Exhibit 99.1

                         ALLMERICA FINANCIAL CORPORATION
                ANNOUNCES SECOND QUARTER CATASTROPHE STORM LOSSES

WORCESTER,  Mass., June 1, 2004 - Allmerica  Financial  Corporation  (NYSE: AFC)
announced today that it currently expects to incur  approximately $13 million in
pre-tax  catastrophe  losses  resulting  from  severe  thunderstorms,  hail  and
tornadoes, principally in Michigan from May 20th through May 27th, 2004.

This brings total estimated  pre-tax  catastrophe  losses to  approximately  $16
million for the quarter to date, or $0.26 per share after taxes. The anticipated
charges will be reflected in the company's second quarter results.

"Citizens  and  Hanover  activated  their  catastrophe  management  team and are
responding  with prompt  claims  service to our  customers,"  said  Frederick H.
Eppinger,   president  and  chief  executive  officer  of  Allmerica   Financial
Corporation.  "Catastrophe  losses  of this  magnitude  are not  unusual  to our
business,  and total catastrophe losses remain in-line with our expectations for
both the quarter and year-to-date."

Allmerica Financial Corporation expects to announce its second quarter financial
results on Monday, July 26.

Certain  statements  in this  release may be  considered  to be  forward-looking
statements as defined in the Private  Securities  Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Use of the words "believes", "anticipates", "expects" and similar expressions is
intended to identify forward-looking  statements. The Company cautions investors
that  any  such   forward-looking   statements  are  not  guarantees  of  future
performance, and actual results could differ materially.  Investors are directed
to consider the risks and  uncertainties  in our business that may affect future
performance and that are discussed in readily available documents, including the
Company's  annual  report  and  other  documents  filed  by  Allmerica  with the
Securities   and   Exchange   Commission   and  which  are  also   available  at
www.allmerica.com  under "Investor  Relations".  These uncertainties include the
possibility of adverse catastrophe  experience and severe weather,  adverse loss
development  and adverse  trends in mortality and  morbidity,  the difficulty in
estimating  catastrophe  losses,  changes  in the stock and  financial  markets,
changes from assumed  surrender  activities  and assumed  stock market  returns,
adverse selection in underwriting activities and surrender patterns,  investment
impairments,  heightened  competition,  adverse state and federal legislation or
regulation,  financial ratings actions, and various other factors, which include
the  effect  of  the  Company's  decision  to  close  its  retail  broker-dealer
operations  as well as the  anticipated  impact  and  cost of the  GMDB  hedging
program.  The  performance  of the hedging  program is dependent on, among other
things,  the future  performance and volatility of the equity market, the extent
to which the performance of the various hedging  instruments  correlate with the
investment  performance of the underlying  annuity  sub-accounts,  the continued
availability  of equity index futures and redemption  and mortality  patterns in
the Company's annuity contracts.

Allmerica Financial  Corporation is the holding company for a group of insurance
companies headquartered in Worcester, Massachusetts.


CONTACTS:                  Investors:                    Media:
                           Sujata Mutalik                Michael F. Buckley
                           (508) 855-3457                (508) 855-3099
                           smutalik@allmerica.com        mibuckley@allmerica.com