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
                                    07/02/02
                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)


Item 5. Other Events

SAFECO Announces Key Finance Appointments
SEATTLE - (July 2, 2002) - Chris Mead, chief financial officer of SAFECO
(NASDAQ: SAFC) today announced another addition to her leadership team by
appointing a new corporate controller.

This is the latest in a series of key positions Mead has filled since joining
SAFECO earlier this year.

"We've assembled an experienced team of financial executives to broaden our
analytical and planning capabilities," Mead said. "The team is focused on making
the Finance organization a strategic partner deeply involved in all of SAFECO's
business decisions."

New members of the Finance team include:

o        Richard Levy, SAFECO vice president and corporate controller. Levy
         joins SAFECO from Washington Mutual, where he served as corporate
         controller from 1998 to 2001 and, most recently, chief financial
         officer for the company's Specialty Finance Business Unit. Between 1995
         and 1998, Levy was chief financial officer at Community Trust Bancorp
         of Kentucky. He also held a number of executive positions at Bank of
         America between 1988 and 1995, and was an Ernst & Young auditor from
         1980 to 1988. Levy is a graduate of the University of California at
         Santa Barbara. He replaces Paul Lowber, SAFECO's controller for the
         past five years, who will remain with the company through the end of
         August to assist in the transition.

o        Ajay Kaul, who was named in May to the newly created position of vice
         president of financial planning. A veteran insurance industry
         executive, Kaul has held key planning positions with UniversalCover.com
         in New York; ACE Limited in London; American International Group, both
         in New York and London; and Khyber International of Copenhagen. Kaul
         earned his undergraduate degree at Bombay University, India. He
         completed his master's of business administration at the University of
         Scranton in Pennsylvania.


o        Terri Williams, who was named in March to the newly created position of
         vice president of risk management and chief actuary. Most recently,
         Williams was responsible for personal lines product management at
         Travelers Property Casualty. She also served as chief actuary at
         Travelers. In addition, Williams held key actuarial and investment
         strategy positions at Aetna Life and Casualty. Williams is a fellow of
         the Casualty Actuarial Society and a member of the American Academy of
         Actuaries. She is a graduate of Southwestern College in Kansas.

In addition, SAFECO recently appointed the following individuals to serve in the
newly created role of senior financial officer for the company's business units,
reporting both to Mead and to the business unit presidents:

o        Michael Campbell, senior financial officer for SAFECO Business
         Insurance. Campbell has worked in SAFECO business insurance operations
         since 1993.

o        Leslie Rice, senior financial officer for SAFECO Life & Investments.
         Rice joined SAFECO in 1999 as controller for Life & Investments. Prior
         to that, she held senior positions at PEMCO Financial Services and was
         a public accountant with Coopers & Lybrand.

o        Greg Tacchetti, senior financial officer for SAFECO Personal Insurance.
         Tacchetti joined SAFECO from GEICO late last year as an assistant vice
         president for underwriting.

SAFECO, in business since 1923, is a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle that
sells insurance and related financial products through more than 17,000
independent agents and financial advisors.







                                    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 hereunto duly authorized.

                                               SAFECO CORPORATION
Dated: July 5, 2002                            By: /s/ Christine B. Mead
                                              --------------------------
                                               Senior Vice President,
                                               Chief Financial Officer, and
                                               Secretary