EXHIBIT 99.1
PMA CAPITAL CORPORATION [LOGO]

Mellon Bank Center   Suite 2800
1735 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103-7590                                        PRESS RELEASE

For Release:  Immediate

       Contact:  Albert D. Ciavardelli
                        (215) 665-5063

                   PMA Capital Corporation Announces Dates for
                   -------------------------------------------
                    2001 Annual Meeting Shareholder Proposals
                    -----------------------------------------

Philadelphia,  PA, August 10, 2000 -- PMA Capital  Corporation  (NASDAQ:  PMACA)
announced today that as a result of amendments to its Bylaws,  shareholders  who
desire to bring  business  before the 2001 Annual Meeting of  Shareholders  must
comply with the Company's  newly adopted  advance notice bylaw  provisions.  The
advance  notice  bylaw  provisions  specify  procedures  for the  nomination  of
directors and the bringing of shareholder  business  before an annual meeting of
shareholders.

Shareholders  can  nominate a person for a position on the Board of Directors at
the 2001 Annual Meeting of  Shareholders  only if the  shareholder  notifies the
Secretary of the Company of the  nomination not later than the close of business
on February 23, 2001,  and not earlier than the close of business on January 24,
2001.    The   notice   must    include    certain    information    about   the
nominating-shareholder  and the nominee as  specified in the  Company's  Bylaws.
Each nominee must also provide the Secretary with a written  consent to serve if
elected.

Similarly,  if a shareholder  wishes to present a proposal from the floor of the
2001 Annual Meeting of  Shareholders,  the shareholder must notify the Secretary
of the Company in writing of the  proposal  not later than the close of business
on February 23, 2001,  and not earlier than the close of business on January 24,
2001.  The notice  must also  include  the other  information  specified  in the
Company's Bylaws.

Any shareholder  that wishes to nominate a director or propose business from the
floor of the 2001 Annual  Meeting of  Shareholders  should consult the Company's
Bylaws and the applicable proxy rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The  advance  notice  bylaws  do not  affect a  shareholder's  right  to  submit
proposals  for  inclusion  in the proxy  statement  relating  to the 2001 Annual
Meeting pursuant to Rule 14a-8 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.


PMA Capital  Corporation,  headquartered  in Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  is an
insurance holding company,  whose operating  subsidiaries provide specialty risk
management products and services to customers  throughout the United States. The
primary  product lines of PMA Capital's  subsidiaries  include:  1) property and
casualty reinsurance,  underwritten and marketed through PMA Re; 2) managed care
workers'  compensation,  integrated disability and other commercial property and
casualty  lines of insurance  in the  Mid-Atlantic  and Southern  regions of the
United States,  underwritten and marketed under the trade name The PMA Insurance
Group; and 3) excess and surplus lines  coverages,  underwritten and marketed by
Caliber One.





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