UNITED FIRE GROUP INC

OVERVIEW

United Fire Group, Inc. ("UFG", "United Fire", the "Registrant", the "Company", "we", "us", or "our") and its consolidated subsidiaries and affiliates are engaged in the business of writing property and casualty insurance through a network of independent agencies. Our insurance company subsidiaries are currently licensed as property and casualty insurers in 50 states, plus the District of Columbia. United Fire & Casualty Company was incorporated in Iowa in January 1946. Our principal executive office is located at 118 Second Avenue SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401; telephone: 319-399-5700.

United Fire Group, Inc. owns 100 percent of one subsidiary, United Fire & Casualty Company. United Fire & Casualty Company owns 100 percent of eight subsidiaries: (1) Addison Insurance Company; (2) Lafayette Insurance Company; (3) United Fire & Indemnity Company; (4) Mercer Insurance Company; (5) Financial Pacific Insurance Company; (6) UFG Specialty Insurance Company; (7) United Real Estate Holdings LLC and (8) McIntyre Cedar UK Limited. Mercer Insurance Company owns 100 percent of two subsidiaries: (1) Franklin Insurance Company; and (2) Mercer Insurance Company of New Jersey, Inc. United Fire Lloyds, which is organized as a Texas Lloyds plan, is an affiliate of United Fire & Indemnity Company. McIntyre Cedar UK Limited owns 100 percent of McIntyre Cedar Corporate Member LLP.

All of our property and casualty insurance subsidiaries and affiliates belong to an intercompany reinsurance pooling arrangement. Pooling arrangements permit the participating companies to rely on the capacity of the entire pool's capital and surplus, rather than being limited to policy exposures of a size commensurate with each participant's own surplus level. Under such arrangements, the members share substantially all of the insurance business that is written and allocate the combined premiums, losses and expenses based on percentages defined in the arrangement.

PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE BUSINESS

Products and Operations

Our business is comprised primarily of commercial lines property and casualty insurance, including surety bonds. In 2020, the Company announced its intent to withdraw as a direct writer of personal lines insurance with the last exposures related to this business expected to lapse by 2025. As of December 31, 2023, minimal exposure from the direct personal lines of business remains.

Our core commercial products support a wide variety of customers including small business owners and middle market businesses operating in industries such as construction, services, retail trade, financial and manufacturing, along with contract surety and commercial surety bonds offered through approximately 1,000 independent property and casualty agencies. We also provide specialty and surplus lines coverage written exclusively through wholesale brokers on an admitted and non-admitted basis. Additionally, the Company offers reinsurance coverage for property and casualty insurance through traditional treaty reinsurance channels. The Company assumes premium in Lloyd's of London syndicates through a Funds at Lloyd's subsidiary. The reinsurance operation supports primarily commercial lines of business but also assumes risk in professional, financial and personal lines of insurance. We also partner with managing general agents ("MGAs") to offer delegated underwriting programs providing niche products including marine specialty, professional liability and earthquake coverages. For a more detailed discussion of our products, refer to the "Business Overview" section in Part II, Item 7, "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations".

Our property and casualty insurance business is reported as one business segment. Underwriting, sales and distribution are supported across our key products by regional underwriters and marketing representatives executing on overall strategy and underwriting governance. These areas are supported by a business enablement function as well as claims, actuarial and business analytics and risk control enabling functions. Our business enablement function provides efficient, centralized underwriting operations, premium processing, underwriting governance and product management. In addition to servicing policyholders with optimized claim processing and payment capabilities, the claims function's specialized approach supports underwriting, risk control and marketing in writing and retaining quality business. Actuarial and business analytics provide transparency and insight to business decisions through actuarial pricing, actuarial reserving, predictive modeling, and other business analytics. Other enabling functions that support our business include technology, finance, human capital, legal and governance functions.

Competition

The property and casualty insurance industry is highly competitive. We compete with numerous property and casualty insurance companies in the regional and national market, many of which are substantially larger and have considerably greater financial and other resources. Except for regulatory considerations, there are limited barriers to entry into the insurance industry. Our competitors may be domestic or foreign, as well as licensed or unlicensed. The exact number of competitors within the industry is not known. Insurers compete on the basis of reliability, financial strength and stability, ratings, underwriting consistency, service, business ethics, price, performance, capacity, policy terms and coverage conditions.

