Exhibit 99.3

CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-14 OR 15d-14 OF THE SECURITIES
EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934, AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY
ACT OF 2002

I, John A. Rife, certify that:

1.  I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of United Fire & Casualty
    Company;

2.  Based on my knowledge, this quarterly report does not contain any untrue
    statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to
    make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such
    statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by
    this quarterly report;

3.  Based on my knowledge, the Consolidated Financial Statements, and other
    financial information included in this quarterly report, fairly present in
    all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and
    cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this
    quarterly report;

4.  The registrant's other certifying officer and I are responsible for
    establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined
    in Exchange Act Rules 13a-14 and 15d-14) for the registrant and we have:

    a.  designed such disclosure controls and procedures to ensure that material
        information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated
        subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities,
        particularly during the period in which this quarterly report is being
        prepared;

    b.  evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and
        procedures as of a date within 90 days prior to the filing date of this
        quarterly report (the "Evaluation Date"); and

    c.  presented in this quarterly report our conclusions about the
        effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures based on our
        evaluation as of the Evaluation Date;

5.  The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our
    most recent evaluation, to the registrant's auditors and the audit committee
    of registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent
    function):

    a.  all significant deficiencies in the design or operation of internal
        controls which could adversely affect the registrant's ability to
        record, process, summarize and report financial data and have identified
        for the registrant's auditors any material weaknesses in internal
        controls; and

    b.  any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other
        employees who have a significant role in the registrant's internal
        controls; and

6.  The registrant's other certifying officer and I have indicated in this
    quarterly report whether or not there were significant changes in internal
    controls or in other factors that could significantly affect internal
    controls subsequent to the date of our most recent evaluation, including any
    corrective actions with regard to significant deficiencies and material
    weaknesses.

Dated: May 12, 2003


   /s/ John A. Rife
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     John A. Rife
Chief Executive Officer


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