HARTFORD INSURANCE GROUP, INC. (HIG) Business
This page reproduces the company's own Item 1 Business text from the linked SEC filing. It is filer text, not grepcent analysis, scoring, or investment advice.
Informational only - not investment advice. See Disclaimer.
Business
(Dollar amounts in millions, except for per share data, unless otherwise stated)
Index
| Description | Page |
|---|---|
| General | 6 |
| Organization | 6 |
| Purpose and Strategic Priorities | 6 |
| Reportable Segments and Corporate | 7 |
| Reserves | 15 |
| Underwriting for P&C and Employee Benefits | 16 |
| Claims Administration for P&C and Employee Benefits | 16 |
| Reinsurance | 16 |
| Investment Operations | 17 |
| Enterprise Risk Management | 17 |
| Regulation | 17 |
| Intellectual Property | 18 |
| Human Capital Resources | 18 |
| Available Information | 20 |
General
The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. ("HIG") (together with its subsidiaries, “The Hartford”, the “Company”, “we”, or “our”) is a holding company for a group of subsidiaries that provide property and casualty ("P&C") insurance, employee group benefits insurance and services, and mutual funds and exchange-traded funds ("ETF") to individual and business customers in the United States, as well as in the United Kingdom and other international locations. The Hartford is headquartered in Connecticut and its oldest subsidiary, Hartford Fire Insurance Company, dates back to 1810. As of December 31, 2025, total assets and total stockholders’ equity of The Hartford were $86.0 billion and $19.0 billion, respectively.
Organization
The Hartford strives to maintain and enhance its position as a market leader within the insurance industry. The Company sells diverse and innovative products through multiple distribution channels to individuals and businesses and is considered a leading property & casualty and employee group benefits insurer. The Hartford Stag logo is a widely recognized symbol in the insurance industry.
As a holding company, HIG is separate and distinct from its subsidiaries and has no significant business operations of its own. The holding company relies on the dividends from its insurance companies and other subsidiaries as the principal source of cash flow to meet its obligations, pay dividends and repurchase common stock. Information regarding the cash flow
and liquidity needs of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. may be found in Part II, Item 7, Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“MD&A”) — Capital Resources and Liquidity.
Purpose and Strategic Priorities
The Hartford’s mission is to provide people and businesses with the support and protection they need to pursue their unique ambitions, seize opportunity, and prevail through unexpected challenges. Our strategy to maximize value creation for all stakeholders remains consistent and focuses on the following priorities across our businesses:
•Embracing a culture of growth, innovation and cross-enterprise collaboration;
•Advancing leading underwriting capabilities across our portfolio to offer expanded products and services that solve for a broader range of customer needs;
•Maximizing distribution channels to increase market share;
•Deepening customer centricity by delivering seamless, personalized experiences that build lasting trust and reflect the evolving needs of those we serve;
•Optimizing organizational efficiency with a focus on continuous improvement;
•Accelerating artificial intelligence enablement and responsibly leveraging data, analytics, and digital capabilities to deliver smarter, faster outcomes across the businesses;
•Developing future ready talent to lead in a constantly evolving world; and
•Balancing use of excess capital for growth initiatives, investments in the business, and return to stockholders through dividends and share repurchases.
We endeavor to maintain and enhance our position as a market leader by leveraging our core strengths of underwriting excellence, risk management, claims, product development and distribution.
An ethical, people-oriented, and performance-driven culture drives our values. We are committed to maintaining and enhancing our culture and are proud of our reputation for ethics and integrity.
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Part I - Item 1. Business
Reportable Segments and Corporate
The Hartford conducts business principally in five reportable segments, including Business Insurance, Personal Insurance, Property & Casualty Other Operations, Employee Benefits and Hartford Funds, as well as a Corporate category.
The following discussion describes the principal products and services, marketing and distribution, and competition of The Hartford's reportable segments. For further discussion of the reportable segments, including financial disclosures of revenues by product line, significant segment expenses, net income (loss), and assets for each reportable segment, see Note 3 - Segment Information of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
2025 Revenues of $28,368 by Segment/Category
[1]Includes Revenue of $73 for Property & Casualty Other Operations and $147 for the Corporate category.
