8-K

                                  UNITED STATES
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

                             WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

                                    FORM 8-K

                                 CURRENT REPORT
                     PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
                         SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
                                    04/11/05
                Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported)

                               SAFECO CORPORATION
               (Exact name of registrant as specified in Charter)

   WASHINGTON                    1-6563                        91-0742146
(State or other                 (Commission                  (IRS Employer
jurisdiction of                  File Number)              Identification No.)
incorporation)

   Safeco Plaza, Seattle, Washington                          98185
 (Address of principal executive officers)                  (Zip Code)

                                 (206) 545-5000
              (Registrant's telephone number, including area code)


Check  the  appropriate  box  below  if the  Form  8-K  filing  is  intended  to
simultaneously  satisfy the filing obligation to the registrant under any of the
following provisions:


|_| Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities
    Act (17 CFR 230.425)

|_| Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange
    Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

|_| Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the
    Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

|_| Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the
    Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Principal  Officers;  Election of Directors;
Appointment of Principal Officers

Jeffrey Roe, 40, has been appointed president, Distribution, Sales and Marketing
of the Safeco insurance companies,  effective April 18, 2005. Mr. Roe has served
as president and chief  executive  officer of LifeWise Health Plan of Washington
(a subsidiary of Premera Blue Cross) and vice  president and general  manager of
Premera Blue Cross,  a health-care  insurer,  since 2002.  Prior to that Mr. Roe
served as vice  president of Marketing  from 1998 to 2002 and vice  president of
Communications  from  1996 to 1998.  There is no  arrangement  or  understanding
between Mr. Roe and any other  persons  pursuant to which Mr. Roe was  appointed
president of  Distribution,  Sales and  Marketing and there are no related party
transactions between Mr. Roe and Safeco.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits

Exhibit    99.1   -   Press    release    "Safeco    Names    Jeffrey   Roe   as
President-Distribution, Sales and Marketing" dated April 11, 2005.


Signature

Pursuant  to the  requirements  of the  Securities  Exchange  Act of  1934,  the
registrant  has duly  caused  this  report  to be  signed  on its  behalf by the
undersigned thereunto duly authorized.


                                        SAFECO CORPORATION
                                        ---------------------------------------
                                        Registrant

           Dated:  April 11, 2005
                                        /s/ Stephanie Daley-Watson
                                        ---------------------------------------
                                        Stephanie Daley-Watson
                                        Vice President and Secretary

EX-99.1

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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