Donegal Mutual Insurance Co. on Wednesday completed its acquisition of Conestoga Title Insurance Co. and two affiliates for an undisclosed price.
Also changing hands were Lancaster Title Abstracting Co. and Abstracting Co. of Berks County. The three acquired firms total 39 employees.
The transaction offers benefits to both sides, executives of the two companies said.
"It's a new line of insurance for us. For them, it brings the resources of a larger organization," said Donegal Mutual's Jeffrey D. Miller, senior vice president and chief financial officer.
Having access to more resources will help Conestoga Title compete against bigger companies, said John K. Schwertfuehrer, Conestoga Title's vice president of finance.
Conestoga Title president John M. Nikolaus said becoming part of Donegal Mutual "can help us grow our business and deliver enhanced products and services to our agents and policyholders."
Conestoga Title and its affiliates will keep their names and their locations — Conestoga Title and Lancaster Title are based in downtown Lancaster, while Abstracting Co. of Berks County is based in Reading.
The majority of the 39 employees will keep their jobs, said Nikolaus.
Marietta-based Donegal Mutual, with 525 employees, is best known as a mutual fire and casualty insurance company incorporated in 1889. But it also has diversified before, most notably by creating Province Bank.
Donegal Mutual's new Lancaster holdings are longtime firms too. Conestoga Title dates to 1973 and Lancaster Title to 1954.
Staff writer Tim Mekeel can be reached at tmekeel@LNPnews.com or 481-6030.