Business Insurance
2025 Earned Premiums of $13,883 by Line of Business
2025 Earned Premiums of $13,883 by Product
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Part I - Item 1. Business
Principal Products and Services
| Workers' Compensation | Covers employers for losses incurred due to employees sustaining an injury, illness or disability in connection with their work. Benefits paid under workers’ compensation policies may include reimbursement of medical care costs, replacement income, compensation for permanent injuries and benefits to survivors. Workers’ compensation is provided under both guaranteed cost policies (coverage for a fixed premium) and loss sensitive policies where premiums are adjustable based on the loss experience of the employer. |
|---|---|
| General Liability | Covers a business in the event it is sued for causing harm to a person and/or damage to property. General liability insurance covers third-party claims arising from accidents occurring on the insured’s premises or arising out of their operations. General liability insurance may also cover losses arising from product liability. |
| Marine | Encompasses various ocean and inland marine coverages including cargo, craft, hull, specie, transport and liability, among others. |
| Package Business | Covers both commercial property and general liability damages. |
| Commercial Property | Covers the building a business owns or leases as well as its personal property, including tools and equipment, inventory, and furniture. A commercial property insurance policy covers losses resulting from fire, wind, hail, earthquake, theft and other covered perils, including coverage for assets such as accounts receivable and valuable papers and records. Commercial property may include specialized equipment insurance, which provides coverage for loss or damage resulting from the mechanical breakdown of boilers and machinery. A commercial property insurance policy may also provide replacement of lost income resulting from a covered loss that interrupts business operations. |
| Professional Liability | Covers liability arising from directors and officers ("D&O") acting in their official capacity and liability for errors and omissions committed by professionals and others. Coverage may also provide employment practices insurance relating to allegations of wrongful termination and discrimination. |
| Bond | Encompasses fidelity and surety insurance, including commercial surety, contract surety and fidelity bonds. Commercial surety includes bonds that insure non-performance by contractors, license and permit bonds to help meet government-mandated requirements and probate and judicial bonds for fiduciaries and civil court proceedings. Contract surety bonds may include payment and performance bonds for contractors. Fidelity bonds may include ERISA bonds related to the handling of retirement plan assets and bonds protecting against employee theft or fraud. The Company also provides credit and political risk insurance ("CPRI") offered to clients with global operations. |
| Assumed Reinsurance | Includes assumed reinsurance of property, liability, surety, credit and political, marine and agriculture risks throughout the world but principally in Europe and the Americas. Business principally provides coverage on broad books of business (i.e. treaty), as opposed to individual risks (i.e., facultative). |
| Commercial Automobile | Covers damage to a business's fleet of vehicles due to collision or other perils (automobile physical damage). In addition to first party automobile physical damage, commercial automobile covers liability for bodily injuries and property damage suffered by third parties and losses caused by uninsured or under-insured motorists. |
Through its three lines of business, small business, middle & large business, and global specialty, Business Insurance offers its products and services to businesses in the United States ("U.S.") and internationally. Business Insurance generally consists of products written for businesses of all sizes, largely distributed through retail agents and brokers, wholesale agents and global and specialty insurance and reinsurance brokers, serving both admitted and non-admitted markets. The majority of Business Insurance written premium is generated by small business and middle market lines (the portion of middle & large business excluding the loss-sensitive book), which provide coverage options and customized pricing based on the policyholder’s individual risk characteristics.
Small business provides coverages for small businesses, which the Company generally considers to be businesses with an annual payroll under $20, revenues under $50 and property values less than $20 per location. The Company serves a broad range of small businesses, with an average written premium of less than $5 thousand per policy. Primary coverages provided include workers' compensation, property, general liability and commercial automobile, with both property and general liability coverages offered as a single package policy, marketed under the Spectrum name. Small business also provides excess and surplus lines coverage to small businesses including property, general liability, umbrella and other coverages.
Middle & large business provides insurance coverage to a broad spectrum of companies, from mid-sized firms to large national accounts. These are businesses whose payroll, revenue and
property values exceed the small business threshold. Middle & large business offers standard commercial lines products, including workers' compensation, property, general liability, commercial automobile and, umbrella and excess products, coupled with global specialty offerings. Middle & large business includes programs business which provides tailored programs, primarily to customers with common risk characteristics. For national accounts, a significant portion of the business is written through large deductible programs. Other programs written within middle & large business are loss sensitive, or retrospectively-rated where the ultimate premium collected from the insured is adjusted based on how incurred losses for the policy year develop over time, subject to a minimum and maximum premium. Also within middle & large business, the Company writes captive business, which provides tailored programs to those seeking a loss sensitive solution where premiums are adjustable based on loss experience. In addition to flexible premium structures, captive programs may offer potential tax advantages, enable a greater degree of self-insurance, and allow clients to retain underwriting profits with improved total cost of risk and enhanced risk management through customized coverage. Additionally, through business partners, middle & large business offers business insurance coverages to exporters and other U.S. companies with a physical presence overseas.
Lines of business written by small business and middle & large business are subject to rate regulation and written pricing increases or decreases that are partly in response to loss cost trends. Workers’ compensation rates are based on loss experience and are informed by data submitted through the
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Part I - Item 1. Business
National Council on Compensation Insurance ("NCCI"). Workers’ compensation rates have been under downward pressure for the industry due to favorable loss cost trends in recent years. General liability and commercial automobile rate increases have been supported by elevated loss cost trends in recent years, while rate increases in property are decelerating.
Global specialty provides a variety of customized insurance products, including property, general liability, marine, professional liability, bond, and excess and surplus lines, for companies of all sizes. Global specialty also offers various products internationally as a sole corporate member of Lloyd’s Syndicate 1221 ("Lloyd's Syndicate"). In addition, global specialty also offers assumed reinsurance for various risks including property, liability, surety, marine, credit and political, and agricultural, primarily in Europe and the America’s.
Marketing and Distribution
Business Insurance provides insurance products and services through the Company’s regional offices, branches and sales and policyholder service centers throughout the United States and, to a lesser extent, overseas, principally in the United Kingdom. The products are marketed and distributed using independent retail agents and brokers, wholesale agents and specialty insurance and reinsurance brokers, with business also sold direct-to-consumer. In addition, the Company offers insurance products to customers of payroll service providers through its relationships with major national payroll companies in the United States and to members of affinity organizations. As the sole corporate member of Lloyd's Syndicate 1221, the Company has the exclusive right to underwrite business up to an approved level of premium in the Lloyd’s of London ("Lloyd's") market.
