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Organization - Additional Information (Detail)
9 Months Ended 38 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2016
Segment
shares
Sep. 30, 2015
shares
Sep. 30, 2016
shares
Jul. 18, 2013
shares
Business Acquisition [Line Items]        
Operations commenced date Aug. 26, 1986      
Stock ownership percentage owned by third party 51.80%      
Number of operating segments | Segment 4      
Voting power percentage of outstanding common stock 73.00%      
Percentage of share in results of pooled business subsidiary 80.00%      
Percentage of share in results of pooled business owned by third party 20.00%      
Donegal Financial Services Corporation [Member]        
Business Acquisition [Line Items]        
Outstanding stock ownership percentage 48.20%   48.20%  
Class A Common Stock [Member]        
Business Acquisition [Line Items]        
Stock ownership percentage held by major shareholder 47.00%      
Class A Common Stock [Member] | Stock Repurchase Program Two [Member]        
Business Acquisition [Line Items]        
Authority to purchase shares       500,000
Common stock shares purchased 0 57,658 57,658  
Class B Common Stock [Member]        
Business Acquisition [Line Items]        
Stock ownership percentage held by major shareholder 83.00%