Allied Group: Declares Div. on Common Shares

                                    
CONTACT:  Jim Shaffer, Sr. Vice President and CFO
          (515) 280-4326                                    
                                    
                                    
                           ALLIED GROUP, INC.
                   DECLARES DIVIDEND ON COMMON SHARES

Des Moines, Iowa, July 29, 1997 -- ALLIED Group, Inc. (NYSE symbol GRP)
announced that its Board of Directors declared a third-quarter cash dividend of
$0.17 per share at their meeting today.  The dividend is payable on September
26, 1997 to stockholders of record on September 12, 1997.

ALLIED Group, Inc. is a regional property-casualty insurance holding company
specializing in personal lines.  The Company's property-casualty subsidiaries
use independent agencies, exclusive agencies, and direct response marketing to
offer products in central and western states.

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