8-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): May 17, 2017

United Fire Group, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Iowa	001-34257	45-2302834
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)	(Commission File Number)	(IRS Employer Identification No.)

118 Second Avenue, S.E., Cedar Rapids, Iowa	52401
(Address of principal executive offices)	(Zip Code)

Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (319) 399-5700

_________________________________________________________________

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report.)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

☐	Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
☐	Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
☐	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
☐	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Item 5.07. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders.

On May 17, 2017, United Fire Group, Inc. (the "Company" or "UFG") held its 2017 Annual Meeting of Shareholders in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

All of the director nominees were elected and all of the other proposals submitted to the Company's shareholders were approved. The following are the final voting results for each proposal presented at the meeting.

Proposal 1: Elect four Class A Directors to three-year terms expiring in 2020.

Director Nominee		Number of Shares
Name	Class	Votes For	Votes Against	Abstentions	Broker Non-Votes
Scott L. Carlton	A	22,215,439	63,637	18,794	1,679,882
Brenda K. Clancy	A	22,253,685	26,404	17,781	1,679,882
Randy A. Ramlo	A	21,707,495	571,421	18,654	1,680,182
Susan E. Voss	A	22,244,634	35,155	17,781	1,680,182

Proposal 2: Ratify the Audit Committee's appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as the Company's independent registered public accounting firm for 2017.

Number of Shares
Votes For	Votes Against	Abstentions	Broker Non-Votes
23,295,884	667,608	14,260	—

Proposal 3: Approve, on an advisory basis, the compensation of the Company’s named executive officers.

Number of Shares
Votes For	Votes Against	Abstentions	Broker Non-Votes
21,856,083	409,942	31,843	1,679,882

Proposal 4: Approve, on an advisory basis, the frequency of future shareholder votes on executive compensation.

Number of Shares
1 Year	2 Years	3 Years	Abstentions	Broker Non-Votes
17,436,320	234,673	4,551,265	75,611	1,679,882

Based on these results, the Company will continue to hold an annual advisory vote on the compensation of the named executive officers until the next required vote on the frequency of shareholder votes on the compensation of executives.

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Item 7.01. Regulation FD Disclosure.

The shareholder presentation attached as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K was used at the 2017 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. The information in this Item 7.01 and Exhibit 99.1 is being furnished and shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933.

Effective May 17, 2017, the Company announced promotions and new officer appointments for its subsidiary United Fire & Casualty Company. A copy of the Company’s press release announcing the promotions and appointments is attached as Exhibit 99.2 to this Current Report on Form 8-K. The information in this Item 8.01 and Exhibit 99.2 is being furnished and shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933.

Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits.

Exhibit 99.1	Shareholder Presentation from the Annual Meeting of Shareholders on May 17, 2017
Exhibit 99.2	Press Release of United Fire Group, Inc. dated May 19, 2017

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

		United Fire Group, Inc.
		(Registrant)
Dated:	May 19, 2017	/s/ Dawn M. Jaffray
		Dawn M. Jaffray, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit Number	Exhibit Description
99.1	Shareholder Presentation from the Annual Meeting of Shareholders on May 17, 2017
99.2	Press Release of United Fire Group, Inc. dated May 19, 2017

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EX-99.1

Exhibit 99.1

Shareholder Presentation from the Annual Meeting of Shareholders on May 17, 2017

•    Our theme is “The Business of Promises,” which is how we view the insurance business at UFG. •    In simple terms, consumers promise to pay a premium now and insurance carriers promise to pay money in the future if a loss occurs. •    These promises—and our commitment to delivering on them for our policyholders and insurance agents—carry over to you, our shareholders, to whom we also make an important promise, and that is: to make strong financial decisions for our long-term success. •    Let’s talk about our year past and our year ahead at UFG.

•    2016 marked our 70th year in business, 45th year as a publicly held company and 30th year of being listed on the Nasdaq. •    As mentioned in video, we also achieved $1 billion in property and casualty direct written premiums for the first time in our history. •    Another milestone of sorts happened on January 1 of this year, when we finally stopped publishing our daily claim reports related to Hurricane Katrina, which remains the largest loss in our history. Although Katrina hasn’t had any financial materiality for years, we’re thankful to have 99.9 percent of the claims from this storm behind us. •    That brings me to my next topic: analytics, which is something we definitely would have benefited from during Katrina.

