The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.

Is The Hartford a publicly traded company?
Yes. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol HIG. It has been publicly traded since its 1995 IPO following the breakup of ITT Corporation. No single shareholder controls the company; ownership is distributed among institutional and retail investors.

When was The Hartford founded?
The Hartford was founded in 1810 in Hartford, Connecticut, originally as the Hartford Fire Insurance Company. It is one of the oldest continuously operating insurance companies in the United States, and it celebrated its 200th anniversary in 2010.

What insurance does The Hartford sell?
The Hartford sells business insurance including workers' compensation, general liability, commercial auto, and property coverage. It also sells personal auto and home insurance primarily to AARP members, group life and disability employee benefits, and mutual funds through Hartford Funds. Business insurance is its largest segment, producing 56% of FY2025 revenue.

Who is the CEO of The Hartford?
Christopher J. Swift is chairman and chief executive officer of The Hartford. He became CEO in 2014 and added the chairman title in 2020. Under his leadership the company exited annuities, sold its personal lines book outside the AARP channel, and acquired Navigators Group in 2019.

Does The Hartford own Navigators Insurance?
Yes. The Hartford acquired The Navigators Group in May 2019 for approximately $2.1 billion. Navigators now operates as "Navigators, a brand of The Hartford," covering the company's reinsurance and U.S. wholesale specialty insurance businesses.

What is The Hartford's connection to AARP?
The Hartford has been the exclusive provider of auto and home insurance endorsed by AARP since 1984. AARP members purchase policies underwritten by The Hartford, and the partnership accounts for the bulk of the company's Personal Insurance segment revenue.

The Hartford Fire Insurance Company was organized in 1810 by a group of Hartford merchants, making it one of the oldest continuously operating insurers in the United States. The company's founding predates the formation of most of the modern American insurance industry, and its early history is tied to the growth of commerce along the Connecticut River.

The company's resilience was tested repeatedly in its first century. It paid claims from the New York fire of 1835, the Chicago fire of 1871, the Boston fire of 1872, and the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. Surviving these catastrophes gave the company a reputation for honoring claims that became central to its brand identity. The stag emblem first appeared in company advertising in the 1870s, inspired by the deer that appeared on early policy certificates, and the image of the stag with its head turned, checking for danger, became a visual shorthand for prudent insurance.

Among the company's notable early policyholders were Yale University and Abraham Lincoln, whose Illinois home was covered by a Hartford fire policy issued in 1861. The company later wrote coverage connected to the Golden Gate Bridge, the Hoover Dam, and the St. Louis Gateway Arch, and it insured the home of baseball player Babe Ruth.

The 20th century brought diversification and a change of control. The company expanded into life insurance and employee benefits, and in 1970 it was acquired by ITT Corporation, the industrial conglomerate then controlled by Harold Geneen. Hartford operated as an ITT subsidiary for 25 years. When ITT broke itself apart in 1995, The Hartford Financial Services Group became an independent public company again, listing on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker HIG in December 1995.

The 2008 financial crisis was a defining test for the modern company. Hartford's life insurance and annuity operations suffered heavy losses on variable annuity guarantees and investment write-downs. The company accepted a $2.5 billion capital injection from Allianz SE in 2008 rather than taking federal bailout funds, then spent the following decade exiting businesses that had caused the losses. It stopped writing variable annuities, sold its individual life insurance business to Prudential Financial in a deal completed in 2013, and gradually divested its legacy life and annuity block, Talcott Resolution, completing its exit in 2018.

Under CEO Christopher Swift, appointed in 2014, The Hartford repositioned itself as a pure property and casualty and employee benefits company. In August 2018 the company agreed to acquire The Navigators Group, a Stamford, Connecticut based specialty underwriter, for $70 a share in cash, a transaction that closed in May 2019 for approximately $2.1 billion including expenses. The deal added marine, construction, energy, and global specialty lines, and the Navigators name survives in the company's reinsurance and U.S. wholesale businesses.

In 2021 the company sold its personal lines business outside the AARP channel to Kemper Corporation, sharpening its focus on the AARP member market for personal auto and home insurance. The AARP relationship, which began in 1984, remains the foundation of the Personal Insurance segment.

For FY2025, The Hartford reported revenue of $28.4 billion, up from $26.5 billion in 2024, and net income of $3.8 billion, up 23%. Property and casualty written premiums grew 7% for the full year, led by business insurance, and the company posted a net income return on equity of 22%.

The Hartford has committed to net zero greenhouse gas emissions in its underwriting portfolio and operations by 2050 and has set interim targets for reducing emissions in its own operations. The company publishes an annual sustainability report covering climate risk, community investment, and workforce metrics.

The company restricts underwriting and investment in coal businesses. It has committed to divesting from companies that derive a significant share of revenue from thermal coal, a policy announced in 2019 that made it one of the first large U.S. insurers to set a coal underwriting exit. Critics, including environmental advocacy groups, have nonetheless argued that its fossil fuel policies lag European peers.

The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving affiliated giving programs and employee volunteer initiatives are a significant part of its corporate citizenship, focused on Hartford, Connecticut neighborhood development and workforce readiness.

The Hartford has been named to Ethisphere's World's Most Ethical Companies list multiple times, including consecutive appearances through the mid-2020s. The company has also appeared on Fortune's list of the World's Most Admired Companies in the property and casualty category and on the Forbes Global 2000 ranking of public companies. Its employee benefits and claims operations have earned J.D. Power recognition for customer satisfaction in small commercial insurance and group disability.

2008 financial crisis: The Hartford's most significant modern crisis came during the 2008 financial meltdown, when variable annuity guarantees and investment losses threatened its capital position. The company accepted a $2.5 billion investment from Allianz SE and later repurchased the warrants. Shareholders experienced steep losses, and the episode ultimately led the company to exit the annuity and individual life businesses entirely.

Connecticut headquarters commitments: In 2015 the company entered a long-term agreement with the State of Connecticut that included $10 million in state assistance tied to retaining its headquarters and jobs in Hartford. The arrangement drew scrutiny from some state legislators over corporate incentives, though the company fulfilled its employment commitments.

Claims disputes: Like all large insurers, The Hartford faces periodic litigation and regulatory reviews over claims handling, including bad faith lawsuits in individual and commercial lines. These are resolved through settlement, arbitration, or litigation outcomes in the ordinary course of business.