State Auto Financial Corporation Announces Regular Cash Dividend, Stock Repurchase

    COLUMBUS, Ohio--March 1, 2002--The board of directors of State Auto Financial Corporation today declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.0325 per share, payable March 29, 2002, to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 14, 2002.
    This is the 43rd consecutive cash dividend declared by the company's board since STFC had its initial public offering of common stock on June 28, 1991.
    At the same meeting, the STFC board authorized the repurchase of up to 1 million shares of STFC common stock over a period extending to and through December 31, 2003.

    State Auto Financial Corporation is a regional property and casualty insurance holding company engaged primarily in writing personal and commercial automobile, homeowners, commercial multi-peril, workers' compensation and fire insurance. The company currently markets its products through more than 22,000 agents associated with approximately 3,800 agencies in 26 states. Products are marketed primarily in the Midwest and Eastern United States, excluding New York, New Jersey and the New England states.

    Except for historical information, all other information in this news release consists of forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, anticipated or implied. The most significant of these uncertainties are described in State Auto Financial's Form 10-K and Form 10-Q reports and exhibits to those reports, and include (but are not limited to) legislative changes at both the state and federal level, state and federal regulatory rule making promulgations and adjudications, class action litigation involving the insurance industry and judicial decisions affecting claims, policy coverages and the general costs of doing business, the impact of competition on products and pricing, inflation in the costs of the products and services insurance pays for, product development, geographic spread of risk, weather and weather-related events, and other types of catastrophic events. State Auto Financial undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.