The Hartford Awards $322,000 in Scholarships to 17 City High School Seniors

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: HIG) has announced the recipients of its annual college scholarship programs – the Alliance for Academic Achievement Scholarship and the STAG Leadership Scholarship. For the student recipients, their dreams of a college education can soon come true, due in part to $322,000 in four-year scholarships from The Hartford. "The Hartford is proud to help these exceptional students make their dreams of a college degree a reality,” said Joshua King, vice president of media and community relations at The Hartford. "The Hartford has a long-standing, ongoing commitment to supporting efforts that enhance the quality of life in our communities, and improving educational opportunities is a sure way to reach this goal. We are gratified that many of the students we support enjoy careers with us after graduation.” Fourteen college-bound seniors were awarded the Alliance scholarship, which offers $5,000 in financial aid annually. Three seniors have received the STAG Leadership scholarship, which provides $3,500 in financial aid annually. Both scholarship programs provide four years of financial aid, summer employment, mentoring and life skills courses. The STAG program, now in its 41st year, is an internship program for Hartford high school juniors and seniors. STAG students receive job and life skills training through after-school and summer employment at The Hartford. Since its founding in 1966, 1,600 students have graduated from the program and more than 250 are currently full-time Hartford employees. The Alliance program, which is a partnership between The Hartford, Trinity College, the University of Connecticut and Howard University, supports Hartford students through their college years, offering them scholarships and summer employment at The Hartford. Since its inception in 1999, more than 115 students have attended college through the program. Students from Bulkeley, Hartford Public, Sport and Medical Sciences Academy, Weaver, Hartford Classical Magnet School, Pathways to Technology Magnet School and A.I. Prince Technical High School are eligible. Program graduates have gone on to successful careers in a variety of fields, including education, health care, law and financial services. The 2007 Alliance scholars include: Jessica Arter, Sport and Medical Sciences Academy; Murat Becirovic, The Greater Hartford Classical Magnet School; Danielle Cargill, Bulkeley High School; Ashley Cooney, Sport and Medical Sciences Academy; Jeffrey Gillespie, Hartford Public High School; Tyrell Jenkins; Hartford Public High School; Salice Kelley, Sport and Medical Sciences Academy; Tiffany Marrow, Sport and Medical Sciences Academy; Magdalena Miranda, Sport and Medical Sciences Academy; Mark Montalvo, Sport and Medical Sciences Academy; Begaeta Nukic, Bulkeley High School; Jennifer Perez, Sport and Medical Sciences Academy; Johany Rodriguez, Sport and Medical Sciences Academy and Joselyn Sanchez, Hartford Public High School. The 2007 STAG Leadership Scholarship winners are: Renee Haynes, Bulkeley High School; Amneris Torres, Pathways to Technology Magnet School and Katerine Quintana, A.I. Prince Technical School. The Alliance for Academic Achievement and STAG Leadership scholarships are among the many components of The Hartford's long-term commitment to help the city of Hartford develop a world-class education system for its residents. In 2007 The Hartford awarded $1 million, to be distributed over five years, to Teach For America’s Connecticut region. The company also contributed $290,000 in support of its three partnership schools in the city’s Asylum Hill neighborhood: West Middle Elementary School, Thomas J. Quirk Middle School, and Hartford Public High School in 2006. Funding focused on sharpening students’ reading and math skills, improving school climate and culture, upgrading the schools’ technological capabilities, and supporting tutoring programs staffed by hundreds of Hartford employee volunteers. The Hartford estimates that in 2006 more than 250 employees donated nearly 3,000 hours volunteering in support of its partnership schools. The Hartford, a Fortune 100 company, one of the nation's largest diversified financial services companies, with 2006 revenues of $26.5 billion. The Hartford is a leading provider of investment products, life insurance and group benefits; automobile and homeowners products; and business property and casualty insurance. International operations are located in Japan, Brazil and the United Kingdom. The Hartford's Internet address is www.thehartford.com. HIG-C Some of the statements in this release should be considered forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These include statements about our future results of operations. We caution investors that these forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results may differ materially. Investors should consider the important risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ. These important risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, those discussed in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, our 2006 Annual Report on Form 10-K and the other filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We assume no obligation to update this release, which speaks as of the date issued.