Initial Statement of Beneficial Ownership (3)

FORM 3	UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES	OMB APPROVAL OMB Number: 3235-0104 Estimated average burden hours per response... 0.5
	Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person * Berkey Jason Earl	2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (MM/DD/YYYY) 11/10/2017	3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol State Auto Financial CORP [STFC]
(Last)        (First)        (Middle) 518 EAST BROAD STREET	4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable) _____ Director                            _____ 10% Owner ___ X ___ Officer (give title below)          _____ Other (specify below) Senior Vice President /
(Street) COLUMBUS, OH 43215        (City)              (State)              (Zip)	5. If Amendment, Date Original Filed (MM/DD/YYYY)	6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing (Check Applicable Line) _ X _ Form filed by One Reporting Person ___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person

Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned
1.Title of Security (Instr. 4)	2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned (Instr. 4)	3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5)	4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)
Common Shares without par value	2846.219   (1)	D

Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned ( e.g. , puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivate Security (Instr. 4)	2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (MM/DD/YYYY)		3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 4)		4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	5. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5)	6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)
	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares
Employee Stock Option (Right to Buy) Non-qualified	11/5/2016	11/4/2025	Common Shares	591	$25.32	D
Employee Stock Option (Right to Buy) Non-qualified	3/3/2017	3/2/2026	Common Shares	3378	$21.54	D

Explanation of Responses:
(1)	Includes the following restricted stock awards: an award of 140 shares issued on 11/5/15 and 776 shares issued on 3/3/16 which both have a 3-year cliff vest based on service only.

Reporting Owners
Reporting Owner Name / Address	Relationships
	Director	10% Owner	Officer	Other
Berkey Jason Earl 518 EAST BROAD STREET COLUMBUS, OH 43215			Senior Vice President

Signatures
/s/Jason Earl Berkey by Melissa A. Centers attorney in fact, per POA attached.		11/13/2017
** Signature of Reporting Person		Date

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.
*	If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5(b)(v).
**	Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
Note:	File three copies of this Form, one of which must be manually signed. If space is insufficient, see Instruction 6 for procedure.
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