As one of our valued employees, you can take advantage of a wide array of benefits offered by our company, including medical and dental insurance; life and disability insurance; 401(k) and pension plans; paid holidays and vacation; training and education assistance and more. You will also find the added benefit of working for a company that feels like a family — social activities, volunteer opportunities, wellness events and more. All employee benefits are reviewed annually to be sure that United Fire Group® is offering excellent and competitive benefits to our employees. 

MEDICAL INSURANCE
For our medical insurance, we offer a $500 deductible plan and a $1,000 deductible plan, as well as a $2,500 high deductible health plan with the option to set up a health savings account. Coverage is available for the employee only, employee and spouse, employee and child/children or family. Premium costs are paid by the employee with the help of Flexible Credits, which are dollar credits we provide above the base salary to help pay for benefits. If all credits are not used, they will be added to an employee's wages as taxable income.

Our medical insurance includes coverage for:

• Prescription Drugs: Employees pay $10 for covered generic drugs, $25 for covered brand-preferred drugs and $40 for covered brand non-preferred drugs. A $50 deductible per person and $150 deductible per family applies. For specialty drugs, you pay 10 percent until you have paid a coinsurance maximum of $750 per year, then the plan pays 100 percent. The high deductible health plan pays 100 percent of covered prescription drug expenses after the deductible has been met ($2,500 deductible for single coverage and $5,000 deductible for family coverage).
• Vision: Coverage includes one comprehensive eye exam every 12 months paid up to $35 and one pair of corrective lenses and frames every 24 months paid on a specified schedule.

We offer our employees the opportunity to set up a Flexible Spending Account (FSA), which allows one to make pre-tax monetary contributions to an account to pay for certain health care expenses not paid by our medical plan and dependent care expenses. Employees enrolled in our high deductible health plan can elect to contribute pre-tax dollars to a Limited Purpose FSA, which allows you to reimburse yourself for eligible dental and vision expenses only.

DENTAL INSURANCE
Our dental insurance coverage is available for the employee only, employee and spouse, employee and child/children and family. It covers 100 percent of routine checkups and cleanings (deductible waived) and 80 percent of eligible expenses up to an annual maximum of $1,500 per person. A To Go feature allows one to carry over any qualified, unused portion of the annual maximum ($1,500) from one year to the next, increasing the total dollars available for dental treatment. This allows one to prepare for more extensive and costly dental treatments.

LIFE INSURANCE
We provide our employees with basic term life insurance; the amount is based on the employee's compensation. Supplemental life insurance and dependent life insurance can be purchased by the employee.

SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM DISABILITY
After six months of continuous service, one week of Short-term Disability will be paid at full salary. All regular employees are eligible for Long-term Disability after 12 months of continuous service. Benefits are paid after six months of total disability.

RETIREMENT

• To help save for retirement, United Fire Group offers our employees the opportunity to contribute to a 401(k) Plan. There are two different types of contributions permitted under our 401(k) Plan – pretax 401(k) contributions and Roth 401(k) contributions. Employees can purchase United Fire & Casualty Company (UFCS) stock in the 401(k) Plan.
• The company may make discretionary contributions to the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). After three years of eligible service, employees are 100 percent vested in the plan. No employee contribution is necessary.
• We offer a defined-benefit Pension Plan funded by the company. The retirement benefit is based on 1.25 percent of your average monthly compensation multiplied by your total number of years of eligible service. Average monthly compensation means your monthly compensation averaged over the five consecutive years from your date of employment, which produce the highest monthly average. After five years of eligible service, employees are 100 percent vested in the plan 
• The Employee Stock Purchase Plan enables employees to purchase shares of United Fire & Casualty Company (UFCS) stock without incurring broker fees.

VACATION
Regular full-time employees accrue paid time off on a monthly basis and can also purchase up to 40 hours of additional vacation each year. Employees are able to use accrued vacation after six months of continuous service. Part-time benefits-eligible employees who work at least 24 hours per week earn vacation on a pro-rated basis.

HOLIDAYS
The following are observed as paid holidays by our company: New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, day after Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.

EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE
Our employees are encouraged to participate in insurance courses offered by the Insurance Institute of America (IIA), the Life Office Management Association (LOMA) and American Institute for Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters (CPCU). Tuition reimbursement is also offered for study at local colleges and universities.

LONG-TERM CARE INSURANCE
United Fire provides all employees and qualified family members the opportunity to purchase long-term care insurance. This type of insurance is designed to help one pay for the costs associated with necessary long-term care in either a nursing care facility, assisted living facility or at home.

PERSONAL INSURANCE
Discounts are available on homeowners, auto insurance and life insurance after six months of employment. Roth IRAs and Traditional IRAs are available through our life insurance subsidiary, United Life Insurance Company. Homeowners and auto insurance are not available at all locations.

EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (EAP)
The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a company-sponsored benefit for you and your family members to help prevent or solve personal problems. EAP is designed to deal with a wide range of problems, including family, marital, financial, work-related, legal, emotional, alcohol/drug problems and other problems that interfere with daily living. All regular employees have three confidential sessions (per incident) with a professional counselor available to them, paid for by the company.

IDENTITY SERVICES
We provide free Identity Services through Identity Theft 911® for all employees, as well as household family members. Whether you have a serious identity theft crisis or need to take preventative measures regarding a lost or stolen wallet, you don’t have to struggle on your own. With our Identity Services, you’ll have unlimited one-on-one access to a highly experienced fraud specialist to guide you through the resolution process until the problem is fully resolved.

LEASED VEHICLE PROGRAM
Eligible employees are able to lease vehicles with the option to buy after the lease has expired. The company pays for gas, maintenance and insurance for leased vehicles.

PARKING/BUS SUBSIDY
All locations have free parking except the Cedar Rapids, Iowa, location. Monthly parking at designated locations or bus passes are available to Cedar Rapids employees (the company pays half of the cost).