State Auto Financial Announces Web cast of 2006 Annual Shareholders Meeting

COLUMBUS, Ohio--May 8, 2006--State Auto Financial Corporation announced today that the company will host a simultaneous Web cast of its 2006 Annual Shareholders Meeting on Thursday, May 1, 20068, 2006, beginning at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time. 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 property and casualty insurance holding company. The company markets its personal and commercial insurance products through more than 22,300 independent insurance agents associated with approximately 3,000 agencies in 27 states. The company has been named Forbes Magazine's "Best Managed Insurance Company in America" for 2006 and is one of just 3% of publicly listed companies to earn the Mergent Dividend Achiever Award for having increased its dividends for ten or more years in succession. The State Auto Insurance Companies carry an A+ (Superior) rating from the A.M. Best Company. Additional information on the company can be found on its web site at www.STFC.com.