United Fire Announces Preliminary Loss Estimate of $30M to $35M for Spring Storms

United Fire & Casualty Company UFCS today announced that it expects its second-quarter results through May to include pre-tax catastrophe losses, net of reinsurance, of approximately $30-35 million. These losses include $7-9 million in storm losses previously reported in the Company's first quarter news release; $5-6 million from storms that hit southern states in late April; and $15-20 million from a devastating May storm in Joplin, Missouri. The estimated losses for these catastrophe events are expected to contribute between 21.9 and 25.5 percentage points to the second-quarter property casualty combined ratio. The impact on after-tax earnings is estimated to be between $0.75 and $0.87 cents per share.