American Financial Group, Inc. Elects John I. Von Lehman to its Board of Directors

CINCINNATI--(Business Wire)--
American Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: AFG) (NYSE: AFG) today
announced that its Board of Directors added John I. Von Lehman as a
director. Mr. Von Lehman has also been appointed to serve as a member
of the Audit Committee of the Board.

Mr. Von Lehman, age 56, began his career as a Certified Public
Accountant with Haskins & Sells, a predecessor of Deloitte. He served
The Midland Company, an Ohio-based provider of specialty insurance
products and services ("Midland"), in various capacities, including as
Chief Financial Officer from 1988 to 2006, as Executive Vice President
from 1996 to 2007 and as Secretary from 1998 to 2007. Mr. Von Lehman
also served as a director of Midland from 1991 to 2007.

Mr. Von Lehman meets the New York Stock Exchange requirements as
an independent director. He satisfies the categorical independence
standards set forth in the Company's Corporate Governance Guidelines
and has been determined by the independent directors of the Company's
Board of Directors to be an independent director and to satisfy the
requirements for Audit Committee membership. The Board has designated
Mr. Von Lehman as an audit committee financial expert under Item
407(d) of Regulation S-K.

About American Financial Group, Inc.

American Financial Group is an insurance holding company, based in
Cincinnati, Ohio with assets in excess of $26 billion. Through the
operations of Great American Insurance Group, AFG is engaged primarily
in property and casualty insurance, focusing on specialized commercial
products for businesses, and in the sale of traditional fixed, indexed
and variable annuities and a variety of supplemental insurance
products. Great American Insurance Group's roots go back to 1872 with
the founding of its flagship company, Great American Insurance
Company.

American Financial Group, Inc.
Anne N. Watson, Vice President - Investor Relations
513-579-6652
or
Diane P. Weidner, Director - Investor Relations
513-369-5713
or
Web Sites: www.afginc.com
www.GreatAmericanInsurance.com

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