In the United States, independent agents, brokers and wholesalers are consolidating. While acquisition activity has slowed, we continue to expect large deals by well positioned companies. This will likely result in a larger proportion of written premium being concentrated among fewer agents, brokers and wholesalers. These distribution partners are looking to exercise more control over the insurance value chain and are leveraging data and analytics for bargaining power. Distribution continues to evolve, with revenue concentration intensifying among larger brokers and wholesalers maintaining secular growth; this dynamic places greater emphasis on carrier enablement, digital connectivity and differentiated service.
Competition
Small Business
In small business, The Hartford competes against large national carriers, regional carriers and direct writers. Competitors include stock companies, mutual companies and other underwriting organizations. The small business market remains highly competitive and fragmented as carriers seek to differentiate themselves through product expansion, price, enhanced service and leading technology. Larger carriers such as The Hartford are continually advancing their pricing sophistication and ease of doing business with agents and customers through the use of technology, analytics and other capabilities that improve the process of evaluating a risk, quoting new business and servicing customers. The Company also continuously enhances digital capabilities as customers and distributors demand more access
and convenience, and expands product and underwriting capabilities to accommodate both larger accounts and a broader risk appetite.
Existing competitors and new entrants, including start-up and non-traditional carriers, are actively looking to expand sales of business insurance products to small businesses through increasing their underwriting appetite, deepening their relationships with distribution partners, leveraging emerging artificial intelligence capabilities, and through on-line and direct-to-consumer marketing. Carriers that can quote business in an automated way have a competitive advantage by shortening the time from quoting to issuance. Through its industry-leading ICON quoting tool, The Hartford quotes over 75% of new business policies from admitted markets without human intervention. Emerging artificial intelligence-enabled capabilities are raising customer and distributor expectations for speed and automation and may further reshape how small business customers shop for coverage.
Middle & Large Business
Competition in this market includes stock companies, mutual companies, alternative risk sharing groups and other underwriting organizations. In addition, some larger brokers are now becoming competitors through acquisition of managing general agents or managing general underwriters.
The pricing of middle market and national accounts is prone to volatility over time due to changes in individual account characteristics and exposure, as well as legislative and macro-economic forces. National and regional carriers participate in the middle & large business insurance sector, resulting in a competitive environment where pricing and policy terms are critical to securing new business and retaining existing accounts. As a means to mitigate the cost of insurance, middle market and large commercial buyers may opt for loss-sensitive products in-lieu of guaranteed cost policies.
Middle & large business has historically been considered “higher touch” and involves highly specialized expertise, including individual underwriting and pricing decisions. Within this competitive environment, The Hartford is continuing to invest in its underwriting systems and capabilities, including investing in speed to market solutions, enhancing its digital experience, leveraging its sales and underwriting talent and expanding its use of data analytics, artificial intelligence capabilities and third party data to make expert risk selection and pricing decisions as the firm pursues responsible growth strategies to deliver target returns. In product development and related areas such as claims and risk engineering, the Company has expanded its capabilities in industry verticals, such as energy, construction, media arts & entertainment, technology and life science. The pace of change in artificial intelligence and shifting broker influence are increasing the importance of consistency, efficiency and resiliency across the end-to-end underwriting and service experience.
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Part I - Item 1. Business
Global Specialty
Global specialty competes against multi-national insurance and reinsurance companies, in the U.S and London markets. Global specialty writes many surplus lines of business, which are lines of business not written through standard products licensed or admitted in a state ("nonadmitted"). In recent years, surplus lines have accounted for a significant portion of the total U.S. property and casualty commercial market, and The Hartford continues to grow its surplus book of business. Excess & surplus growth has outpaced the overall market in recent years, though pricing conditions may vary by line as competition increases.
Customers served by the global specialty marketplace expect tailored policy language for their unique risks and, increasingly, are looking for a single insurance carrier to meet all their coverage needs. The Company has been successful in cross-selling global specialty product lines to customers of small
business and of middle & large business and seeks to expand cross-sell opportunities in the future. The Hartford competes on the basis of its underwriting capabilities where it uses data and actuarial insights to enhance risk selection. The Company seeks to drive greater efficiency, shorten the quoting process and improve the customer’s experience through expanded use of digital and artificial intelligence capabilities.
Global specialty also writes business in the London market via its Lloyd’s syndicate platform. The Lloyd’s platform is comprised of over 50 syndicates and 350 brokers, who benefit from the ability to write risks in over 200 countries using Lloyd’s international licenses. Lloyd’s is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") and Prudential Regulatory Authority ("PRA") in the U.K. For further discussion, see Part II, Item 7, MD&A - Capital Resources and Liquidity.
