BASIS OF PRESENTATION	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2019
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 term "Company" is used interchangeably to describe EMC Insurance Group Inc. (Parent Company only) and EMC Insurance Group inc. and its subsidiaries. The Company writes property and casualty insurance in both commercial and personal lines of insurance, with a focus on medium-sized commercial accounts; however, on October 29, 2018, the Company, Employers Mutual and their subsidiary insurance companies (collectively the "EMC Insurance Companies") announced that they had made a strategic decision to exit personal lines business so that more time and resources can be dedicated to the commercial and reinsurance business. As a result, personal lines premiums written declined significantly during the first quarter of 2019. Personal lines premiums earned also declined, though the decline was much smaller since the premiums are earned over the policies' annual terms. The Company's reinsurance business is primarily written through a quota share reinsurance agreement with Employers Mutual. A small portion of the assumed reinsurance business was previously written on a direct basis, outside the quota share reinsurance agreement. 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, 2018 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 2018 Form 10-K and 10-K/A for more detailed footnote information. Accounting Pronouncements Adopted In March 2017, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) updated guidance related to Receivables-Nonrefundable Fees and Other Costs Subtopic 310-20 of the Accounting Standards Codification^TM (Codification or ASC). The objective of this update is to shorten the amortization period of premiums on certain callable fixed maturity securities to the earliest call date. The Company adopted this guidance on January 1, 2019, and it did not have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements. In February 2016, the FASB issued updated guidance in Leases Topic 842 of the ASC, which supersedes the guidance in Leases Topic 840 of the ASC. The objective of this update is to increase transparency and comparability among organizations by requiring recognition of lease assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet, and disclosure of key information about leasing arrangements. The Company adopted this guidance during the first quarter of 2019, though management concluded that lease costs allocated to the Company through the pooling and quota share agreements cannot be attributed to a specified asset, and therefore do not meet the definition of a leased asset contained in the guidance. As a result, adoption of this guidance had no impact on the consolidated financial statements.

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 term "Company" is used interchangeably to describe EMC Insurance Group Inc. (Parent Company only) and EMC Insurance Group inc. and its subsidiaries. The Company writes property and casualty insurance in both commercial and personal lines of insurance, with a focus on medium-sized commercial accounts; however, on October 29, 2018, the Company, Employers Mutual and their subsidiary insurance companies (collectively the "EMC Insurance Companies") announced that they had made a strategic decision to exit personal lines business so that more time and resources can be dedicated to the commercial and reinsurance business. As a result, personal lines premiums written declined significantly during the first quarter of 2019. Personal lines premiums earned also declined, though the decline was much smaller since the premiums are earned over the policies' annual terms. The Company's reinsurance business is primarily written through a quota share reinsurance agreement with Employers Mutual. A small portion of the assumed reinsurance business was previously written on a direct basis, outside the quota share reinsurance agreement.

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, 2018 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 2018 Form 10-K and 10-K/A for more detailed footnote information.

Accounting Pronouncements Adopted

In March 2017, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) updated guidance related to Receivables-Nonrefundable Fees and Other Costs Subtopic 310-20 of the Accounting Standards Codification^TM (Codification or ASC). The objective of this update is to shorten the amortization period of premiums on certain callable fixed maturity securities to the earliest call date. The Company adopted this guidance on January 1, 2019, and it did not have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements.

In February 2016, the FASB issued updated guidance in Leases Topic 842 of the ASC, which supersedes the guidance in Leases Topic 840 of the ASC. The objective of this update is to increase transparency and comparability among organizations by requiring recognition of lease assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet, and disclosure of key information about leasing arrangements. The Company adopted this guidance during the first quarter of 2019, though management concluded that lease costs allocated to the Company through the pooling and quota share agreements cannot be attributed to a specified asset, and therefore do not meet the definition of a leased asset contained in the guidance. As a result, adoption of this guidance had no impact on the consolidated financial statements.