Exhibit 31.1

CERTIFICATION OF CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

I, Norman W. Gayle, III, certify that:

1. I have reviewed this report on Form 10-Q of Vesta Insurance Group, Inc.;
2. Based on my knowledge,  this report does not contain any untrue  statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact
         necessary to make the statements  made, in light of the  circumstances  under which such  statements were made, not misleading
         with respect to the period covered by this report;
3. Based on my knowledge,  the financial  statements,  and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in
         all material  respects the financial  condition,  results of operations  and cash flows of the  registrant as of, and for, the
         periods presented in this report;
4. The registrant's other certifying  officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining  disclosure  controls and
         procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the registrant and have:

| | (a) | Designed
 such  disclosure  controls and  procedures,  or caused such  disclosure  controls and
 procedures to be                   designed  under our  supervision,  to ensure that
 material  information  relating to the  registrant,  including its
                  consolidated  subsidiaries,  is made known to us by others within those
entities,  particularly  during the period in                   which this report is
being prepared;
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| | (c) | Evaluated
the effectiveness of the registrant's  disclosure  controls and procedures and presented
in this report                   our  conclusions  about the  effectiveness  of the
disclosure  controls and  procedures,  as of the end of the period
                  covered by this report based on such evaluation; and
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| | (d) | Disclosed
in this report any change in the registrant's  internal control over financial  reporting
that occurred                   during the registrant's most recent fiscal quarter (the
 registrant's  fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual                   report)
that has  materially  affected,  or is reasonably  likely to materially  affect,  the
 registrant's  internal                   control over financial reporting; and
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1. The registrant's  other certifying  officer(s) and I have disclosed,  based on our most recent  evaluation of internal control
         over financial  reporting,  to the registrant's  auditors and the audit committee of the  registrant's  board of directors (or
         persons performing the equivalent functions):

| | (a) | All
 significant  deficiencies  and  material  weaknesses  in the design or  operation  of
internal  control over                   financial  reporting which are reasonably
 likely to adversely  affect the registrant's  ability to record,  process,
                  summarize and report financial information; and
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| | (b) | Any
fraud,  whether or not material,  that involves  management or other employees who have a
significant role in                   the registrant's internal control over financial
reporting.
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Date: August 9, 2004