In addition, because our products are marketed exclusively through independent insurance agencies, most of which represent more than one company, we face competition within each agency and competition to retain qualified independent agents. Our competitors include companies that market their products through agents, as well as companies that sell insurance directly to their customers.

Because we rely solely on independent agencies, we offer a competitive commissions program and a rewarding profit-sharing plan as incentives for agents to place high-quality property and casualty insurance business with us. We tier our agents to objectively recognize our top performers including additional compensation in our profit-sharing plan. We offer incentive trips and promotions to build UFG loyalty. Property and casualty insurance agencies are expected to receive profit-sharing payments of $23.9 million in 2024, based on profitable business produced by the agencies in 2023.

Our competitive advantages include our commitments to:

•Strong agency relationships —

◦Highly-experienced personnel focused on strong service-oriented relationships.

◦A team of regional managers is responsible for deepening the agency relationships needed to drive profitable growth and the field execution of underwriting strategies for the core commercial business.

•Exceptional service — Our agents and policyholders always have the option to speak with a real person.

•Fair and prompt claims handling — We view claims handling experiences as an opportunity to demonstrate our exemplary customer service to our policyholders.

•Specialized underwriting expertise — We empower our underwriters with the knowledge and tools needed to make good decisions for the Company.

•Superior loss control services — Our loss control representatives make multiple visits to policyholder businesses and job sites each year to ensure safety and make loss prevention recommendations.

•Effective and efficient use of technology — We use technology to provide enhanced service to our agents and policyholders, not to replace our personal relationships, but to reinforce them.

REINSURANCE

Incorporated by reference from Note 4 "Reinsurance" contained in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data."

RESERVES

Incorporated by reference from the "Critical Accounting Policies" section in Part II, Item 7, "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and Note 5 "Reserves for Losses and Loss Settlement Expenses" contained in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data."

INVESTMENTS

Incorporated by reference from Part II, Item 7, "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," under the headings "Investments," "Market Risk" and "Critical Accounting Policies," Note 1 "Summary of Significant Accounting Policies" under the heading "Investments," Note 2 "Summary of Investments," and Note 3 "Fair Value of Financial Instruments," contained in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data."

COMPLIANCE WITH GOVERNMENT REGULATION

The insurance industry is subject to comprehensive and detailed regulation and supervision. Each jurisdiction in which we operate has established supervisory agencies with broad administrative powers. While we are not aware of any currently proposed or recently enacted state or federal regulation that would have a material impact on our operations, we cannot predict the effect that future regulatory changes might have on us.

State Regulation

We are subject to extensive regulation, primarily at the state level. The method, extent and substance of such regulation varies by state, but generally has its source in National Association of Insurance Commissioners ("NAIC") model laws and regulations that establish standards and requirements for conducting the business of insurance and that delegate regulatory authority to a state regulatory agency. Moreover, the NAIC Accreditation Program requires state regulatory agencies to meet baseline standards of solvency regulation, particularly with respect to regulation of multi-state insurers. In general, such regulation is intended for the protection of those who purchase or use our insurance products, and not our shareholders. These rules have a substantial effect on our business and relate to a wide variety of matters including: insurance company licensing and examination; the licensing of insurance agents and adjusters; price setting or premium rates; trade practices; approval of policy forms; claims practices; restrictions on transactions between our subsidiaries and their affiliates, including the payment of dividends; investments; underwriting standards; advertising and marketing practices; capital adequacy; and the collection, remittance and reporting of certain taxes, licenses and fees.

The state laws and regulations that have the most significant effect on our insurance operations and financial reporting are discussed below.

Insurance Holding Company Regulation

We are regulated as an insurance holding company system in the states of domicile of our property and casualty insurance companies: Iowa (United Fire & Casualty Company, UFG Specialty Insurance Company and Addison Insurance Company), California (Financial Pacific Insurance Company), Louisiana (Lafayette Insurance Company), New Jersey (Mercer Insurance Company of New Jersey, Inc.), Pennsylvania (Mercer Insurance Company and Franklin Insurance Company) and Texas (United Fire & Indemnity Company and its affiliate, United Fire Lloyds, which is organized as a Texas Lloyds plan). These regulations require that we annually furnish financial and other information about the operations of the individual companies within our holding company system. Generally, the insurance laws of these states provide that notice to the state insurance commissioner is required before finalizing any transaction affecting the ownership or control of an insurer and before finalizing certain material transactions between an insurer and any person or entity within its holding company system. In addition, some of those transactions cannot be finalized without the commissioner's prior approval.

