Donegal Insurance Group homeowners insurance

Overview

Donegal Insurance Group is a regional property and casualty insurer based in Marietta, Pennsylvania, made up of Donegal Mutual Insurance Company and the insurance subsidiaries of its publicly traded affiliate, Donegal Group Inc. (Nasdaq: DGICA and DGICB). It sells homeowners, dwelling fire, auto and umbrella coverage, along with a larger commercial lines book, only through independent agents. Donegal Group ranked #100 among U.S. homeowners insurance groups by 2025 direct premiums written, with $162.3 million (0.09% of the national market), according to NAIC market share data.

Homeowners is a modest and shrinking part of the business. Donegal Group Inc. reported $123.0 million of homeowners net premiums written in 2025, down 12.5% from $140.6 million in 2024, out of $904.8 million in total net premiums written. Commercial lines now make up more than 60% of the group's premium. If your home and car are insured with Donegal, the name on the policy may be one of its member companies: Atlantic States, Southern Insurance Company of Virginia, Peninsula Insurance Company, Michigan Insurance Company or Southern Mutual.

History

On May 13, 1889, Pennsylvania Governor James A. Beaver issued letters patent to the Donegal and Conoy Mutual Fire Insurance Company, formed by farmers in Marietta, Lancaster County, to protect their farms and property. Its first policy insured a farm dwelling for $4,300 at an annual premium of $3.90. The company took the name Donegal Mutual Insurance Company in 1949, added auto insurance in the early 1950s and began writing homeowners policies in 1952.

Growth came largely through acquisitions and affiliations. Donegal Mutual took over Reading Mutual and Laurel State Mutual in 1976, moved into Maryland and Delaware in the early 1980s and acquired the charter of Southern Mutual Insurance Company in Virginia in 1984 (today Southern Insurance Company of Virginia). In 1986 it formed Donegal Group Inc., took it public and kept majority voting control, a structure that still lets the policyholder-owned mutual control the public company. Later deals added Le Mars Insurance (2002), The Peninsula Insurance Company and Peninsula Indemnity (2004), Sheboygan Falls Insurance (2008), an affiliation with Georgia's Southern Mutual Insurance Company (2009), Michigan Insurance Company (2010) and, in 2017, a merger with Mountain States Mutual Casualty, which sells commercial insurance in Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and Utah.

Kevin G. Burke has been president and chief executive officer since 2015. In September 2025 Donegal agreed to sell the renewal rights to its roughly $8 million farmowners book in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, Ohio and Indiana to ECM Insurance Group, with policies moving in 2026, saying the cost of modernizing its farm product was more than it could justify passing on to farm policyholders.

Homeowners coverage

Donegal's homeowners policy covers the house, garages and other structures, personal property on the premises and anywhere in the world, additional living expenses after a covered loss, personal liability and medical payments to others. Options listed on its site include:

• Extended Limits Coverage, which adds money above the dwelling limit toward rebuilding (see extended replacement cost).
• Replacement cost on contents, so personal property claims are paid without a deduction for depreciation.
• Higher limits for personal computers and valuables such as jewelry, furs, cameras and silverware.
• Identity fraud expense coverage.

Its dwelling fire policy covers owner-occupied homes and quality rental units, with optional premises liability in some states, and a personal umbrella sits over home, auto and boat liability. Donegal does not publish its policy forms or roof settlement rules online, and terms vary by state and member company, so ask your agent how the dwelling and roof are valued and which deductibles apply to wind and hail.

Discounts and savings

Donegal's Account Credit Plan gives credits on both policies when you insure your home and car with the group. Its homeowners page also lists discounts for safety and security devices such as smoke detectors and burglar alarms, savings for choosing a higher deductible, and renewal discounts that build as you stay with the company. Specific percentages are not published; your agent can show which credits are on your declarations page.

Where it sells and recent market moves

Donegal Group lists 21 states: Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania in the Mid-Atlantic; Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia in the South; Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin in the Midwest; and Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and Utah in the Southwest. Homeowners availability is narrower than that list, because some states are served only with commercial products; an agent can tell you whether Donegal writes homes in your county.

The recent direction for homeowners is retrenchment. After volatile underwriting results from 2021 to 2023, driven largely by severe weather and inflation, Donegal raised rates and non-renewed parts of its personal lines book, including a legacy book in Maryland whose non-renewal continued into 2025, and deliberately limited new personal lines business to protect margins. Personal lines net premiums written fell 13.6% in 2025, and homeowners fell another 5.0% in the first half of 2026. Management says the decline should taper during 2026 as it gradually writes more new business, and it expects to finish converting remaining legacy personal lines policies to its new systems platform by June 2027. If you receive a nonrenewal notice, see your home insurance was nonrenewed: what to do now.

Claims

Claims can be reported 24 hours a day at 800-877-9006 or online through your Donegal account. For emergencies, Donegal says an on-call claim representative will contact you within one hour of your call in most cases; non-emergency claims are started the next business day. Claim payments can be received by bank transfer, instant debit card deposit, PayPal, Venmo or check through its payment partner, One Inc.

Donegal's homeowners results have improved. Its statutory homeowners combined ratio was 99.6% in 2024 and 96.9% in 2025, and 88.2% for the first half of 2026.

Ratings and reputation

AM Best affirmed the A (Excellent) financial strength rating and "a" long-term issuer credit ratings of the Donegal Insurance Group members in May 2025, with stable outlooks, crediting profitability initiatives that include significant rate actions, the transfer of unprofitable accounts and investment in new technology. In its May 2024 affirmation AM Best described the group's balance sheet as very strong and its operating performance as adequate, noting volatile underwriting results in 2021 and 2022 driven by severe weather, inflation and supply chain disruptions.

Donegal is not ranked in J.D. Power's home insurance or property claims studies.

Who it suits

Donegal suits homeowners in its Mid-Atlantic, Southern and Midwestern territories who want an independent agent, home and auto with one regional company, and a carrier with a long record and an A (Excellent) rating. It suits less well people who want to buy online, those with farm property after the 2026 transfer of its farmowners book to ECM, and shoppers in areas where Donegal has been limiting new personal lines business.

• Strengths: A (Excellent) from AM Best (May 2025); founded in 1889 and controlled by a policyholder-owned mutual; Extended Limits and contents replacement cost options; 24/7 claims line with emergency callback, usually within an hour.
• Weaknesses: shrinking personal lines book, with non-renewals and restricted new business since 2024; homeowners not offered in every state the group serves; little coverage or discount detail published online; farmowners policies moved to ECM in 2026.

How to contact Donegal Insurance Group