1
                                   Exhibit 23

                         Consent of Independent Auditors

We consent to the incorporation by reference in the Registration Statement on
Forms S-8 pertaining to the 1991 Stock Option Plan, the 1991 Directors' Stock
Option Plan and the 1991 Employee Stock Purchase and Dividend Reinvestment Plan,
and on Form S-3 pertaining to the Monthly Stock Purchase Plan for Independent
Agents of our report dated February 12, 1999, 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, 1998.


                                                         /s/Ernst & Young LLP


Columbus, Ohio
March 26, 1999
   2
                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, 1998 and 1997, and the
related consolidated statements of earnings, stockholders' equity and cash flows
for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 1998. 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 generally accepted auditing
standards. 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, 1998 and 1997,
and the consolidated results of their operations and their cash flows for each
of the three years in the period ended December 31, 1998, in conformity with
generally accepted accounting principles. 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.

As discussed in Note 1, the Company acquired the outstanding shares of Milbank
Insurance Company from State Automobile Mutual Insurance Company on July 7, 1998
in a transaction accounted for similar to a pooling of interest. Accordingly,
the Company's consolidated financial statements for each of the two years ended
December 31, 1997 have been restated to include the financial position and
operations of Milbank Insurance Company.


                                                         /s/Ernst & Young LLP


Columbus, Ohio
February 12, 1999