Most states have now adopted the version of the Model Insurance Holding Company System Regulation Act and Regulation as amended by the NAIC in December 2010 (the "Amended Model Act") to introduce the concept of "enterprise risk" within an insurance company holding system. Enterprise risk is defined as any activity, circumstance, event or series of events involving one or more affiliates of an insurer that, if not remedied promptly, is likely to have a material adverse effect upon the financial condition or the liquidity of the insurer or its insurance holding company system as a whole. The Amended Model Act imposes more extensive informational requirements on us, including requiring us to prepare an annual enterprise risk report that identifies the material risks within our insurance company holding system that could pose enterprise risk to our licensed insurers.

Restrictions on Shareholder Dividends

As an insurance holding company with no independent operations or source of revenue, our capacity to pay dividends to our shareholders is based on the ability of our insurance company subsidiaries to pay dividends to us. The ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends to us is regulated by the laws of their state of domicile. Under these laws, insurance companies must provide advance informational notice to the domicile state insurance regulatory authority prior to payment of any dividend or distribution to its shareholders. Prior approval from the state insurance regulatory authority must be obtained before payment of an "extraordinary dividend" as defined under the state's insurance code. The amount of ordinary dividends that may be paid to us is subject to certain limitations, the amounts of which change each year. In all cases, we may pay dividends only from our earned surplus. Refer to Part II, Item 5, "Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities" under the heading "Dividends" and Note 6 "Statutory Reporting, Capital Requirements and Dividends and Retained Earnings Restrictions," contained in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data" for additional information about the dividends we paid during 2023.

Price Regulation

Nearly all states have insurance laws requiring us to file rate schedules, policy or coverage forms, and other information with the state's regulatory authority. In certain states, rate schedules, policy forms, or both, must be approved prior to use. While insurance laws vary from state to state, their objectives are generally the same: an insurance rate cannot be excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory. The speed with which we can change our rates in response to competition or in response to increasing costs depends, in part, on the willingness of state regulators to allow adequate rates for the business we write.

Investment Regulation

We are subject to various state regulations requiring investment portfolio diversification and limiting the concentration of investments we may maintain in certain asset categories. Failure to comply with these regulations leads to the treatment of nonconforming investments as non-admitted assets for purposes of measuring statutory surplus. Further, in some instances, state regulations require us to sell certain nonconforming investments.

Exiting Geographic Markets; Canceling and Non-renewing Policies

Most states regulate our ability to exit a market. For example, states limit, to varying degrees, our ability to cancel and non-renew insurance policies. Some states prohibit us from withdrawing one or more types of insurance business from the state, except upon prior regulatory approval. Regulations that limit policy cancellation and non-renewal may restrict our ability to exit unprofitable markets.

Insurance Guaranty Associations

Each state has insurance guaranty association laws. Membership in a state's insurance guaranty association is generally mandatory for insurers wishing to do business in that state. Under these laws, associations may assess their members for certain obligations that insolvent insurance companies have incurred with regard to their policyholders and claimants.

Typically, states assess each solvent association member with an amount related to that member's proportionate share of business written by all association members within the state. Most state guaranty associations allow solvent insurers to recoup the assessments they are charged through future rate increases, surcharges or premium tax credits. However, there is no assurance that we will ultimately recover these assessments. We cannot predict the amount and timing of any future assessments or refunds under these laws.

Shared Market and Joint Underwriting Plans

State insurance regulations often require insurers to participate in assigned risk plans, reinsurance facilities and joint underwriting associations. These are mechanisms that generally provide applicants with various types of basic insurance coverage that may not otherwise be available to them through voluntary markets. Such mechanisms are most commonly instituted for automobile and workers' compensation insurance, but many states also mandate participation in Fair Access to Insurance Requirements Plans or Windstorm Plans, which provide basic property coverage. Participation is based upon the amount of a company's voluntary market share in a particular state for the classes of insurance involved. Policies written through these mechanisms may require different underwriting standards and may pose greater risk than those written through our voluntary application process.

