COLUMBUS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 18, 2003--State Auto
President and CEO Robert H. Moone released the following statement in
response to an SEC schedule 13D filing made today by investor Gregory
M. Shepard:
State Auto's lawsuit filed June 30 has compelled Shepard to
finally make additional public disclosure of important facts
concerning his past business dealings. The disclosures are a victory
for State Auto and its constituencies, for the investing public which
is entitled to have full information on Shepard, and for the media.
He has now disclosed to the SEC for the first time since his
approach to State Auto that:

-- A health insurance company he headed in Illinois experienced
financial ruin during his tenure as chairman and president,
and had to be liquidated.

-- Shepard was the subject of a cease and desist order from the
Indiana Securities Commissioner in a previous, failed
insurance company takeover attempt in that state. The order
said that papers filed in connection with his takeover attempt
failed to provide full and fair disclosure of all material
information.

However, today's disclosure of the failure of Shepard's Illinois
company neglected to point out that approximately 26,000 policyholders
were left stranded without coverage, as reported in the September 1,
2000 business section of the Indianapolis Star.
Today's filing by Shepard still fails to disclose the
no-value-added, debt-laden nature of the various schemes he has
proposed for State Auto.
State Auto believes that the disclosures it has demanded, some of
which have now been made by Shepard under pressure of our lawsuit, are
germane to the question of Shepard's fitness to control State Auto as
he proposes.