Personal Insurance
2025 Earned Premiums of $3,725 by Line of Business
2025 Earned Premiums of $3,725 by Product
Principal Products and Services
| Personal Automobile | Covers damage to an individual insured’s own vehicle due to collision or other perils and is referred to as automobile physical damage. In addition to first party automobile physical damage, automobile insurance covers liability for bodily injuries and property damage suffered by third parties and losses caused by uninsured or under-insured motorists. Also, under no-fault laws, policies written in some states provide first party personal injury protection. Some of the Company’s personal automobile insurance policies also offer personal umbrella liability coverage for an additional premium. |
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| Homeowners | Insures against losses to residences and contents from fire, wind and other perils. Homeowners insurance includes owned dwellings, rental properties and coverage for tenants. The policies may provide other coverages, including loss related to recreational vehicles or watercraft, identity theft and personal items such as jewelry. |
Personal Insurance provides automobile, homeowners and personal umbrella coverages to individuals across the United States, mostly through a program designed exclusively for members of AARP (“AARP Program”). The Hartford's automobile and homeowners products provide coverage options
and pricing tailored to a customer's individual risk. The Hartford has individual customer relationships with AARP Program policyholders and, as a group, they represent a significant portion of the total Personal Insurance's business. Business sold to AARP members, either direct or through independent
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Part I - Item 1. Business
agents, amounted to earned premiums of $3.4 billion, $3.2 billion and $2.9 billion in 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The AARP relationship provides The Company with a competitive advantage to capitalize on the continued growth of the over age 50 population. The mature market continues to expand, supporting sustained demand for tailored products and experiences.
The Company has rolled out its new cloud-based product and platform, Prevail, which is now in market in nearly all states. In mid-2025, Prevail was also introduced in the agency distribution channel and it will continue to roll out over time with 30 state launches planned by early 2027. Prevail is tailored to the mature market and includes digital service capabilities that provide real time transaction support. Among other things, overall rate levels, price segmentation, rating factors and underwriting procedures are being updated through the introduction of Prevail. Personal Insurance works with carrier partners to provide risk protection options for AARP members with needs beyond the company’s current product offering.
Marketing and Distribution
Personal Insurance reaches diverse customers through multiple distribution channels, including direct-to-consumer and independent agents. In the direct-to-consumer channel, Personal Insurance markets its products through a mix of media, including digital marketing, direct mail, print advertising, and television. In the agency channel, Personal Insurance provides products and services to customers through a network of independent agents in the standard personal lines market, primarily serving mature, preferred consumers. These independent agents are not employees of the Company.
Personal Insurance has made significant investments in offering direct and agency-based customers the opportunity to interact with the company on-line, including via mobile devices. In addition, its technology platform for telephone sales centers enables sales representatives to provide an enhanced experience for direct-to-consumer customers, positioning the Company to offer unique capabilities to AARP’s member base.
Most of Personal Insurance's sales are associated with its exclusive licensing arrangement with AARP, with the current agreement in place through December 31, 2032, to market automobile, homeowners and personal umbrella coverages to AARP's approximately 38 million members. This relationship with AARP, which has been in place since 1984, provides Personal Insurance with an important competitive advantage given the increase in the population of those over age 50 and the strength of the AARP brand.
Prior to May 2021, in most states, new business automobile and home policies were issued to AARP members with a lifetime continuation agreement endorsement, providing that the policies will be renewed as long as certain terms are met, such as timely payment of premium and maintaining a driver’s license in good standing. However, beginning in May 2021, Personal Insurance no longer offers the lifetime continuation agreement to new home and automobile policies. The endorsement will remain on renewal policies with original effective dates prior to May 2021.
In addition to selling to AARP members, Personal Insurance offers its automobile and homeowners products to non-AARP customers, primarily through the independent agent channel.
Personal Insurance leverages its agency channel to primarily target the over age 50 preferred mature market, which values the advice of an independent agent and recognizes the differentiated experience the Company provides. In particular, the Company has taken action to distinguish its brand within the over age 50 preferred mature market and improve profitability in the independent agent channel, placing more emphasis on our highly partnered agents.
Competition
The personal automobile and homeowners insurance markets are highly competitive. In 2025, many personal lines insurance companies, including The Hartford, increased marketing spend in order to increase new business production after returning to new business rate adequacy. Personal Insurance is written by insurance companies of varying sizes that compete principally on the basis of price, product, service, including claims handling, the insurer's ratings and brand recognition. Companies with strong ratings, recognized brands, direct sales capability and economies of scale will have a competitive advantage. Industry conditions are evolving as automobile premium growth moderates with improving margin conditions, while homeowners show signs of stabilization even as catastrophe frequency and severity remain a key consideration.
Insurers that distribute products principally through agency channels compete by offering commissions and additional incentives to attract new business. To distinguish themselves in the marketplace, top tier insurers are offering digital and self-service capabilities that make it easier for agents and consumers to do business with the insurer. A large majority of agents have been using “comparative rater” tools that allow the agent to compare premium quotes among several insurance companies. The use of comparative rater tools increases price competition. Insurers that are able to capitalize on their brand and reputation, differentiate their products and deliver strong customer service are more likely to be successful in this market.
The use of data mining and predictive modeling is used by more and more carriers to target the most profitable business, and carriers have further segmented their pricing plans to expand market share in what they believe to be the most profitable segments. The Company continues to invest in capabilities to better utilize data and analytics, and thereby, refine and manage underwriting and pricing. Many carriers, including The Hartford, continue to invest in telematics capabilities to enable better risk selection and pricing segmentation in response to changes in driving patterns. In the states where the Prevail product has been rolled out, The Hartford offers its telematics program, TrueLane, which uses a mobile app solution to offer individualized pricing for policyholders based on their personal driving behavior including such attributes as braking, speed, distracted driving, and acceleration.
