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                                                                 EXHIBIT 23-1


              CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS

The Board of Directors
The Navigators Group, Inc. and Subsidiaries:

We consent to incorporation by reference in Registration Statement No. 33-51608
on Form S-8 of The Navigators Group, Inc. and Subsidiaries of our report dated
March 14, 1997 relating to the consolidated balance sheets of The Navigators
Group, Inc. and Subsidiaries as of December 31, 1996 and 1995, and the related
consolidated statements of income, stockholders' equity and cash flows and
related schedules for each of the years in the three-year period ended December
31, 1996, which report appears in the December 31, 1996 Annual Report on Form
10-K of The Navigators Group, Inc. and Subsidiaries.  Our report refers to The
Navigators Group, Inc. and Subsidiaries change in their method of accounting
for certain investments in debt and equity securities in 1994.





                                                     /s/ KPMG PEAT MARWICK LLP

New York, New York
March 28, 1997