BASIS OF PRESENTATION	6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2018
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
BASIS OF PRESENTATION	BASIS OF PRESENTATION EMC Insurance Group Inc., a majority owned subsidiary of Employers Mutual Casualty Company (Employers Mutual), is an insurance holding company with operations in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance. The Company writes property and casualty insurance in both commercial and personal lines of insurance, with a focus on medium-sized commercial accounts. The term “Company” is used interchangeably to describe EMC Insurance Group Inc. (Parent Company only) and EMC Insurance Group Inc. and its subsidiaries. The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the basis of U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and notes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. The Company has evaluated all subsequent events through the date the financial statements were issued. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) considered necessary for a fair presentation of the interim financial statements have been included. The results of operations for the interim periods reported are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for the year. The consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2017 has been derived from the audited financial statements at that date, but does not include all of the information and notes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. In reading these financial statements, reference should be made to the Company’s 2017 Form 10-K or the 2017 Annual Report to Stockholders for more detailed footnote information. Accounting Pronouncements Adopted In January 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) updated its guidance related to the Financial Instruments-Overall Subtopic 825-10 of the Accounting Standards Codification^TM(Codification or ASC). The objective of this update is to enhance the reporting model for financial instruments to provide financial statement users with more decision-useful information. The major change in reporting from this update is a requirement that equity investments (excluding those accounted for under the equity method of accounting or those that are consolidated) be measured at fair value, with changes in fair value recognized in net income. Equity investments that do not have a readily determinable fair value may be measured at estimated fair value or cost less impairment. All of the Company's common and preferred stock equity investments were already measured at fair value, as they were classified as available-for-sale with changes in fair value recognized in other comprehensive income (excludes those investments that were consolidated and those that were accounted for under the equity method of accounting). The Company adopted this guidance on January 1, 2018, recording a cumulative-effect adjustment that moved $66.2 million from accumulated other comprehensive income to retained earnings, which is the amount of net unrealized investment gains on available-for-sale equity securities as of December 31, 2017, net of deferred income taxes. A privately placed non-redeemable convertible preferred stock investment in a start-up technology company was determined to not have a readily determinable fair value. As such, the cost less impairment alternative measurement is being used for this investment in lieu of fair value. Management uses the equity method of accounting for certain investment company limited partnerships classified as other long-term investments in which the Company has minor ownership interests. In connection with the adoption of this new guidance, beginning January 1, 2018, the equity adjustments for these investments are being reported as realized investment gains and losses from other long-term investments, rather than net investment income. In March 2017, the FASB issued updated guidance in Compensation-Retirement Benefits Topic 715 of the ASC. The objective of this update is to improve the presentation of net periodic pension and postretirement benefit costs by disaggregating the components of these expenses (disclosing the service cost component separately from the other components) for income statement reporting, if a subtotal of income from operations is presented. The Company does not report a subtotal of income from operations in its financial statements. Also included in this update is a prohibition against including components of the net periodic pension and postretirement benefit costs, other than the service cost component, in any capitalized assets. In conjunction with the adoption of this updated guidance, management elected to report all components of net periodic pension and postretirement benefit income, other than the service cost component, as other income in the consolidated statements of income. The service cost component continues to be reported in other underwriting expenses. This change in reporting was applied retrospectively for comparison purposes and did not impact the net income/loss amounts reported, as other income and other underwriting expenses increased by the same amount ($1.9 million and $1.3 million for the three months and $3.7 million and $2.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively). The prohibition against including net periodic pension and postretirement benefit costs, other than the service cost component, in capitalized assets was adopted prospectively on January 1, 2018. The impact of the exclusion of these costs from capitalized assets resulted in a negligible impact on the deferred policy acquisition cost asset calculation at June 30, 2018 compared to that which would have been calculated under previous guidance.

BASIS OF PRESENTATION

EMC Insurance Group Inc., a majority owned subsidiary of Employers Mutual Casualty Company (Employers Mutual), is an insurance holding company with operations in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance. The Company writes property and casualty insurance in both commercial and personal lines of insurance, with a focus on medium-sized commercial accounts. The term “Company” is used interchangeably to describe EMC Insurance Group Inc. (Parent Company only) and EMC Insurance Group Inc. and its subsidiaries.

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the basis of U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and notes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. The Company has evaluated all subsequent events through the date the financial statements were issued. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) considered necessary for a fair presentation of the interim financial statements have been included. The results of operations for the interim periods reported are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for the year. The consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2017 has been derived from the audited financial statements at that date, but does not include all of the information and notes required by GAAP for complete financial statements.

In reading these financial statements, reference should be made to the Company’s 2017 Form 10-K or the 2017 Annual Report to Stockholders for more detailed footnote information.

Accounting Pronouncements Adopted

In January 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) updated its guidance related to the Financial Instruments-Overall Subtopic 825-10 of the Accounting Standards Codification^TM(Codification or ASC). The objective of this update is to enhance the reporting model for financial instruments to provide financial statement users with more decision-useful information. The major change in reporting from this update is a requirement that equity investments (excluding those accounted for under the equity method of accounting or those that are consolidated) be measured at fair value, with changes in fair value recognized in net income. Equity investments that do not have a readily determinable fair value may be measured at estimated fair value or cost less impairment. All of the Company's common and preferred stock equity investments were already measured at fair value, as they were classified as available-for-sale with changes in fair value recognized in other comprehensive income (excludes those investments that were consolidated and those that were accounted for under the equity method of accounting). The Company adopted this guidance on January 1, 2018, recording a cumulative-effect adjustment that moved $66.2 million from accumulated other comprehensive income to retained earnings, which is the amount of net unrealized investment gains on available-for-sale equity securities as of December 31, 2017, net of deferred income taxes. A privately placed non-redeemable convertible preferred stock investment in a start-up technology company was determined to not have a readily determinable fair value. As such, the cost less impairment alternative measurement is being used for this investment in lieu of fair value. Management uses the equity method of accounting for certain investment company limited partnerships classified as other long-term investments in which the Company has minor ownership interests. In connection with the adoption of this new guidance, beginning January 1, 2018, the equity adjustments for these investments are being reported as realized investment gains and losses from other long-term investments, rather than net investment income.

In March 2017, the FASB issued updated guidance in Compensation-Retirement Benefits Topic 715 of the ASC. The objective of this update is to improve the presentation of net periodic pension and postretirement benefit costs by disaggregating the components of these expenses (disclosing the service cost component separately from the other components) for income statement reporting, if a subtotal of income from operations is presented. The Company does not report a subtotal of income from operations in its financial statements. Also included in this update is a prohibition against including components of the net periodic pension and postretirement benefit costs, other than the service cost component, in any capitalized assets. In conjunction with the adoption of this updated guidance, management elected to report all components of net periodic pension and postretirement benefit income, other than the service cost component, as other income in the consolidated statements of income. The service cost component continues to be reported in other underwriting expenses. This change in reporting was applied retrospectively for comparison purposes and did not impact the net income/loss amounts reported, as other income and other underwriting expenses increased by the same amount ($1.9 million and $1.3 million for the three months and $3.7 million and $2.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively). The prohibition against including net periodic pension and postretirement benefit costs, other than the service cost component, in capitalized assets was adopted prospectively on January 1, 2018. The impact of the exclusion of these costs from capitalized assets resulted in a negligible impact on the deferred policy acquisition cost asset calculation at June 30, 2018 compared to that which would have been calculated under previous guidance.