Also, automobile technology advancements, including lane departure warnings, backup cameras, automatic braking and active collision alerts, continue to be deployed and are expected to improve driver safety and reduce the likelihood of vehicle collisions. However, these features include expensive parts, contributing to increasing average claim severity.
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Part I - Item 1. Business
P&C Other Operations
Property & Casualty Other Operations includes certain property and casualty operations managed by the Company that have discontinued writing new business and includes substantially all of the Company's pre-1986 asbestos and environmental ("A&E") exposures. For a discussion of coverages provided under
policies written with exposure to A&E prior to 1986 reported within the P&C Other Operations segment (“Run-off A&E”), run-off assumed reinsurance and all other non-A&E exposures, see Part II, Item 7, MD&A - Critical Accounting Estimates, Property & Casualty Insurance Product Reserves, Net of Reinsurance.
Employee Benefits
2025 Premiums and Other Considerations of $6,645
Principal Products and Services
| Group Life | Typically is term life insurance provided in the form of a yearly renewable policy. Other life coverages in this category include accidental loss of life and severe injury benefits and business travel accident insurance. |
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| Group Disability | Consists primarily of short‑term disability, long‑term disability ("LTD"), and paid family leave coverages. These products generally provide a percentage of an employee’s income for a defined period when the employee is unable to work due to illness, injury, or qualifying family‑related leave. Benefits are designed to replace lost wages during periods of work interruption and support employees as they recover or care for eligible family members. Short-term and long-term disability policies have elimination periods that must be satisfied prior to benefit payments. The Company also earns fee income from leave management services for federal, state and employer family and medical leave and workplace accommodation programs, as well as the administration of employer self-funded disability plans. |
| Other Products | Includes other group coverages such as retiree health insurance, critical illness, accident and hospital indemnity coverages. |
Employee Benefits provides group life, disability and other group coverages to members of employer groups, associations and affinity groups through direct insurance policies and provides reinsurance to other insurance companies. Group insurance typically covers an entire group of people under a single contract, most typically the employees of a single employer or members of an association. In addition to employer paid coverages, the segment offers voluntary product coverages which are offered through employee payroll deductions. Employee Benefits also offers disability underwriting, administration, and claims processing to self-funded employer plans. In addition, the segment offers a single-company leave management solution, which integrates work absence data from the insurer’s short-term and long-term group disability and
workers’ compensation insurance business with its leave management administration services.
Statutory paid family and medical leave ("PFML") programs are a source of growth as the Company offers fully insured coverage or administers self-insured coverage for some of these programs. As of year-end 2025, thirteen states and the District of Columbia have enacted mandated PFML programs. Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, and Virginia have also created opt-in paid family leave programs, and additional states are considering adopting PFML programs.
Employee Benefits generally offers term insurance policies, allowing for the adjustment of rates or policy terms at renewal in
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Part I - Item 1. Business
order to minimize the adverse effect of market trends, loss costs, changes in interest rates and other factors. Policies are typically sold with one, two or three-year rate guarantees depending upon the product and market segment.
Marketing and Distribution
The Employee Benefits distribution network is managed through a regional sales office system to distribute its group insurance products and services through a variety of distribution outlets including brokers, consultants, third-party administrators and trade associations. Additionally, the segment has relationships with several private exchanges which offer its products to employer groups. Technology providers, including human resources platform vendors, are taking an increasingly prominent role in influencing customer decisions that also influence selection of the employee benefits insurance provider. Carriers across the industry are increasing automated interfaces and digital workflows to meet distributor and employer expectations and to improve service and claim experiences.
Competition
Employee Benefits competes with numerous insurance companies and financial intermediaries marketing insurance products. The market for employee benefits continues to grow as employees and employers continue to demand employee benefits for addressing mental health, wellness, and caregiving costs. Growth is moderating as employment and wage growth slow, while opportunities continue in the small to mid-size segment and in employee-paid supplemental health offerings as employers seek cost relief.
In order to differentiate itself, Employee Benefits uses its risk management expertise and economies of scale to derive a competitive advantage. Competitive factors include the extent of products offered, price, the quality of customer and claims
handling services, digital capabilities, and the Company's relationship with third-party distributors and private exchanges. Active price competition continues in the marketplace, resulting in multi-year rate guarantees being offered to customers. Top tier insurers in the marketplace also offer digital and self-service capabilities to third party distributors and consumers. The relatively large size and underwriting capacity of the Employee Benefits business provides a competitive advantage over smaller competitors.
The Company's market presence has increased in recent years, benefiting from our industry leading digital technology and integrated absence management and claims platform.
Additionally, as employers continue to focus on reducing the cost of employee benefits, we expect more companies to offer voluntary products paid for by employees. Across the industry, the sale of voluntary product offerings, including supplemental health coverage, is growing at a faster rate than employer-provided benefits. Competitive factors affecting the sale of voluntary products include the breadth of products, product education, enrollment capabilities and overall customer service. The Company, as well its competitors, are investing in technology to offer digital capabilities, and to improve product offerings and service levels, particularly with voluntary products.
We offer our voluntary products including critical illness, accident and hospital indemnity coverage to employees through our Employee Choice Benefits programs. The Company's enhanced enrollment and marketing tools, such as digital decision support and personalized recommendations, are providing additional opportunities to educate individual participants about supplementary benefits and deepen their knowledge about product selection.
