Group auto insurance

Overview

Donegal Insurance Group is the trade name for Donegal Mutual Insurance Company and the insurance subsidiaries of Donegal Group Inc., all headquartered in Marietta, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The structure is unusual: Donegal Mutual is a policyholder-owned mutual, but it holds majority voting control of Donegal Group Inc., a stock holding company whose Class A and Class B shares trade on Nasdaq as DGICA and DGICB. Together they sell personal and commercial insurance through independent agents.

The Donegal group ranked #75 among U.S. private passenger auto insurers by 2025 direct premiums written according to NAIC market share data, with $239.0 million in personal auto premium (about 0.06% of the U.S. market). The group does business in 21 states across the Mid-Atlantic (Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania), the South (Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia), the Midwest (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin) and the Southwest (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Utah), but personal auto is not sold in all of them. Kevin G. Burke is president and CEO of Donegal Group Inc.

History

On May 13, 1889, Pennsylvania Governor James A. Beaver issued letters patent to the Donegal and Conoy Mutual Fire Insurance Company in Marietta, formed by local farmers. Its first policy covered a farmer's dwelling for $4,300 at an annual premium of $3.90. The company took the name Donegal Mutual Insurance Company in 1949 and added automobile insurance in the early 1950s.

Growth came largely through acquisitions and affiliations:

• 1976: Reading Mutual Insurance Company and Laurel State Mutual Insurance Company (Pennsylvania)
• Early 1980s: expansion into Maryland and Delaware; in 1984 the charter of Southern Mutual Insurance Company in Virginia, today Southern Insurance Company of Virginia
• 1986: Donegal Mutual formed Donegal Group Inc. and took it public, and Atlantic States Insurance Company was created; Atlantic States later added a preferred tier of personal auto insurance
• 1990s: Delaware Atlantic, Pioneer Insurance Company (Ohio), Southern Heritage and Pioneer Insurance Company (New York), later merged into existing subsidiaries
• 2002: Le Mars Insurance Company, opening four Midwestern states
• 2004: The Peninsula Insurance Company and Peninsula Indemnity Company
• 2008: Sheboygan Falls Insurance Company (Wisconsin)
• 2009: an affiliation with Southern Mutual Insurance Company, adding Georgia and South Carolina business
• 2010: Michigan Insurance Company
• 2017: Mountain States Mutual Casualty Company merged into Donegal Mutual, adding commercial business in Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and Utah

Donegal has also pulled back where personal lines did not pay. In 2018 it agreed to transfer its personal lines business in Alabama, Maine, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Carolina and South Dakota to Safeco, a Liberty Mutual company, citing a lack of scale and profitability in those states. In 2025 Donegal Group's personal lines net premiums written fell 13.6% to $340.8 million, and personal auto fell 14.4% to $208.1 million, which the company attributed to planned attrition, including lower new business writings, partly offset by renewal rate increases and solid retention. The company expects the decline to ease gradually through 2026 and is moving remaining legacy personal lines policies onto a new policy system by June 2027.

Auto insurance coverage

Donegal's personal auto policy includes bodily injury and property damage liability (with legal defense) and uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. Optional coverages include:

• Collision
• Other-than-collision (comprehensive) for fire, theft, vandalism and glass breakage
• Towing and labor if your car is disabled
• Rental reimbursement after a covered loss

Donegal also highlights high chargeable accident thresholds, which can keep smaller accidents from being surcharged, and first accident forgiveness programs. Coverage options vary by state. The group also writes homeowners, personal umbrella and dwelling fire policies, and commercial auto for businesses.

Discounts and programs

Donegal's auto discounts and savings include:

• Account Credit Plan: credits on both premiums when you insure your home and auto with Donegal
• Good student discounts and Extra Edge discounts for superior drivers
• Savings for passive seat belt restraints, air bags, anti-theft devices and anti-lock brakes
• Savings for carpooling, completing driver's education and insuring more than one vehicle

Donegal does not advertise a telematics or usage-based program.

Claims

Claims can be reported 24 hours a day at 800-877-9006, online through the policyholder portal or in the Donegal mobile app, which also shows digital ID cards, billing and claim status. For an existing claim, contact your assigned claim representative. A separate reporting path is available for auto glass claims.

Donegal pays claims through One Inc, a digital payments platform. Claimants can choose ACH bank transfer, instant transfer to a debit card, PayPal, Venmo or a mailed check.

Ratings and reputation

On June 9, 2026, AM Best affirmed the A (Excellent) financial strength rating and "a" long-term issuer credit ratings of the Donegal Insurance Group members, and the "bbb" issuer credit rating of Donegal Group Inc., all with stable outlooks. AM Best rates the balance sheet very strong but noted weaker underwriting results in early 2026 from weather and fire losses.

Donegal's personal lines statutory combined ratio improved to 89.3% in 2025 from 98.3% in 2024, meaning the segment paid out well under a dollar in claims and expenses per dollar of premium. Donegal was not among the regional leaders named in J.D. Power's 2026 U.S. Auto Insurance Study. Complaint records for each Donegal company can be looked up on the NAIC's Consumer Information Source.

Who it suits

Donegal suits drivers in its personal lines states who want auto and home with one carrier through an independent agent and value features such as accident forgiveness and high accident thresholds. As a public company, Donegal also discloses more about its personal lines strategy than most regional carriers. The trade-off is that it has been deliberately shrinking personal lines, so new applicants may find underwriting tighter than at faster-growing competitors.

• Strengths: A (Excellent) rating affirmed June 2026; first accident forgiveness and high chargeable accident thresholds; Account Credit Plan for home and auto; flexible digital claim payments including Venmo and PayPal.
• Weaknesses: Personal lines premiums falling by design; personal lines exited in seven states in 2018; no telematics program; sold only through agents.

How to contact Donegal Insurance Group