EX-99.2 3 pressrelease08-19x11exhibi.htm PressRelease 08-19-11 Exhibit 99.2


Exhibit 99.2

118 Second Avenue SE, PO Box 73909
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52407-3909
Contacts: Randy A. Ramlo, President/CEO or
Dianne M. Lyons, Vice President/CFO, 319-399-5700

United Fire Group Board Appoints Ray Dudonis as Vice President and Declares Regular Dividend on Common Stock
CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA - August 19, 2011 - United Fire & Casualty Company (NASDAQ:UFCS), is pleased to announce East Coast Regional Office Branch Manager Ray Dudonis has been named vice president of United Fire & Casualty Company. Mr. Dudonis joined Mercer Insurance Group, a subsidiary of United Fire & Casualty Company, in 2006 as underwriting vice president.
“With over 30 years of experience in the insurance industry, Ray is well respected by his co-workers and has a high level of integrity, strong market knowledge, and a philosophy of consistency, which are all key strengths that will fit well into our United Fire Group culture,” said President and CEO Randy Ramlo. 

Dividend on common stock
The Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly dividend on the common stock of 15 cents per share. This dividend will be payable on September 15, 2011, to stockholders on record as of September 1, 2011. United Fire has paid dividends every quarter since March 1968.

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About United Fire & Casualty Company
Founded in 1946, United Fire & Casualty Company is engaged in the business of writing property and casualty insurance and life insurance and selling annuities. Our company's net premiums written totaled $295.4 million for the first six months of 2011, and our market capitalization was $449.5 million at June 30, 2011. 
We are licensed as a property and casualty insurer in 43 states, plus the District of Columbia, and we are represented by more than 1,200 independent agencies. United Fire is rated A (Excellent) by A.M. Best Company. For the third consecutive year, United Fire was named a 'Top 10 Ease of Doing Business Performer” for 2010 in Deep Customer Connections Inc.'s (DCC) eighth annual Ease of Doing Business (EDB) survey. The performance of more than 200 property and casualty carriers was assessed by 7,800 independent agents and brokers. They rated the importance of 11 key factors, ranging from underwriting responsiveness to handling claims promptly to employing effective, user-friendly technology. DCC specializes in helping property and casualty carriers achieve profitable growth by making it easy for their agents to work with them. DCC's EDB Index® is an industry benchmark of carriers' EDB performance. A.M. Best Company ranked United Fire one of the Top 75 North American Public Insurers (based on 2010 assets) and Top 200 U.S. Property/Casualty Writers (based on 2010 net premiums written) in the July 2011 issue of Best's Review. United Fire has also been named one of the most trustworthy publicly traded companies in America, a list compiled through a partnership of Forbes and Audit Integrity. Less than five percent of the entire U.S. stock market qualifies for the list.






Our subsidiary, United Life Insurance Company, is licensed in 29 states, represented by more than 900 independent life agencies, and has been named to the Ward's 50 Life & Health Insurance Companies for five consecutive years (2006-2010). 
For more information about United Fire, visit www.unitedfiregroup.com.
Disclosure of forward-looking statements
This release may contain forward-looking statements about our operations, anticipated performance and other similar matters. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a safe harbor under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are not historical facts and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expected and/or projected. Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about our company, the industry in which we operate, and beliefs and assumptions made by management. Words such as "expect(s)," "anticipate(s)," "intend(s)," "plan(s)," "believe(s)," "continue(s)," "seek(s)," "estimate(s)," "goal(s)," "target(s)," "forecast(s)," "project(s)," "predict(s)," "should," "could," "may," "will continue," "might," "hope," "can" and other words and terms of similar meaning or expression in connection with a discussion of future operating, financial performance or financial condition, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed in such forward-looking statements. Information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements is contained in Part I Item 1A "Risk Factors" of our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December, 31, 2010, filed with the SEC on March 1, 2011 and in our report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2011, filed with the SEC on August 5, 2011. The risks identified on Form 10-K are representative of the risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from what is expressed in forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release or as of the date they are made.