Statutory Accounting Principles

For public reporting, insurance companies prepare financial statements in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"). However, state laws require us to calculate and report certain data according to statutory accounting principles as defined in the NAIC Accounting Practices and Procedures Manual. While not a substitute for any GAAP measure of performance, statutory data frequently is used by industry analysts and other recognized reporting sources to facilitate comparisons of the performance of insurance companies.

Insurance Reserves

State insurance laws require that insurance companies analyze the adequacy of their reserves annually. Our appointed actuaries must submit an opinion that our statutory reserves are adequate to meet policy claims-paying obligations and related expenses.

Financial Solvency Ratios

The NAIC annually calculates 13 financial ratios to assist state insurance regulators in monitoring the financial condition of insurance companies. A "usual range" of results for each of these ratios is used by insurance regulators as a benchmark. Departure from the usual range on four or more of the ratios could lead to inquiries from individual state insurance departments as to certain aspects of a company's business. In addition to the financial ratios, states also require us to calculate a minimum capital requirement for each of our insurance companies based on individual company insurance risk factors. These "risk-based capital" results are used by state insurance regulators to identify companies that require regulatory attention or the initiation of regulatory action. At December 31, 2023, all of our insurance companies had capital in excess of the required levels.

Federal Regulation

Although the federal government and its regulatory agencies generally do not directly regulate the business of insurance, federal initiatives and legislation often have an impact on our business. These initiatives and legislation include tort reform proposals, proposals addressing natural catastrophe exposures, terrorism risk mechanisms, federal financial services reforms, various tax proposals affecting insurance companies, and possible regulatory limitations, impositions and restrictions arising from the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act ("Dodd-Frank"), and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Various legislative and regulatory efforts to reform the tort liability system have impacted and will continue to impact our industry. Although there has been some tort reform with positive impact to the insurance industry, new causes of action and theories of damages continue to be proposed in state court actions or by federal or state legislatures that continue to expand liability for insurers and their policyholders. For example, some state legislatures have from time-to-time considered legislation addressing direct actions against insurers related to bad faith claims. As a result of this unpredictability in the law, insurance underwriting is expected to continue to be difficult in commercial lines, professional liability and other specialty coverages.

Dodd-Frank expanded the federal presence in insurance oversight and may increase regulatory requirements that are applicable to us. Dodd-Frank's requirements include streamlining the state-based regulation of reinsurance and non-admitted insurance (property or casualty insurance placed with insurers that are eligible to accept insurance, but are not licensed to write insurance in a particular state). Dodd-Frank also established the Federal Insurance Office within the U.S. Department of the Treasury that is authorized to, among other things, gather data and information to monitor aspects of the insurance industry, identify issues in the regulation of insurers about insurance matters, and preempt state insurance measures under certain circumstances.

Dodd-Frank also contains a number of provisions related to corporate governance and disclosure matters. In response to Dodd-Frank, the SEC has adopted or proposed rules regarding director independence, director and officer hedging activities, executive compensation clawback policies, compensation advisor independence, pay versus performance disclosures, internal pay equity disclosures, and shareholder proxy access. We continue to monitor developments under Dodd-Frank and their impact on us, insurers of similar size and the insurance industry as a whole.

FINANCIAL STRENGTH AND ISSUER CREDIT RATING

Our financial strength is regularly reviewed by an independent rating agency that assigns a rating based upon criteria such as results of operations, capital resources and minimum policyholders' surplus requirements. An insurer's financial strength rating is one of the primary factors evaluated by those in the market to purchase insurance. A poor rating indicates that there is an increased likelihood that the insurer could become insolvent and therefore not able to fulfill its obligations under the insurance policies it issues. This rating can also affect an insurer's level of premium writings, the lines of business it can write and, for insurers like us that are also public registrants, the market value of its securities.

