Reinsurance

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2012

Reinsurance [Abstract]

Reinsurance

4 - Reinsurance

Atlantic States and Donegal Mutual have participated in a pooling agreement since 1986 under which each company places all of its direct written business into the pool, and Atlantic States and Donegal Mutual then share the underwriting results of the pool in accordance with the terms of the pooling agreement. Atlantic States has an 80% share of the results of the pool, and Donegal Mutual has a 20% share of the results of the pool.

Our insurance subsidiaries and Donegal Mutual purchase certain third-party reinsurance on a combined basis. Le Mars, MICO, Peninsula and Sheboygan also purchase separate third-party reinsurance that provides coverage that is commensurate with their relative size and exposures. Our insurance subsidiaries use several different reinsurers, all of which, consistent with requirements of our insurance subsidiaries and Donegal Mutual, have an A.M. Best rating of A- (Excellent) or better or, with respect to foreign reinsurers, have a financial condition that, in the opinion of our management, is equivalent to a company with at least an A- rating from A.M. Best. The following information describes the external reinsurance our insurance subsidiaries have in place at June 30, 2012:

• excess of loss reinsurance, under which losses are automatically reinsured, through a series of reinsurance agreements, over a set retention (generally $1.0 million), and

• catastrophe reinsurance, under which Donegal Mutual, Atlantic States and Southern recover, through a series of reinsurance agreements, 90% to 100% of an accumulation of many losses resulting from a single event, including natural disasters, over a set retention (generally $5.0 million).

Through June 7, 2012, our insurance subsidiaries and Donegal Mutual had property catastrophe coverage through a series of layered treaties up to aggregate losses of $130.0 million per occurrence over the set retention. From and after June 8, 2012, our insurance subsidiaries and Donegal Mutual increased their coverage to $145.0 million per occurrence over the set retention.

Our insurance subsidiaries and Donegal Mutual also purchase facultative reinsurance to cover exposures from losses that exceed the limits provided by their third-party reinsurance agreements.

MICO maintains a quota-share reinsurance agreement with third-party reinsurers to reduce its net exposures. Effective from December 1, 2010 to December 31, 2011, the quota-share reinsurance percentage was 50%. Effective January 1, 2012, MICO reduced the quota-share reinsurance percentage from 50% to 40%.

In addition to the pooling agreement and third-party reinsurance, our insurance subsidiaries have various reinsurance agreements with Donegal Mutual.

Other than the changes we discuss above, we made no significant changes to our third-party reinsurance or the reinsurance agreements between our insurance subsidiaries and Donegal Mutual during the six months ended June 30, 2012.