EXHIBIT 23


The Board of Directors
Horace Mann Educators Corporation:

We consent to incorporation by reference in the registration statements (No. 
33-47066 and No. 33-45152) on Form S-8 of Horace Mann Educators Corporation 
and subsidiaries (the Company) of our report dated January 26, 1998, relating 
to the consolidated balance sheets of the Company as of December 31, 1997, 
1996 and 1995, and the related consolidated statements of operations, changes 
in shareholders' equity, and cash flows for each of the years in the 
three-year period ended December 31, 1997, and all related schedules, which 
report appears in the December 31, 1997 annual report on Form 10-K of the 
Company.

                                       KPMG Peat Marwick LLP

Chicago, Illinois
March 30, 1998