State Auto Financial Announces Web Cast of 2005 Annual Shareholder Meeting

State Auto Financial Corporation (Nasdaq:STFC) announced
today that the company will host a simultaneous Web cast of its 2005
Annual Shareholders Meeting on Wednesday, May 11, 2005, beginning at
10:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The meeting will last
approximately one hour and the PowerPoint presentation that is used
during the meeting will be available on the company's Web site on the
morning of the meeting.
   To attend the simultaneous Web cast, visit the company's Web site
at http://www.STFC.com. The Web cast will be archived and available
for several months after the meeting has concluded on the same site.
   State Auto Financial Corporation, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio,
is a regional property and casualty insurance holding company engaged
primarily in writing both personal and commercial lines of insurance.
The company markets its policies through more than 22,200 independent
insurance agents associated with over 3,200 agencies in 26 central and
eastern states, excluding New York, New Jersey and the New England
states. The company is included in the 2005 Forbes Magazine's Platinum
400 list of the best-managed companies in America and the State Auto
Insurance Companies carry an A+ (Superior) rating from A.M. Best
Company.