Exhibit 23


                         Consent of Independent Auditors





                                   Exhibit 23

                         Consent of Independent Auditors


We consent to the incorporation by reference in the following Registration
Statements and related prospectuses of State Auto Financial Corporation of our
report dated February 21, 2003, 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, 2002.



             Registration
  Form         Number(s)                          Description
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                     
S-8           33-44667     1991 Stock Option Plan
              33-89400
S-8           33-44666     1991 Directors' Stock Option Plan
S-8           33-41423     1991 Employee Stock Purchase and Dividend Reinvestment Plan
              333-05755
S-8           333-56336    State Auto Insurance Companies Capital Accumulation Plan
S-8           333-43882    2000 Directors' Stock Option Plan
S-8           333-43880    2000 Stock Option Plan
S-3           333-41849    Monthly Stock Purchase Plan for Independent Agents
S-3           333-90529    1998 State Auto Agents' Stock Option Plan




Columbus, Ohio               /s/ Ernst & Young, LLP
March 25, 2003




                         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, 2002 and 2001, and the
related consolidated statements of income, stockholders' equity and cash flows
for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2002. Our audits
also included the financial statement schedules listed in the Index at Item
15(a)(2). These financial statements and schedules are the responsibility of the
Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these
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 financial statements referred to above present fairly, in
all material respects, the consolidated financial position of State Auto
Financial Corporation and subsidiaries at December 31, 2002 and 2001, and the
consolidated results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the
three years in the period ended December 31, 2002, 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.





Columbus, Ohio               /s/ Ernst & Young, LLP
February 21, 2003