UFG Insurance business insurance

Overview

UFG Insurance is the brand of United Fire Group, a publicly traded commercial insurer based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, that sells through independent agents. Its NAIC group was ranked No. 67 among U.S. business insurers by 2025 commercial lines direct premiums written, with $1.18 billion, based on NAIC market share data. It does not rank in the national top 10 in any line. Commercial package policies are its largest line at $431.9 million, followed by commercial auto, other liability and workers' compensation, which makes UFG a classic package carrier rather than a specialist.

United Fire Group owns United Fire & Casualty Company, which leads an intercompany pool with Addison Insurance Company, Lafayette Insurance Company, United Fire & Indemnity Company and United Fire Lloyds in Texas, Mercer Insurance Company and its New Jersey and Franklin affiliates, Financial Pacific Insurance Company and UFG Specialty Insurance Company. The group is also a member of Lloyd's through McIntyre Cedar Corporate Member and writes assumed reinsurance. Kevin Leidwinger, formerly president and COO of CNA Commercial, has been president and CEO since August 2022.

UFG writes core commercial lines in 32 states through about 850 independent agencies, and surety and E&S in all 50 states and D.C. It had more than 850 employees in 2025, with offices in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Jersey and Texas besides headquarters.

History

Scott McIntyre Sr. founded United Casualty Company in Cedar Rapids on January 2, 1946, to write auto and liability insurance; it became United Fire & Casualty Company in 1950 and began writing surety bonds in 1952. The company first sold stock to the public in 1971 and listed on Nasdaq in 1986.

Growth came largely through acquisitions:

• 1979: Lafayette Insurance Company of Louisiana.
• 1990: State Auto and Casualty Underwriters and Addison Farmers Insurance Company.
• 1999: American Indemnity Financial Corporation in Texas.
• 2011: Mercer Insurance Group, including Financial Pacific Insurance Company; Mercer's insurers are based in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Financial Pacific in California.
• 2014: Rebranded as UFG Insurance and began writing excess and surplus lines through UFG Specialty.
• 2018: Sold United Life Insurance Company, which it had started in 1962, to focus on property and casualty.
• 2020: Announced it would stop writing personal lines directly and placed the renewal rights; no direct personal lines exposure remained at the end of 2025.
• August 2022: Leidwinger succeeded Randy Ramlo as CEO and began what UFG calls a transformation of underwriting, distribution and reserving.
• August 2023: AM Best cut UFG to A- from A after reserve strengthening and catastrophe and surety losses (see below).

UFG marked its 80th year in business in 2026.

Business insurance products

Small business. A business owner's policy for small retail, service, contractor and building-owner classes, from bakeries without cooking and gift shops to tile contractors and lessor's risk office buildings. Agents can hand smaller BOP accounts to the in-house UFG Service Center, staffed by licensed underwriters, for servicing. See What is a business owner's policy (BOP)?.

Middle market. Commercial property, general liability, commercial auto, umbrella, inland marine, cyber and workers' compensation, packaged for construction, manufacturing, real estate and wholesale distribution accounts. Workers' comp can be billed on a pay-as-you-go basis through SmartPay Solutions, which ties premium to actual payroll and reduces audit surprises.

Surety. Contract and commercial bonds, written since 1952 and sold through about 160 surety agencies nationwide. See surety bonds explained: how they differ from insurance.

UFG Specialty (E&S). Excess liability, property and builders risk for accounts outside the standard market, written on admitted and non-admitted paper only through wholesale brokers.

Programs and reinsurance. UFG partners with managing general agents for niche programs including marine specialty, professional liability and earthquake, and assumes treaty reinsurance and Lloyd's syndicate business.

Who it insures

UFG's industry pages name construction trades (from carpentry, concrete and electrical to roofing, plumbing and HVAC, excavating and water well drilling), Manufacturer insurance (metal, machinery, auto components, plastics, breweries, signs), real estate owners and REITs, Wholesaler and distributor insurance, Architect and engineer insurance, and heavy equipment dealers. Small businesses run from retail shops to light contractors. Its 10-K describes the core customer as a small or middle-market business in construction, services, retail, financial or manufacturing.

The limit is geography for standard lines: 32 states. Surety and E&S go nationwide. UFG left personal lines entirely, so a business owner cannot bundle home and auto with it.

How to buy

Buy through an independent agent; use "Find an agent" on the website. UFG does not sell direct or quote online to the public, and E&S business comes only through wholesalers. Agents work with underwriters through UFG's agent portal and its small business appetite guide.

Policyholders have an online login and a pay-my-bill page, can mail payments to P.O. Box 73909, Cedar Rapids, IA 52407-3909, and can reach billing at 800-637-6309. Eligible policyholders get free risk control services, including risk assessments, thermal imaging and satellite imagery for property exposures, sprinkler system reviews, fleet and driver programs, and construction defect and builders risk assessments.

Claims

Report a claim 24 hours a day at 800-343-9131, by email to [email protected], by fax to 888-514-9190, through the online claim form, or through your agent. Pollution claims go immediately to XL Catlin at 800-432-2481, 24/7. Injured workers can call CorVel's 24/7 nurse triage line, which can connect them to a telehealth physician.

UFG uses field claim specialists and general adjusters for moderate and severe first-party losses, a major case unit for complex exposures and construction defect claims, and claims advocacy partners as a single point of contact.

Financial strength and ratings

AM Best affirmed the A- (Excellent) Financial Strength Rating of UFG's property-casualty companies (United Fire & Casualty Group) on August 26, 2025, with a stable outlook, assessing the balance sheet as very strong and operating performance as marginal. AM Best had downgraded the group from A to A- in August 2023, citing $53.0 million of reserve strengthening across several casualty lines, elevated catastrophe losses and a few large surety losses. In December 2019, AM Best had affirmed UFG's A for the 26th consecutive year. UFG's 10-K notes that many agents and policyholders require an A- or better.

Results have since improved. In 2025 UFG reported net written premium of $1.35 billion (up 9%), net income of $118.2 million, a 94.8% combined ratio (from 99.2% in 2024) and a 13.7% return on equity. In the second quarter of 2026 it reported record net income of $33.4 million and a 95.3% combined ratio.

Strengths and weaknesses

UFG is an 80-year-old agency carrier that has been rebuilding its underwriting and its results since 2022. The numbers improved through mid-2026, but its rating was still a notch below where it stood before 2023.

• Strengths: One carrier for package, auto, comp, umbrella and bonds, sold only through independent agents. Surety and E&S available in all 50 states. Strong 2025 results: 94.8% combined ratio, record premium and the best return on equity in a decade or more. Pay-as-you-go comp and an in-house small business service center.
• Weaknesses: AM Best rates it A-, down from A in 2023, and still called operating performance marginal in 2025; that is the floor some contracts and lenders accept. Standard commercial lines are offered in only 32 states. It exited personal lines in 2020, so it cannot package a business owner's home and auto.

How to contact UFG Insurance