{"url_path":"/sec/amsf/10-k/2026/item-9a","section_key":"item-9a","section_title":"Item 9A Controls and Procedures.","topic":"sec","document":{"doc_type":"10-K","doc_date":"2026-02-27","source_url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1018979/0001193125-26-082513-index.html","accession_number":"0001193125-26-082513","cik":"0001018979","ticker":"AMSF","issuer_name":"AMERISAFE INC","edgar_url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1018979/0001193125-26-082513-index.html","primary_entity_key":"0001018979","primary_entity_name":"AMERISAFE INC"},"word_count":1129,"has_tables":true,"body_markdown":"Item 9A. Controls and Procedures.\n\nEvaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures\n\nUnder the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, we have evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act)) as of the end of the period covered by this report. Based on that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of the end of the period covered by this report to provide reasonable assurance that information we are required to disclose in reports that are filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the rules and forms specified by the SEC. We note that the design of any system of controls is based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving the stated goals under all potential future conditions.\n\nManagement’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting\n\nOur management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. Our internal control over financial reporting is a process designed under the supervision of our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, and effected by our board of directors, management and other personnel, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of the financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.\n\nManagement has assessed the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2025. In making this assessment, management used the criteria described in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework). Based on management’s assessment under the framework in Internal Control—Integrated Framework, our management has concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2025.\n\nOur independent registered public accounting firm, Ernst & Young LLP, has audited the effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting, as stated in their report included herein.\n\nChanges in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting\n\nThere have not been any changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the fourth quarter of the period covered by this report that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.\n\nLimitations on Controls\n\nBecause of its inherent limitations, management does not expect that our disclosure controls and procedures and our internal controls over financial reporting will prevent or detect all misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions or that the degree of compliance with policies and procedures may deteriorate. Any control system, no matter how well designed and operated, is based upon certain assumptions and can only provide reasonable, not absolute assurance that its objectives will be met. Further, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that misstatements due to errors or fraud will not occur or that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any within the Company, have been detected.\n\n \n\n \n\n93\n\n \n\nReport of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm\n\n \n\nTo the Shareholders and the Board of Directors of AMERISAFE, Inc.\n\nOpinion on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting\n\nWe have audited AMERISAFE, Inc. and subsidiaries’ internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2025, based on criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework) (the COSO criteria). In our opinion, AMERISAFE, Inc. and subsidiaries (the Company) maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2025, based on the COSO criteria.\n\nWe also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the 2025 consolidated financial statements of the Company and our report dated February 27, 2026, expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.\n\nBasis for Opinion\n\nThe Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting included in the accompanying Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.\n\nWe conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects.\n\nOur audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.\n\nDefinition Limitations of Internal Control Over Financial Reporting\n\nA company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.\n\nBecause of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.\n\n \n\n/s/ Ernst & Young LLP\n\nNew Orleans, Louisiana\n\nFebruary 27, 2026\n\n \n\n94"}