Chapter Member Spotlight:
Bio – John Freese – United Fire Group
John is the Enterprise Risk Management Manager at UFG Insurance. In his role he is responsible for implementing plans and processes related to enterprise risk management, including risk identification, risk assessment, risk reporting, risk measurement and monitoring through key tolerance metrics tied to UFG's corporate risk appetite statement, ORSA, and risk analyst staff management. John works directly with the CRO to advise executive leadership on risks to the company and manages meetings and staff to ensure UFG's Risk Office is fulfilling its mission. He also supports UFG's corporate insurance program, business continuity planning, and Emerging Risk Committee.
John began his career with UFG Insurance in 2017 as an intern in commercial underwriting and was hired full time in January 2018. John spent his first two years as a commercial underwriter providing service for UFG's agency partners in Iowa, North Dakota, and South Dakota. In 2019, he moved to the Risk Control department as a Risk Control Consultant before becoming the Risk Control Operations Manager in 2022. While leading as the Operations Manager, the role expanded responsibilities which included executing on the strategy of the Risk Control leadership team, maintaining a field territory in Northern Iowa, administrative duties, and leadership of UFG's Texas and Louisiana field consultants. As a Consultant, John’s duties included performing risk control surveys at our insureds’ locations and jobsites, helping them with risk control improvement and loss prevention and writing reports to aid in underwriter decision-making processes. As the Operations Manager, he oversaw the maintenance and implementation of Risk Control processes and procedures through the development of a Risk Control Playbook and communication strategy. He reorganized the Risk Control Specialist team to align with the organization’s move to specialization and executed on a plan to increase technical knowledge sharing through the creation of technical bulletins and internal training. He also stood up Tableau dashboards in collaboration with UFG's Data Analytics team to monitor and identify trends in operating performance and policyholder experience. In 2024, he accepted an offer for his current role as UFG's Enterprise Risk Management Manager.
While working for UFG, John has earned his RIMS-Certified Risk Management Professional (RIMS-CRMP), Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), Associate in Risk Management (ARM), Associate in Underwriting (AU), and Associate in General Insurance (AINS) designations. He also holds an OSHA 30-hour card in construction. These designations provide John with invaluable knowledge to provide our internal and external stakeholders with the best information and service.
John earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Economics from the University of Iowa's Tippie College of Business. He also holds a Certificate in Risk Management and Insurance from the University of Iowa's Vaughn Institute. John married the love of his life, Victoria, in September of 2019. They welcomed their daughter, Millie, in 2022 and son, Thomas, in 2024. John and his wife reside in Cedar Rapids, IA. When John is not working, he enjoys golfing, running, grilling, reading books on economics, history, and politics, and he loves to spend time with his family and closest friends.
Education
University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa, United States
BBA, 2017
Economics
2015 To 2017
Professional Associations
CPCU Society
2023 - Present
RIMS Professional Member
2023 - Present
About
Student Spotlight
Corporate Sponsors
We want to thank those Corporate Sponsors who worked with in the past. Their Company Logos are shown on our website home page,
Contact us: President, Hal Larson, hallarson12@gmail.com
Chapter Meetings:
Chapter meetings are held the second Wednesday of the month during the months of September through July. Additional information about Chapter meetings can be found on our meetings webpage.
Interested in becoming a member? Check out our brochure
Please join us for 2025 Meetings
Chapter meetings format: (business casual attire)
2025 Schedule
2nd Wed of the month by Zoom from Noon to 1:00 unless notified otherwise.
Cost: $40 per person
Questions? Contact hallarson12@gmail.com
Next Meeting
March 20, 2025 Noon to 1:00 pm
By Zoom
Program: Audit Board personnel discussing ERM initiatives and trends. Seem meeting invite for more details
Our May Meeting will tentative will be a presentation from the Iowa Captive Insurance Director explaining Iowa's Captive Formation and Operations opportunities.
Our July will be a discussion with a Workers Compensation defense attorney addressing the climate concerning WC statutes and concerns and concerning WC claims and their implications.