Consolidated Statements of Income (USD $)	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2012
Revenues:
Net premiums earned	$ 126,963,328	$ 117,569,122	$ 251,665,369	$ 232,260,913
Investment income, net of investment expenses	4,670,558	4,919,288	9,486,001	10,009,010
Net realized investment gains	1,253,982	1,528,333	2,594,546	3,838,313
Lease income	210,557	244,606	425,954	491,971
Installment payment fees	1,733,642	1,927,585	3,443,883	3,762,370
Equity in earnings of Donegal Financial Services Corporation	675,568	1,110,256	1,764,474	2,284,775
Total revenues	135,507,635	127,299,190	269,380,227	252,647,352
Expenses:
Net losses and loss expenses	89,519,350	86,385,353	175,052,366	162,994,572
Amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs	19,910,000	18,235,000	39,470,000	36,116,000
Other underwriting expenses	21,129,407	19,239,744	39,880,918	38,486,563
Policyholder dividends	340,582	109,160	815,855	398,484
Interest	333,699	630,455	820,848	1,200,999
Other expenses	1,412,439	584,396	2,394,793	1,487,918
Total expenses	132,645,477	125,184,108	258,434,780	240,684,536
Income before income tax expense	2,862,158	2,115,082	10,945,447	11,962,816
Income tax expense	233,171	92,015	1,841,024	1,929,602
Net income	$ 2,628,987	$ 2,023,067	$ 9,104,423	$ 10,033,214
Common Class A [Member]
Earnings per common share:
Class A common stock-basic	$ 0.10	$ 0.08	$ 0.35	$ 0.40
Class A common stock-diluted	$ 0.10	$ 0.08	$ 0.35	$ 0.39
Common Class B [Member]
Earnings per common share:
Class A common stock-basic	$ 0.09	$ 0.07	$ 0.32	$ 0.36
Class A common stock-diluted	$ 0.09	$ 0.07	$ 0.32	$ 0.36
Class B common stock-basic and diluted	$ 0.09	$ 0.07	$ 0.32	$ 0.36