Our property and casualty subsidiaries (collectively known as "United Fire & Casualty Group") are rated by A.M. Best Company, Inc. ("A.M. Best") on a group basis. On August 18, 2023, the Company received a credit rating downgrade from A.M. Best. The Financial Strength Rating (FSR) was downgraded to A- (Excellent) from A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) was downgraded to "a-" (Excellent) from "a" (Excellent) of the United Fire & Casualty Group. Concurrently, A.M. Best has downgraded the Long-Term ICR to "bbb-" (Good) from "bbb" (Good) of UFG. The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) has been revised to stable from negative. According to A.M. Best, companies rated "A-" have "an excellent ability to meet their ongoing obligations to policyholders." The Company has not experienced material impacts to its business or financial results as a result of the downgrade, but is subject to heightened risks associated with any further potential downgrades. Please see Part I, Item 1A. "Risk Factors" of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information.

HUMAN CAPITAL RESOURCES

Organization core values

Working together as one, we are always striving to deliver on our promises of employee success, policyholder protection, agent opportunity, shareholder value and community support. That is our mission. Its unified ideology guides every aspect of the way we conduct business at UFG.

Strategy for success

Our "One UFG: Boldly Forward" strategic plan unites our people in purpose and drives our mission of superior operational and financial performance. It is centered on five strategic pillars of long-term profitability, diversified growth, people development, continuous innovation and expense management. These pillars provide us with a strong foundation of success as we work together to deliver on our promises to all UFG stakeholders.

Diversity Equity and Inclusion

We are committed to fostering, cultivating and preserving a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our purpose is to invest in people to build enduring relationships with those we serve. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are core to this purpose and are an integral part of our values and culture.

We are committed to building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture that encourages, supports, and celebrates the distinct voices of our people. We invite our people to bring their authentic whole self to work, be inspired to form lasting relationships and to do their best each day, because we are all different, yet equal, humans. Our commitment extends into every facet of who we are:

a. We recognize that our people are our most valuable asset. To excel, we must each feel that we belong to a welcoming environment that values both our differences and the collective sum of our individuality, experiences, knowledge, creativity, innovation, self-expression, unique capabilities, talents, beliefs and points of view.

b. We look to positively impact the communities where we live and work and partner with clients, vendors, and suppliers who share in our beliefs and commit to equity through building awareness, advocacy, and allyship.

c. Succeeding as a national enterprise means embracing differences in an informed, sensitive, and welcoming manner so that we continue providing our people, clients, vendors and suppliers with the best of our company, because their success is our success.

We embrace and encourage our employees' differences in age, color, disability, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, language, national origin, physical and mental ability, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, veteran status, and other ways that make our employees unique.

Our commitment is reinforced through initiatives centered on our people, partners, and philanthropy, creating an inclusive work environment built on the premise of a strong sense of belonging that encourages:

a. Respectful communication and cooperation between all employees.

b. Teamwork and participation that empowers and advances all groups and perspectives.

c. Work-life balance to accommodate employees' varying needs.

d. Giving back to the communities we serve to advance change and promote greater understanding and respect for diversity.

At UFG, inclusive conduct is centered on:

a. Treating others with dignity and respect at all times, because how we act is as important as what we accomplish.

b. Meeting the evolving needs of our expansive risk profile though investment in our talent through training and recruiting.

c. Striving to do what is right - even when no one is looking.

d. Continuously listening to our people, agents, partners, vendors, and community to effectuate our goals.

e. Deepening our sensitivity and understanding towards others, so we can connect in a meaningful way.

f. Ensuring that employees exhibit conduct that reflects inclusion during work, at work functions on or off the work site, and at all other company-sponsored and company-participating events. Inclusive conduct applies to all in-office, hybrid, remote and field employees, regardless of the location of their physical workplace.

It is through our shared awareness and commitment to these principles that we foster a culture of belonging, where everyone is welcome, respected and appreciated. Championing diversity, equity, and inclusion is not just something we do, it is the core of who we are.

• The 2023 voluntary turnover rate includes employees who accepted the Company's early retirement plan offering.

Fulfilling careers; health, safety and wellness; compensation and benefits; talent development

Employee success is part of UFG's mission, therefore, health, wellness and education are core cultural values. Our investment in employee health and well-being is built on our foundation of helping people enhance their lives. UFG is dedicated to proactively promoting work-life balance for all employees that respects a variety of values and lifestyles. Employees are encouraged to meet with their managers to develop a flexible work schedule that suits their needs outside of work.