In addition to providing group disability, leave management and life insurance, we offer integrated claim, leave and benefits administration with The Hartford's Ability Advantage platform.
Hartford Funds
Hartford Funds Segment Assets Under Management ("AUM") of $154,229 as of December 31, 2025
Mutual Fund AUM of $137,548 as of December 31, 2025
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Principal Products and Services
| Mutual Funds | Includes approximately 60 actively managed mutual funds across a variety of asset classes including domestic and international equity, fixed income, and multi-strategy investments, principally sub-advised by two unaffiliated institutional asset management firms. |
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| Exchange-traded funds | Includes actively managed ETFs and multifactor ETFs. Actively-managed ETFs include fixed income and domestic equity products utilizing the same investment platform as our mutual funds. Multifactor ETFs are designed to track indices using passive investment techniques that strive to improve performance relative to traditional capitalization-weighted indices. |
| Third-party life and annuity separate accounts under management | Relates to assets of the life and annuity business sold in May 2018 that are still managed by the Company's Hartford Funds segment. |
The Hartford Funds segment provides investment management, administration, product distribution and related services to investors through a diverse set of investment products in domestic markets. Hartford Funds' comprehensive range of products and services assist clients in achieving their desired investment objectives. AUM are separated into three distinct categories referred to as mutual funds, ETFs and third-party life and annuity separate accounts under management.
Marketing and Distribution
Our funds and ETFs are sold through national and regional broker-dealer organizations, independent financial advisers, defined contribution plans, financial consultants, bank trust groups and registered investment advisers. Our distribution team is organized to sell primarily in the United States.
Competition
The investment management industry is mature and highly competitive. Firms are differentiated by investment performance, range of products offered, brand recognition, financial strength, proprietary distribution channels, quality of service and level of fees charged relative to quality of investment products. The Hartford Funds segment competes with a large number of asset management firms and other financial institutions and differentiates itself through its global sub-advisors, product breadth, competitive fees and strong distribution. The segment also competes directly with lower cost passive investment strategies, which continue taking share from active managers.
Corporate
The Company includes in the Corporate category capital raising activities (including equity financing, debt financing and related interest expense), purchase accounting adjustments related to goodwill, reserves for run-off structured settlement and terminal funding agreement liabilities, restructuring costs, transaction expenses incurred in connection with an acquisition, certain M&A costs, and other expenses not allocated to the reportable segments. Corporate also includes investment management fees and expenses related to managing third-party assets.
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Reserves
Total Reserves as of December 31, 2025 [1]
[1]Includes reserves for future policy benefits and other policyholder funds and benefits payable of $444 and $612, respectively, of which $291 and $409, respectively, relate to the Employee Benefits segment with the remainder related to run-off structured settlement and terminal funding agreements within Corporate.
The reserve for unpaid losses and loss adjustment expenses ("LAE") includes a liability for unpaid losses, including those that have been incurred but not yet reported, as well as estimates of all expenses associated with processing and settling these insurance claims, including reserves related to both Property & Casualty and Employee Benefits.
Total Property & Casualty Reserves as of December 31, 2025
Further discussion of The Hartford’s property and casualty insurance product reserves, including run-off asbestos and environmental claims reserves within P&C Other Operations, may be found in Part II, Item 7, MD&A — Critical Accounting Estimates — Property and Casualty Insurance Product Reserves, Net of Reinsurance. Additional discussion may be found in Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, including in the Company’s accounting policies for insurance product reserves within Note 1 - Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies and in Note 10 - Reserve for Unpaid Losses and Loss Adjustment Expenses of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
Total Employee Benefits Reserves as of December 31, 2025 [1]
[1]Includes short duration contract reserves of $169 for short-term disability and $45 of supplemental health as well as reserves for future policy benefits that include $203 of paid up life reserves and policy reserves on life policies, $68 of reserves for conversions to individual life and $20 of other reserves.
Employee Benefits reserves include unpaid loss and loss adjustments expenses for LTD, group life and other lines of business as well as reserves for other policyholder funds and reserves for future policy benefits. Other policyholder funds and benefits payable represent deposits from policyholders, including policyholders of short-duration insurance contracts, where the Company does not have insurance risk but is subject to investment risk. Reserves for future policy benefits represent life-contingent reserves for which the Company is subject to insurance, interest rate, and investment risk.
Discussion of The Hartford's Employee Benefits long-term disability reserves may be found in Part II, Item 7, MD&A — Critical Accounting Estimates — Employee Benefit LTD Reserves, Net of Reinsurance. Additional discussion may be found in Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, including in the Company’s accounting policies for insurance product reserves within Note 1 - Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies and in Note 10 - Reserve for Unpaid Losses and Loss Adjustment Expenses of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
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Underwriting for P&C and Employee Benefits
The Company underwrites the risks it insures in order to manage exposure to loss through favorable risk selection and diversification. Risk modeling is used to manage, within specified limits, the aggregate exposure taken in each line of business and across the Company. For property and casualty business, aggregate exposure limits are set by geographic zone and peril. Products are priced according to the risk characteristics of the insured’s exposures. Rates charged for Personal Insurance products are filed with the states in which we write business. Rates for most Business Insurance products are also filed with the states but the premium charged may be modified based on the insured’s relative risk profile and workers’ compensation policies may be subject to modification based on prior loss experience. The Company also writes coverage in the excess and surplus lines market, within global specialty and small business, which is characterized by the absence of regulation related to rate and form and allows for more pricing and coverage flexibility to write certain classes of business. Pricing for Employee Benefits products, including long-term disability and life insurance, is also based on an underwriting of the risks and a projection of estimated losses, including consideration of investment income.