Exhibit 99.1

•    UFG is getting analytical and taking a more sophisticated approach to gathering and analyzing our data. •    Started off 2017 with a new enterprise analytics department on board and are excited about the positive impact analytics could have on our financial performance. •    Specifically, analytics can help us make more accurate decisions related to pricing and selecting risks and settling claims.

•    Earlier this month, we released our first quarter financial results. Similar to the last half of 2016, our results were impacted by a deterioration in our core loss ratio, primarily from our commercial auto and personal auto lines of business. Also impacting our first quarter results was an increase in catastrophe losses, which were above our 10-year historical average. •    Last year, we put initiatives in place to improve profitability in our commercial auto and personal auto lines of business—including pricing increases, stricter underwriting guidelines, new analytical tools and more rigorous loss control requirements—and we expect to start seeing the results of our efforts later this year. •    We are also launching a UFG-branded Distracted Driving campaign to raise awareness about this dangerous and growing epidemic among our customers, as well as within our communities.

Exhibit 99.1

•    As you could see when walking in today, the expansion of our corporate headquarters is well underway. •    Currently, we have over 1,125 employees across the country, with 550 here in Cedar Rapids. Our workforce has grown at an average rate of 5% over the past four years—with a 23 percent increase in our headcount since the end of 2012. •    Once complete, our expansion project will add 110,000 square feet of new office space to accommodate our future growth.

•    Finally, I have some news that was even too new to make it into our video this year. •    For the fourth year in a row, UFG has made Forbes’®distinguished list of “America’s 50 Most Trustworthy Financial Companies”—recognizing us for our financial transparency. •    This year, UFG was one of only 10 companies on the list honored for displaying “consistent trustworthiness.” •    We’re very pleased to receive this recognition from Forbes, because we know how important trust is in our business and we believe this award is a true reflection of our financial integrity.

EX-99.2

Exhibit 99.2

United Fire Group, Inc. Reports on Annual Meeting of Shareholders

• Directors Elections to the Board of Directors Announced

• New Officer Elections Announced

Director Elections to the Board of Directors

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA, May 19, 2017 – United Fire Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: UFCS) (the "Company" or "UFG") announced today that four directors were elected to our board at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders on May 17, 2017.

The following individuals were each elected as Class A directors to serve three-year terms expiring in 2020:

• Scott L. Carlton, President of SGL Carbon LLC, Charlotte, North Carolina;

• Brenda K. Clancy, former Global Chief Technology Officer of AEGON N.V., headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands;

• Randy A. Ramlo, President and CEO of United Fire Group, Inc., Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and

• Susan E. Voss, Vice President and General Counsel of American Enterprise Group, Inc., Des Moines, Iowa.

In other official business, our shareholders:

• ratified the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for 2017;

• approved, on an advisory basis, the compensation of the Company's named executive officers; and

• approved, on an advisory basis, the frequency of future shareholder votes on executive compensation to occur every year.

New Officer Elections

The Company is pleased to announce the following officer elections, effective May 17, 2017:

	Tracy L. Bastian Director of Human Resources Tracy L. Bastian was elected as Vice President of United Fire & Casualty Company. Her new title is Vice President of Human Resources.
	Raymond D. Thys Midwest Region Premium Audit Manager Raymond D. Thys was elected as Assistant Vice President of United Fire & Casualty Company. His new title is Assistant Vice President & Midwest Region Premium Audit Manager.

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About United Fire Group, Inc.

Founded in 1946 as United Fire & Casualty Company, United Fire Group, Inc., through its insurance company subsidiaries, is engaged in the business of writing property and casualty insurance and life insurance and selling annuities.

Through our subsidiaries, we are licensed as a property and casualty insurer in 46 states, plus the District of Columbia, and we are represented by approximately 1,200 independent agencies. A.M. Best Company assigns a rating of “A” (Excellent) for the members of United Fire & Casualty Group. Our subsidiary, United Life Insurance Company, is licensed in 37 states, represented by approximately 1,400 independent life agencies and rated "A-" (Excellent) by A.M. Best Company.

For more information about United Fire Group, Inc. visit www.ufginsurance.com or contact: Randy Patten, AVP of Finance and Investor Relations, 319-286-2537 or IR@unitedfiregroup.com

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