Our commitment to advancing the mental and physical health of our people includes:

•U Fit Wellness Center located on-site: in our Cedar Rapids home office and our Houston and Denver regional offices. We are proud to have built our own state-of-the-art fitness center in Cedar Rapids, and we have a full-time Manager of Corporate Wellness on staff. The manager provides one-on-one coaching, customized wellness plans and group fitness and wellness classes for all skill levels. She also provides change management consulting to business units and/or individual employees.

•Empowering employees to make healthy decisions:

◦Fitness classes – We offer a variety of both in-person group classes as well as virtual classes to cater to our hybrid workforce. We partner with Wellbeats Virtual Fitness to offer tailored virtual fitness to all employees and their families. To mesh our passion for community with wellness, we have also held multiple physical activity fundraisers.

◦Weekly wellness webinars – These webinars are intended to educate employees on everything from nutrition best practices to mental and emotional well-being and mindfulness. Subject matter experts are oftentimes brought in to present on various topics.

◦Enterprise-wide resiliency program – Our Manager of Corporate Wellness offers a monthly resiliency course, year-round. This course focuses on building upon life skills to help employees become more emotionally resilient in their professional and personal lives. In addition, we established a mental wellness employee resource group and held senior leadership training on mental wellness and suicide prevention.

◦A wellness reward system – Our employees have the option to enroll in our third-party wellness management program designed to cultivate good lifestyle habits. This program also provides monetary incentives based on physical activity and premium credits on health insurance when employees reach certain thresholds.

◦Access to a health advocate program where we are partnering with a service to help employees navigate the healthcare system and address personal and work-related issues at no cost to them.

◦A well-being and weight management program - Digital platform taught by renowned experts that will assist with a personalized approach for weight loss results together with coaching.

Sustainability

As a property and casualty insurer, UFG is acutely aware of the growing risks to business, insureds and communities stemming from sustainability issues. Sustainability is top of mind for our Management Team and Board of Directors, and as a result we have made important updates to our environmental, social and governance ("ESG") structure. Various Board committees maintain oversight of relevant ESG initiatives:

a. The Nominating and Governance Committee oversees our ESG policies and practices, generally, and reviews our voluntary ESG disclosures, goals and related sustainability metrics. Additionally, the Nominating and Governance Committee is responsible for oversight of business ethics.

b. The Audit Committee, in its oversight of financial risk exposures, internal controls and financial reporting, reviews policies, processes and internal controls for collecting ESG data to ensure disclosures containing ESG data are accurate, reliable and consistent. Additionally, the Audit Committee has oversight of the whistleblower program.

c. The Compensation and Human Capital Committee oversees our human capital management and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, as well as corporate culture matters. Additionally, the Compensation and Human Capital Committee reviews and approves our Human and Labor Rights Policy.

d. The Investment Committee reviews risks related to our investment portfolio, including oversight of any responsible investment strategies and associated risks (in consultation with the Risk Management

Committee). Additionally, the Investment Committee reviews and approves our ESG Investment Policy (a component of the Company's Investment Policy Statement) and monitors investment activity to ensure investments are made consistent with the ESG Investment Policy.

e. The Risk Management Committee reviews and evaluates the Company's identification, assessment and management of risks associated with ESG matters, including but not limited to climate change, cybersecurity, and ESG-related emerging risks. It also coordinates with other committees of the Board of Directors on ESG risks specific to such committee's area of oversight.

Together with Board oversight, UFG established our ESG Management Committee, a cross-functional team of leaders who are dedicated to actively leading UFG's sustainability, corporate social responsibility, health and safety and human capital efforts, as well as cultivating an ESG-focused culture. The ESG Management Committee meets regularly and provides routine updates to the Board's Nominating and Governance Committee. Our Chief Risk Officer, supported by our Chief Legal Officer and Assistant Vice President ("AVP") of Workplace Environment, is responsible for developing and deepening UFG's understanding of climate change as an enterprise-level risk and informing the Board how the related risks are monitored and mitigated.

In 2023, UFG undertook a comprehensive effort to improve sustainability and improve transparency in our sustainability reporting. We established targets for greenhouse gas ("GHG") emissions reduction, and reported our progress towards these targets, as well as our aggregated energy and wastewater discharge. Our full sustainability report can be found on our website at: www.ufginsurance.com. We also developed a third party code of conduct that, among other things, details UFG's right to request metrics on suppliers' environmental efforts. We view climate change as a transversal risk impacting and elevating other critical enterprise risks, and we have begun developing strategies to address and build resiliency to these risks. While this disclosure is a first step, UFG will continue to enhance and act on our understanding of the risks and opportunities a changing climate presents to our business.

