Exhibit 23


                        Consent of Independent Auditors



We consent to the incorporation by reference in the Registration Statement on
Form S-8 pertaining to the 1991 Stock Option Plan, the 1991 Directors' Stock
Option Plan, the 1991 Employee Stock Purchase and Dividend Reinvestment Plan,
the State Auto Property & Casualty Insurance Company Amended and Restated
Accumulation Plan, the 2000 Directors Stock Option Plan, the 2000 Stock Option
Plan, and on Form S-3 pertaining to the Monthly Stock Purchase Plan for
Independent agents of our report dated February 26, 2002, with respect to the
consolidated financial statements and schedules of State Auto Financial
Corporation and subsidiaries included in this Annual Report (Form 10-K) for the
year ended December 31, 2001.




                                                           /s/ Ernst & Young LLP


Columbus, Ohio
March 25, 2002

                                                          Exhibit 23 (Continued)




               STATE AUTO FINANCIAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
   (a majority-owned subsidiary of State Automobile Mutual Insurance Company)




Report of Independent Auditors

The Board of Directors and Stockholders
State Auto Financial Corporation


We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of State Auto
Financial Corporation and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2001, and 2000, and
the related consolidated statements of earnings, stockholders' equity and cash
flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2001. Our
audits also included the financial statement schedules listed in the Index at
Item 14(a)(2). These consolidated financial statements and schedules are the
responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an
opinion on these consolidated financial statements and schedules based on our
audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with auditing standards generally
accepted in the United States. Those standards require that we plan and perform
the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements
are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test
basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial
statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and
significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall
financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a
reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present
fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of State
Auto Financial Corporation and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2001, and 2000,
and the consolidated results of their operations and their cash flows for each
of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2001, in conformity with
accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. Also, in our
opinion, the related financial statement schedules, when considered in relation
to the basic financial statements taken as a whole, present fairly in all
material respects the information set forth therein.



                                                          /s/ Ernst & Young, LLP


Columbus, Ohio
February 26, 2002