Pricing adequacy depends on a number of factors, including the ability to obtain regulatory approval for rate changes, proper evaluation of underwriting risks, the ability to project future loss cost frequency and severity based on historical loss experience adjusted for known trends, the Company’s response to rate actions taken by competitors, its expense levels and expectations about regulatory and legal developments. The Company seeks to price its insurance policies such that insurance premiums and future net investment income earned on premiums received will cover underwriting expenses and the ultimate cost of paying claims reported on the policies and provide for a profit margin. For many of its insurance products, the Company is required to obtain approval for its premium rates from state insurance departments and the Lloyd's Syndicate's ability to write business is subject to Lloyd's approval for its premium capacity each year.
Geographic Distribution of Earned Premium
(% of total)
| Location | Business Insurance | Personal Insurance | Employee Benefits | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 9 | % | 1 | % | 2 | % | 12 | % |
| New York | 5 | % | 1 | % | 3 | % | 9 | % |
| Texas | 5 | % | 2 | % | 2 | % | 9 | % |
| Florida | 3 | % | 1 | % | 1 | % | 5 | % |
| All other [1] | 36 | % | 10 | % | 19 | % | 65 | % |
| Total | 58 | % | 15 | % | 27 | % | 100 | % |
[1]No other single state or country accounted for 5% or more of the Company's consolidated earned premium in 2025.
Claims Administration for P&C and Employee Benefits
Claims administration includes functions associated with the receipt of initial loss notices, claims adjudication and estimates, legal representation for insureds where appropriate, establishment of case reserves, payment of losses and notification to reinsurers. These activities are performed by approximately 6,700 claim employees including, among others, claim adjusters, appraisers, attorneys, doctors, nurses, behavioral health specialists, investigators and data analytics professionals as well as training staff, management, and support staff. The Company contracts with a select number of approved regional, national and international suppliers to enhance claim capabilities and business resiliency.
The Company's claims teams manage losses across the U.S. and internationally, working from locations across the U.S. and in two of our international offices. The teams are organized to meet the specific claim service needs for our various product offerings. The claims organization is supported by data and analytics, technology, and strategy located across the U.S. and in two of our international offices.
As a leading provider of workers’ compensation and employee benefits coverages, the Company leverages data analytics to return employees to active, productive lives as soon and safely as possible. Clinical experts focus on opioid usage, vocational rehabilitation, behavioral health and medical case management which we believe provides the Company with a competitive advantage for managing medical costs.
The Company maintains a dedicated catastrophe claims organization that is positioned to respond to large-scale catastrophic events across the country. For the most severe events, the team is supplemented with additional Company staff to respond to claimants promptly after an event.
The Company's claims organization has a nationwide staff of attorneys who represent insureds in key jurisdictions, including dedicated lawyers specializing in complex litigation.
Claim payments for benefits, losses and loss adjustment expenses are the largest expenditure for the Company.
Reinsurance
For discussion of reinsurance, see Part II, Item 7, MD&A — Enterprise Risk Management and Note 8 - Reinsurance of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
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Investment Operations
Hartford Investment Management Company (“HIMCO”) is an Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") registered investment advisor and manages the Company's investment operations. HIMCO provides customized investment strategies for The Hartford's investment portfolio, as well as for The Hartford's pension plan and institutional clients.
As of December 31, 2025 and 2024, the fair value of HIMCO’s total assets under management was approximately $121.9 billion and $112.0 billion, respectively, including $55.6 billion and $50.9 billion, respectively, that were held in HIMCO managed third party accounts and $3.5 billion and $3.6 billion, respectively, that support the Company's pension and other postretirement plans.
The Hartford's Investment Portfolio of $64.0 billion as of December 31, 2025
Management of The Hartford's Investment Portfolio
HIMCO manages the Company's investment portfolios to maximize economic value, ensure sufficient funding of the Company's liabilities, and achieve enterprise financial objectives while remaining within acceptable risk tolerances. Portfolio objectives and guidelines are developed based upon the asset/liability profile, including timing and amount of claim payment obligations, investment return opportunity, and risk characteristics. The Company attempts to minimize adverse impacts to the portfolio and the Company’s results of operations from changes in economic conditions through asset diversification, asset allocation limits, asset/liability duration matching, and active portfolio management, which may include the use of derivatives. Risk tolerances considered include, but are not limited to, asset sector exposure limits, credit issuer allocation limits, portfolio quality constraints including maximum exposure to below investment grade holdings, and interest rate duration limits. For further discussion of HIMCO’s portfolio management approach, see Part II, Item 7, MD&A — Enterprise Risk Management.
Enterprise Risk Management
The Company has insurance, operational and financial risks. For discussion on how The Hartford manages these risks, see Part II, Item 7, MD&A - Enterprise Risk Management.
