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Former State Auto Chairman Dies at Age 81
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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- June 24, 2009 --Theodore R. (Ted) Magley, a nearly 45-year employee of the State Auto Insurance Companies and former chairman of the board, died at home on Monday, June 22, after a brief battle with cancer. He was 81.
In 1949, shortly after receiving a degree from The Ohio State University, Magley joined State 
Auto as an auto underwriter. Over the next five decades, he would play a key role in State Auto’s growth from premiums of $14.5 million to nearly $450 million.
“Ted was an extraordinary student of our business whose leadership combined a gentle nature and unshakeable integrity with an astute technical mastery of the underwriting science. His legacy lives on in State Auto today through the people who worked with him and for him,” said State Auto Chairman, President and CEO Bob Restrepo. “He contributed, in no small part, to our remarkable growth and expansion throughout the second half of the 20th century, including the initial public offering of State Auto Financial Corporation stock in 1991.”
After joining the company, Magley served for several years as Ohio automobile underwriting manager and later director of product research and development. In 1968, he was elected assistant vice president, advancing to vice president in 1972. In 1975, he joined the State Auto board of directors and was named director of underwriting. In 1983, he was named vice chairman of the board, then chairman in 1989. Magley retired from State Auto in 1993.
He held the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation and served as a local instructor for the Insurance Institute of America. He was a member of the Speakers Bureau of the Ohio Insurance Information Service and chairman of the Ohio Automobile Insurance Plan Governing Committee.
Magley is survived by his wife, Dorothy, four sons and eight grandchildren. Family will receive friends on Thursday, June 25 from 6-8 p.m. at Schoedinger Worthington (Ohio) Chapel, 6699 N. High St. A funeral service will be held on Friday at 10 a.m. at Church of the Messiah United Methodist, 51 N. State St., Westerville, Ohio. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society, Central Region Office, 870 Michigan Ave., Columbus, Ohio 43215.
State Automobile Mutual Insurance Company, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, is a super regional property and casualty insurance holding company. The company is primarily engaged in writing personal and business insurance products exclusively through independent insurance agencies in 33 states and is proud to be a Trusted Choice® company partner. State Auto Mutual is part of the State Auto Group. The State Auto Group is rated A+ (Superior) by the A.M. Best Company and consists of State Automobile Mutual, State Auto Property & Casualty, State Auto National, State Auto Ohio, State Auto Wisconsin, State Auto Florida, Milbank, Farmers Casualty, Meridian Security, Meridian Citizens Mutual, Beacon National, Beacon Lloyds, Patrons Mutual and Litchfield Mutual Fire.
State Auto Mutual also writes specialty insurance and workers’ compensation products through its Rockhill insurance subsidiaries. The Rockhill insurance subsidiaries, rated A- (Excellent) by the A.M. Best Company, write business on a non-admitted basis in 49 states and the District of Columbia, and are licensed on an admitted basis in 42 states and the District of Columbia. Additional information on State Auto Mutual can be found online at www.StateAuto.com.
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