EXHIBIT  (23)


INDEPENDENT  AUDITORS'  CONSENT  AND  REPORT  ON  SCHEDULES

The  Board  of  Directors
Harleysville  Group  Inc.:

     The  audits  referred to in our report dated February 14, 2003 included the
related  financial  statement schedules as of December 31, 2002, and for each of
the  years  in  the  three-year  period ended December 31, 2002, included in the
annual  report  on  Form  10-K.  These  financial  statement  schedules  are the
responsibility of the Company's management.  Our responsibility is to express an
opinion  on  these  financial  statement  schedules based on our audits.  In our
opinion,  such financial statement schedules, when considered in relation to the
basic consolidated financial statements taken as a whole, present fairly, in all
material  respects,  the  information  set  forth  therein.

     We  consent  to  incorporation  by reference in the registration statements
(Nos.  333-03127, 33-84348, 33-91726, 33-43532, 333-85941, 333-37386, 333-37212)
on Form S-8 and registration statements (Nos. 33-78372, 33-90810) on Form S-3 of
Harleysville  Group  Inc. of our report dated February 14, 2003, relating to the
consolidated  balance  sheets of Harleysville Group Inc. as of December 31, 2002
and  2001,  and  the  related  consolidated  statements of income, shareholders'
equity  and cash flows and related financial statement schedules for each of the
years  in the three-year period ended December 31, 2002, which reports appear in
the December 31, 2002 annual report on Form 10-K of Harleysville Group Inc., and
of  our  report  dated  March  19,  2003 relating to the statements of financial
condition  of  the  Harleysville  Group  Inc. Employee Stock Purchase Plan as of
December  31, 2002 and 2001, and the related statements of income and changes in
plan  equity  for  each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31,
2002,  which  report  appears  in  the  Harleysville  Group  Inc. Employee Stock
Purchase  Plan  annual  report  on  Form  11-K.


/s/  KPMG  LLP

Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania
March  19,  2003