UFG was appointed the insurance provider for members of the Iowa Land Improvement Contractors Association ("LICA") insurance program. This organization, which is known for its mission of professional conservation of soil and water, as well as best practices in the construction and protection of cities, farms, ranches and rural areas where we live and work, has worked with UFG to develop a program that is customized to this targeted group of insureds. Our program, in partnership with Prins Insurance, is specifically designed for LICA contractors and includes professional risk control services, safety group dividends based on the performance of the group, specialty pricing, and the broadened coverages needed when working to conserve our soil and water.

In addition to establishing a UFG Green Team dedicated to sustainability practices, the facilities team is active in reducing our environmental footprint. Here are a few of our practices intended to lesson our impact on the environment:

•Responsible Scaling of Corporate Real Estate

We continue to evaluate our space needs and in support of on-going flexible working arrangements. We were able to consolidate our Cedar Rapids home office space, subleasing a portion of our Security building. Additionally, we decommissioned our Los Angeles office building site, and right-sized our Sacramento and Phoenix offices. From the beginning of 2022 through the end of 2023, we successfully decreased our real estate footprint by over 28%.

•Pursuit of WELL Building Certification

The WELL Building Standard, a leading global framework focuses exclusively on the ways that buildings and organizations can improve employee comfort, drive better choices, and enhance health and well-being. Organizations are given three years to complete all performance testing and documentation. In 2023, we started the process and achieved a platinum WELL V2 Building designation. We are one of only a handful of organizations in the US to reach this level of achievement, illustrating our dedication to our employees' well-being.

•Commitment to Community Service

In 2023, our employees dedicated a total of 3,055 hours to their communities, an increase of 6% from 2022. We provided a benefit of 16 hours of paid time off to each employee to participate in community service activities. In 2023, employees benefited from 1,676 hours of paid time off for community service.

•Net Zero Waste Initiative

UFG continued to embrace the opportunity for environmental stewardship in 2023 with excellent results from the net zero waste program that was initiated in 2022. We successfully diverted 15 tons of waste from the landfill, composted nearly five tons of materials, and saved on janitorial costs by implementing UFGreen stations and encouraging our employees to separate their own compost and recycling in 2023. In 2024, UFG is striving to receive the TRUE certification (Total Resource Use and Efficiency) in support of zero waste, reduction of carbon footprint, and supporting public health.

•GHG Emission Targets and Sustainability Reporting

We recently set initial GHG emission targets. In 2024, we will be implementing a sustainability platform that will allow us to measure, manage, and report out on targeted sustainability efforts. Sustainability reporting and GHG emission targets are disclosed to our employees, shareholders, and insureds on our public facing website www.ufginsurance.com.

COMPANY WEBSITE AND AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION

We provide free and timely access to all our reports filed with the SEC in the Investor Relations section of our website at www.ufginsurance.com. Under the "Investors" tab, select "Financial Documents" and then, select "SEC Filings" to view the list of our SEC filings, which includes annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, proxy statements, beneficial ownership reports on Forms 3, 4 and 5 and amendments to reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a), 15(d) or 16(a) of the Exchange Act. Such reports are made available as soon as reasonably practicable after they are filed with or furnished to the SEC. They are also available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.

Our Code of Ethics and Business Conduct is also available at www.ufginsurance.com in the Investor Relations section. To view it, under the "Investors" tab, select "Overview," then "Governance Documents" and then "Code of Ethics and Business Conduct."

Free paper copies of any materials that we file with or furnish to the SEC can also be obtained by writing to Investor Relations, United Fire Group, Inc., 118 Second Avenue SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401.

INFORMATION ABOUT OUR EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

The following table sets forth information concerning the following executive officers:

A brief description of the business experience of these officers follows:

Kevin J. Leidwinger became our President and Chief Executive Officer in August 2022. Prior to joining UFG, Mr. Leidwinger served as President and Chief Operating Officer at CNA Commercial from 2015 - 2022. Prior to joining CNA Commercial in 2015, he was global casualty manager for Chubb Commercial Insurance, and was responsible for the company's worldwide portfolio of general liability, workers' compensation, excess umbrella, auto errors and omissions, and environmental business.

