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


         Date of Report (Date of Earliest Event Reported): April 7, 2004


                         ALLMERICA FINANCIAL CORPORATION
             (Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

         Delaware                     1-13754                    04-3263626
(State or other jurisdic-     (Commission File Number)        (I.R.S. Employer
 tion of incorporation)                                      Identification No.)



               440 Lincoln Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01653
                    (Address of principal executive offices)
                                   (Zip Code)

                                 (508) 855-1000
              (Registrant's telephone number, including area code)












Item 7. Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(a.)     Not applicable.

(b.)     Not applicable.

(c.)     Exhibits.

The following exhibit is furnished herewith.

Exhibit 99.1   Press Release  dated  April 7, 2004,  announcing  the  hiring  of
               Marita Zuraitis as president of the organization's  property  and
               casualty companies.


Item 9. Regulation FD Disclosure

On April 7, 2004, Allmerica Financial Corporation announced that Marita Zuraitis
will be joining the  organization  as  president  of its  property  and casualty
companies. The press release is furnished as Exhibit 99.1 hereto.




SIGNATURES


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.

                                              Allmerica Financial Corporation
                                              Registrant

                                     By:      /s/ Edward J. Parry, III
                                              Edward J. Parry, III
                                              Chief Financial Officer,
                                              Executive Vice President,
                                              Principal Accounting Officer,
                                              and Director






Date: April 7, 2004

EX-99

                    ALLMERICA FINANCIAL NAMES MARITA ZURAITIS
                PRESIDENT OF ITS PROPERTY AND CASUALTY COMPANIES

WORCESTER,  Mass. (April 7, 2004) - Allmerica Financial  Corporation (NYSE: AFC)
today  announced  that Marita  Zuraitis has been named  president of Allmerica's
property and casualty companies, effective April 19. As president, Zuraitis will
be  responsible  for the personal and  commercial  lines  operations at Citizens
Insurance   Company  of  America,   The  Hanover  Insurance  Company  and  their
affiliates.  Zuraitis  also will  serve as a member of the  company's  Operating
Committee.

"Marita  is one of the finest  business  leaders in the  property  and  casualty
industry  today," said  Frederick H. Eppinger,  Allmerica's  president and chief
executive  officer.  "We are  extremely  pleased that she will be heading up our
property  and  casualty  operations  and  I am  confident  that  her  tremendous
knowledge  and skill will help us achieve our goal of  becoming  one of the best
regional insurers in the country."

Zuraitis  comes to  Allmerica  from  St.  Paul  Travelers,  the  second  largest
commercial  property  and  liability  insurance  company in the U.S.,  where she
played a key role in the formation of the company  through the merger of The St.
Paul  Companies and Travelers  Property and Casualty.  Since 1998, she served as
president and chief executive  officer of St. Paul's  commercial lines division,
responsible  for the  company's  small  commercial,  middle  market,  and  large
property and casualty solutions business units, including field operations.

From 1993 to 1998,  Zuraitis held senior positions at United States Fidelity and
Guaranty  Company (which merged with The St. Paul  Companies in 1998),  in field
and  home  office  leadership  roles  in  both  of the  company's  personal  and
commercial  lines  segments.  While at USF&G,  she was  responsible  for various
aspects of the company's field office, reinsurance and underwriting operations.

                                                                -more-


Zuraitis, page 2 of 2

Zuraitis  also held  management  positions at Aetna Life and Casualty  from 1982
through 1993.

A graduate of Fairfield University in Fairfield,  Connecticut, she completed the
Advanced  Executive  Education Program at the Wharton School of Business and the
Program on Negotiations at Harvard University.

Zuraitis  currently  serves as chairman of the board of NCCI  Holdings,  Inc., a
provider of workers'  compensation data analytics based in Boca Raton,  Florida,
and  as a  board  member  of  the  Baltimore,  Maryland-based  American  Skyline
Insurance.  She is actively  involved in community  affairs,  having served as a
board member of the Central Maryland YMCA and the Concert Artists of Baltimore.

Worcester,   Massachusetts-based  Allmerica  Financial  is  group  of  insurance
companies  headed by  Allmerica  Financial  Corporation,  a Fortune 500 company.
Allmerica's lead companies  include Howell,  Michigan-based  Citizens  Insurance
Company of America,  founded in 1915, and  Worcester-based The Hanover Insurance
Company,  founded in 1852.  Citizens  and Hanover  offer a range of property and
casualty  insurance  coverages to individuals,  families and business  through a
wide network of independent agents. The Citizens and Hanover Insurance Companies
are ranked among the top 30 property and casualty insurers in the country.




AF-13
04/07/04

CONTACTS:

Investors:   Sujata Mutalik                     Media:   Todd M. Peckham
             (508) 855-3457                              (508) 855-4460
             smutalik@allmerica.com                      tpeckham@allmerica.com