Exhibit 31.1

				CERTIFICATION



I, Dan R. Carmichael, certify that:

     1.  I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of Ohio Casualty
	 Corporation;

     2.  Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue
	 statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact
	 necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances
	 under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect
	 to the period covered by this report;

     3.  Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
	 information included in this report, fairly present in all material
	 respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash
	 flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in
	 this report;

     4.  The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible
	 for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures
	 (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the
	 registrant and have:

	    (a)  Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or
		 caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be
		 designed under our supervision, to ensure that material
		 information relating to the registrant, including its
		 consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others
		 within those entities, particularly during the period in
		 which this report is being prepared;

	    (b)  Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure
		 controls and procedures and presented in this quarterly
		 report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the
		 disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the
		 period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

	    (c)  Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's
		 internal control over financial reporting that occurred
		 during the registrant's most recent fiscal quarter (the
		 registrant's fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual
		 report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely
		 to materially affect, the registrant's internal control over
		 financial reporting; and

     5.  The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed,
	 based on our most recent evaluation, of internal control over
	 financial reporting, to the registrant's auditors and the audit
	 committee of the registrant's board of directors (or persons
	 performing the equivalent functions):

	    (a)  All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses
		 in the design or operation of internal control over
		 financial reporting which are reasonably likely to
		 adversely affect the registrant's ability to record,
		 process, summarize and report financial information; and

	    (b)  Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves
		 management or other employees who have a significant role
		 in the registrant's internal control over financial
		 reporting.



Date:  April 29, 2004                            /s/Dan R. Carmichael
       --------                                  ----------------------------
						 Dan R. Carmichael
						 President and Chief
						 Executive Officer