For release at 1:30 p.m., PDT
Contact:  Safeco Investor Relations
Neal Fuller, 206-545-5537
Contact: Safeco Media Relations
Paul Hollie, 206-545-3048

               Safeco Names Jeffrey Roe as President-Distribution,
                               Sales and Marketing

SEATTLE--(April  11,  2005)--Safeco  (NASD: SAFC) today named Jeffrey Roe as the
company's new president of  Distribution,  Sales and Marketing,  effective April
18, 2005.

Roe,  who joins Safeco from  health-care  insurer  Premera  Blue Cross,  will be
responsible for supporting the more than 8,500 independent distributors who sell
Safeco insurance  products,  as well as acquiring new customers and building the
company's brand. He will report to Safeco Chairman and CEO Mike McGavick.

As a member of the Office of the President,  Roe will team with  McGavick;  Mike
LaRocco,  president-Product,   Underwriting  and  Claims;  and  Christine  Mead,
president-Service,  Technology and Finance,  in setting the company's  strategic
direction.

"Jeff  brings  to  Safeco  a  winning  combination  of  strategic  thinking  and
operational  effectiveness.  We'll look to his  expertise to create an advantage
for us in our distribution and marketing efforts," said McGavick.  "By elevating
this role to the Office of the President,  we recognize how critically important
distributor relationships are and will be to our future."

Roe most recently  served as president and chief  executive  officer of LifeWise
Health Plan of Washington (a Premera  subsidiary) and vice president and general
manager of Premera  Blue  Cross,  where he led  consumer,  commercial  group and
association lines of business representing $2 billion in revenues. In this role,
he was accountable for operating  income,  membership,  strategy and sales.  Roe
also held  positions  as vice  president  of  Marketing  and vice  president  of
Communications during his more than eight years at Premera.

Roe will lead an organization that includes Sales,  Marketing,  Research,  Brand
and Reputation Management. Safeco's total revenues in 2004 were $6.2 billion.

A graduate of the University of  Washington,  Roe earned  bachelor's  degrees in
Economics and Political  Science in 1988, and an MBA in 1997. From 1992 to 1996,
he was a senior associate at The Gallatin Group, a Seattle-based  public affairs
firm.  Before that, he worked in the Washington,  D.C.,  office of U.S.  Senator
Slade Gorton (R-WA) as a senior  legislative  assistant and  professional  staff
member covering agriculture, intelligence and environmental issues.

Safeco, in business since 1923, is a Fortune 500 property and casualty insurance
company based in Seattle.  The company sells  insurance to drivers,  home owners
and owners of small- and medium-sized  businesses  through a national network of
independent agents and brokers.

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