Eric J. Martin became Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in February 2023, after joining UFG as our Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in April 2022. Prior to joining UFG, he served as Head of Enterprise Transformation at Transamerica Corporation (an insurance company), beginning in 2020. Mr. Martin also held numerous other positions at Transamerica including: Chief Operating Officer, Individual Solutions and Retail Affiliates (2019-2020); Senior Vice President, Controller and Head of Finance (2016-2019) and various other roles dating back to 2001.

Julie A. Stephenson joined UFG as our Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer effective as of the end of January 2023. Ms. Stephenson has over 25 years of experience in the insurance industry, most recently serving as global head of casualty reinsurance at Swiss Re. Prior to joining Swiss Re in 2021, she held the positions of Chief Operating Officer-Middle Market (2019-2021) and Commercial Chief Underwriting Officer (2015-2019) at CNA Insurance and Global Liability Manager for Chubb Insurance.

Jeremy J. Bahl became Vice President, Field Operations in December 2023. Mr. Bahl joined UFG as an accountant in 2000. He transferred to the underwriting department of the Great Lakes region in 2002 and served as an Underwriting Supervisor from 2010 to 2014. In 2014, he became Underwriting Supervisor of the Denver region. In 2016, he was named Vice President and Branch Manager of our Denver region and assumed oversight of the Sacramento region in 2018. From 2020 through 2023, Mr. Bahl served as Vice President and Chief Underwriting Officer. Mr. Bahl has the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) professional designation.

Robert F. Cataldo became our Vice President and Chief Investment and Strategy Officer of UFG in 2020, serving the Company since 2011. Mr. Cataldo was Vice President and Strategy Officer for UFG from 2018 to 2020. From 2015 to 2018, he served as AVP & Senior Portfolio Manager. Mr. Cataldo joined UFG as a Senior Portfolio Manager in 2011. On February 1, 2024, we filed a Form 8-K with the SEC to disclose Mr. Cataldo's anticipated departure from UFG, effective no later than May 24, 2024, due to UFG's strategic decision to outsource its investment management function.

Sarah E. Madsen became our Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, and Corporate Secretary in April 2022. Ms. Madsen previously served as Assistant General Counsel from 2018 - 2022. Prior to joining UFG, she served as corporate counsel for a national insurance and financial strategies firm, counsel for a global non-profit and was a partner at a St. Paul, MN-based law firm, where she practiced financial services, insurance, and commercial litigation. Ms. Madsen holds a CPCU designation.

Corey L. Ruehle became our Vice President and Chief Claims Officer in 2019. He joined UFG as a Commercial Underwriter in 2001. Between 2001 and 2019 he served in various capacities, including as Underwriting Supervisor, Underwriting Manager and Branch Manager of the Midwest region. Mr. Ruehle has the Associate in Commercial Underwriting (AU) and Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) professional designations.

Micah G. Woolstenhulme serves as Vice President and Chief Risk Officer. Mr. Woolstenhulme joined UFG in 2020 to lead the enterprise risk management activities. Prior to joining UFG, he served as Head of Risk and Economic Advisory at JLT Re (a reinsurance broker) from 2016-2020 and led the ERM Services group at Guy Carpenter (a global risk and reinsurance specialist company). He also served Swiss Re, Samsung, and Safeco in various roles including financial modeling, product development and corporate strategy. Mr. Woolstenhulme is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society.

Kelly A. Walsh joined UFG as our Vice President and Chief Underwriting Officer in December 2023. Ms. Walsh has over two decades of insurance industry experience. Prior to joining UFG, Ms. Walsh held a variety of leadership positions at CNA Insurance, serving as Vice President for branch services (2016-2018), Senior Vice President for general liability & umbrella, middle market (2018-2023) and Senior Vice President and global product leader for general liability in 2023 before joining UFG.

Lindsay E. Lovvorn became our Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer in February 2024. Ms. Lovvorn joined UFG as our Vice President of Business Enablement in February 2023. Prior to joining UFG, she served as the Senior Director of Industry and Product Strategy at Oracle (2007-2012). Ms. Lovvorn also served at CNA Insurance as Assistant Vice President and business lead (2012-2017) and Vice President of Product and Process Systems (2017-2022).