Document and Entity Information	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2011	Oct. 31, 2011
Entity Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2011
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2011
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Trading Symbol	UFCS
Entity Registrant Name	UNITED FIRE & CASUALTY CO
Entity Central Index Key	0000101199
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		25,502,667