Good morning. My name is Jamie and I’ll be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the United Fire Group 2015 Second Quarter Financial Results Conference Call. All participants will be in a listen-only mode. [Operator Instructions] After today’s presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. [Operator Instructions] Please also note that today’s event is being recorded. At this time, I’d like to turn the conference call over to Anita Novak, Assistant Vice President and Investor Relations. Ma’am, please go ahead.

Thank you, Jamie. Good morning everyone, and thank you for joining this call. Earlier today, we issued a news release on our results. To find a copy of this document, please visit our Website at www.unitedfiregroup.com. Press releases and slides are located under the Investor Relations tab. Our speakers today are Randy Ramlo, President and Chief Executive Officer; Michael Wilkins, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer; and Dawn Jaffray, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Other members of our executive team are also available for the question-and-answer session that will follow our prepared remarks. Please note that our presentation today may include forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties and are not a guarantee of future performance. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations and we assume no obligation to update them. The actual results may vary materially due to a variety of factors, which are described in our press release and SEC filings. Please also note that in our discussion today, we may use some non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations of these measures to the most comparable GAAP measures are also available in our press release and SEC filings. At this time, I’m pleased to present Randy Ramlo, President and Chief Executive Officer of United Fire Group.

Thank you, Anita. Good morning everyone and welcome to United Fire’s 2015 second quarter conference call. This morning, we’ve reported another solid quarter. Our operating income was $0.57 per share, net income was $0.59 per share, and our GAAP combined ratio was 97.7, year-to-date operating income was $1.50 per share, net income was $1.54 per share and our GAAP combined ratio was 93.8%. Our return on equity as of June 30th was 9.4% and book value was $33.21 per share. Equally is exciting for us is the growth pattern we have developed over the last few years. Total revenues grew for the quarter by 10%. Consolidated earned premium increased 13.6% and consolidated written premium increased 11.3%. We are currently on track to achieve $1 billion in total revenues on a consolidated basis during 2015, which will be a milestone for us. Mike Wilkins will be commenting in a few minutes on market conditions being more competitive than we have seen in several years and that would suggest that perhaps our growth is somewhat more aggressive than practical. I would argue that our growth is very calculated and deliberate. For several quarters now, we have been talking about our 2020 vision and the strategies for meeting the objectives of that plan, which are designed to result in profitable organic growth. As a reminder, we are expanding our geographic reach through agency growth in regions where we feel we are underutilized. Over the last few years, we have added approximately 100 new agencies per year. We take these partnerships very seriously and we diligently create a successful partnership for both parties. We are now seeing the rewards of our efforts. Of course assigning new agents is only half the battle. We continue to assess existing relationships for profitability and mutual benefit. We…

Thanks Randy and good morning everyone. We continue to request and receive rate increases in lines of business and in geographic regions where we warranted, but we are also experiencing competitive market conditions on both renewals and on new business. As we enter a softening market, holding true to our underwriting strategy of targeting specific market segments and managing our asset hazard class mix of business within our risk appetite becomes that much more important. We are an underwriting company. Our actions include repricing and/or eliminating our lowest level of underperforming accounts were appropriate and evaluating new regions for expansion of our footprint we access the potential impact of geographic concentration risk through mapping tools such as catastrophe. The valuation of walk away price will become a key component of renewal underwriting as we progressed through the softening market. We underwrite, we take calculated risks and we price our business accordingly. Commercial lines renewal pricing varied by region with average percentage increases in the mid to low single-digits on smaller accounts. Larger accounts were more competitive with a flat to low single-digit decreases on quality accounts. Nonetheless, this was the 15th consecutive quarter of overall commercial lines pricing increases. First lines renewal pricing increased slightly during the second quarter. Premium written from new business remain strong, up from the prior quarter when compared to the same quarter a year ago. Our success ratio on quarterly accounts decreased slightly, but remains at an acceptable level. Current rate increases continue to meet or exceed lost cost trends depending on the line of business. We continue to believe lost cost trends will remain at low levels in 2015, but the gap between lost cost and rate increases will narrow as 2015 progresses. We currently believe that lost cost are approximately 3%. We base…

Thanks Mike. Consolidated net income including net realized investment gains and losses was $15 million, or $0.59 per share, for the quarter, compared to $10.7 million, or $0.42 per share, last year. Year-to-date 2015 consolidated net income including net realized investment gains and losses was $38.7 million, or $1.54 per share, compared with $24 million, or $0.94 per share, for 2014. Losses and loss settlement expenses increased by $7.6 million, or 5.4%, compared to the second quarter of 2014. Year-to-date losses and loss settlement expenses increased $8.8 million, or 3.3%. Our loss ratio was 68.4% compared with 72.1% for the second quarter of 2014 representing an improvement of 3.7 points. The 2015 year-to-date loss ratio was 64.1% versus 69.2% for the comparable six months, representing a 5.1 point improvement. Favorable reserve development included in these results for the second quarter was $6.7 million, or 3.2 percentage points, on the loss ratio, compared with $11.3 million, or 6 points, for the second quarter of 2014. A positive impact on net income for the quarter was $0.17 per share, compared with $0.29 per share in 2014. Year-to-date 2015 favorable reserve development was $23.4 million, or 5.7 loss ratio percentage points, compared to $25.8 million, or 7 points, for 2014. A positive impact on net income for the six months comparable was $0.61 per share aftertax versus $0.65 per share aftertax for 2014. As we have stated on many occasions, reserve development will vary from quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year due to the number of claims settled and the settlement terms. During the second quarter, the decrease in favorable reserve development is attributable to the timing of paid claims. The largest single contributor was workers compensation with $5.9 million of favorable development. The majority of the releases were from accident years 2012 through 2014. I…

And ladies and gentlemen at this time I'm showing no questions. I’d like to turn the floor back over to Ms. Novak for any closing remarks.

Thanks, Jamie. This now concludes our conference call. As a reminder, the transcript of this call will be available on the company website at www.unitedfiregroup.com. On behalf of the management of United Fire Group, I wish all of you a very pleasant day.

Ladies and gentlemen that does conclude today’s conference call. We do thank you for attending. You may now disconnect your telephone lines.