The Hartford Takes Benefits Education on the Road

After delivering more than 5,000 hours of continuing education in 2006 and receiving high marks from graduates of its group disability insurance training, The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) is taking its specialized Vault training program on the road to provide easy access for group benefits professionals throughout the nation. Led by instructors with more than 80 combined years of group benefits experience, The Hartford’s Vault program covers group short- and long-term disability insurance contracts, benefits, underwriting and pricing. Participants earn significant continuing education credits for life and health licenses in most states and have the opportunity to test for National Underwriter’s Group Benefits Disability Specialist professional designation. More than 150 professionals from across the country have graduated from The Hartford’s Vault program in Connecticut. To ensure greater access to the successful program, the leading U.S. seller of group disability insurance1 will hold its three-and-one-half-day educational seminar in six U.S. cities in 2007: March 5-8 in Maitland, Fla.; April 23-26 in Palm Springs, Calif.; May 14-17 in Avon, Conn.; June 4-8 in Philadelphia, Penn.; Sept. 10-13 in Cincinnati, Ohio; Sept. 24-27 in Chicago; and Oct. 15-18 in Avon, Conn. "The response to The Hartford’s Vault program has been overwhelmingly positive since its inception. We are proud to provide high-impact education that meets producers’ needs and helps them better serve their clients,” said Dick Mucci, executive vice president of The Hartford’s Group Benefits Division. "We continually evolve our programs to meet the needs of our business partners, and we look forward to bringing Vault to benefits professionals across the U.S.” Piloted in 2005, The Hartford’s Vault program was created in response to benefits professionals’ desire for in-depth training on disability insurance – a nuanced income protection product that is sometimes referred to as an "ancillary” coverage compared to group medical insurance. "Very few people see their income as ancillary, and employers don’t view the productivity of their employees as ancillary either,” said Mucci. "Getting disability coverage right has significant impact on employers and their workers. It requires knowledgeable professionals.” Vault graduates said the training gave them the knowledge and tools to create benefits plans that protect the financial and physical health of their employer clients and their employees. "I left the program with an even higher degree of confidence in my ability to assist my clients and motivation to help them solve a tremendous need that they should be concerned about,” said Tony Bruns, employee benefits executive with Southwest Business Corporation in San Antonio, Texas. "The program wasn’t an advertisement or sales pitch. It was purely educational and absolutely hit the target.” Continuing in a long-standing tradition of providing comprehensive educational programs for insurance professionals, The Hartford’s Vault program provides instruction on how to: Identify trends affecting their client’s productivity and risk profile and develop appropriate solutions and plan designs Navigate sophisticated contract language, benefits, underwriting/pricing levers, and claims/service considerations Expertly diagnose and serve their client’s group disability needs and goals. Tuition is $1,595 per person, which includes course materials, meals and refreshments, designation exam, and state filing and certificate fees for continuing education credits. Visit http://www.thehartford.com/vault for registration, as well as information about The Hartford’s entire catalog of continuing education programs for benefits professionals. The Hartford, a Fortune 100 company, is one of the nation's largest financial services and insurance companies, with 2005 revenues of $27.1 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-L 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 2005 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. 1 LIMRA International