Regulation
State and Foreign Insurance Laws
State insurance laws are intended to supervise and regulate insurers with the goal of protecting policyholders and ensuring the solvency of the insurers. As such, the insurance laws and regulations grant broad authority to state insurance departments (“Departments”) to oversee and regulate the business of insurance. The Departments monitor the financial stability of an insurer by requiring insurers to maintain certain solvency standards and minimum capital and surplus requirements; invested asset requirements; state deposits of securities; guaranty fund premiums; restrictions on the size of risks which may be insured under a single policy; and adequate reserves and other necessary provisions for unearned premiums, unpaid losses and loss adjustment expenses and other liabilities, both reported and unreported. In addition, the Departments perform periodic market and financial examinations of insurers and require insurers to file annual and other reports on the financial condition of the companies. Policyholder protection is also regulated by the Departments through licensing of insurers, sales employees, agents and brokers and others; approval of premium rates and policy forms; and claims administration requirements.
Many states also have laws regulating insurance holding company systems. These laws require insurance companies, which are formed and chartered in the state (“Domestic Insurers”), to register with the state department of insurance (referred to as their “domestic state or regulator”) and file information concerning the operations of companies within the holding company system that may materially affect the operations, management or financial condition of the insurers within the system. Insurance holding company regulations principally relate to (i) state insurance approval of the acquisition of Domestic Insurers, (ii) prior review or approval of certain transactions between the Domestic Insurer and its affiliates, and (iii) regulation of dividends made by the Domestic Insurer. All transactions within a holding company system affecting Domestic Insurers must be determined to be fair and equitable.
The extent of financial services regulation on business outside the United States varies significantly among the countries in which The Hartford operates. Foreign financial services providers in certain countries are faced with greater restrictions than domestic competitors domiciled in that particular jurisdiction. Our International operations include a Lloyd’s Syndicate which is required to meet the minimum market standards set by Lloyd’s, as well as UK PRA and UK FCA regulatory requirements. Consistent with the U.K.'s current interpretation of Solvency II, both Lloyd’s and the PRA focus on the adequacy of capital held and solvency of an insurer against the risk profile and management of the authorized insurer in setting capital requirements.
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Federal and State Securities and Financial Regulation Laws
The Company sells and distributes its mutual funds and ETFs through a broker dealer subsidiary, and is subject to regulation promulgated and enforced by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the SEC and/or, in some instances, state securities administrators. Other subsidiaries operate as investment advisers registered with the SEC under the Investment Advisers’ Act of 1940, as amended, and are registered as investment advisers under certain state laws, as applicable. Because federal and state laws and regulations are primarily intended to protect investors in securities markets, they generally grant regulators broad rulemaking and enforcement authority. Some of these regulations include, among other things, regulations impacting sales methods, trading practices, suitability of investments, use and safekeeping of customers’ funds, corporate governance, capital, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements.
Failure to comply with federal and state laws and regulations may result in fines, the issuance of cease-and-desist orders or suspension, termination or limitation of the activities of our operations and/or our employees.
Intellectual Property
We rely on a combination of contractual rights and copyright, trademark, patent and trade secret laws to establish and protect our intellectual property.
We have a trademark portfolio that we consider important in the marketing of our products and services, including, among others, the trademarks of The Hartford name, the Stag Logo and the combination of these two trademarks. The duration of trademark registrations may be renewed indefinitely subject to country-specific use and registration requirements. We regard our trademarks as highly valuable assets in marketing our products and services and vigorously seek to protect them against infringement. In addition, we own a number of patents and patent applications relating to on-line quoting, insurance related processing, insurance telematics, proprietary interface platforms, and other matters. Patents are of varying duration depending on filing date, and will typically expire at the end of their natural term.
Human Capital Resources
The Hartford has approximately 19,200 employees as of December 31, 2025.
Management, including the CEO and Chief Human Resources Officer ("CHRO"), establishes the hiring and compensation practices for our Company. The Board is periodically updated on key workforce metrics. The Board's Audit Committee receives an annual review of the Company's key employee relations measures. The Board’s Compensation and Management Development Committee (“Compensation Committee”) is regularly updated on employee engagement, turn-over, leader capabilities, future skill development and other workforce measures. In addition, the Compensation Committee is responsible for reviewing performance and approving compensation paid to senior executives, and, among other
things, the oversight of succession and continuity planning for senior executive roles, setting the Company's executive compensation policy and administering the Company's Clawback Policy for senior executives. Our Human Resources team, led by our CHRO, supports the Compensation Committee in the execution of its responsibilities. In addition to the day-to-day support and counseling they provide to our leaders, managers and employees, the Human Resources team also monitors key indicators and devises talent strategies based on trends across our employee population including strategic workforce planning, employee engagement, employee relations matters, career mobility, talent attraction, retention, and development.
Talent Attraction, Retention and Development
Our commitment to a robust talent pipeline starts at the top. The Board of Directors engages with the Compensation Committee annually to review senior executive level talent, consider key emerging executive talent and conduct succession planning. In addition, our leadership team conducts a comprehensive annual talent review process across our organization each year.
To keep pace with the evolving needs of our customers and the expectations of employees and external candidates, we focus on a broad array of actions, including:
•Establishing comprehensive hiring strategies across executive, professional, and front-line roles to fill talent needs;
•Providing career growth and development opportunities aligned to our succession and strategic workforce plans through internal mobility, job progressions and learning programs;
•Offering extensive learning and development opportunities to sustain the skills needed for the roles we have today and those we anticipate in the future; and
•Holding leaders accountable for their progress against human capital goals that include development, engagement, mobility, succession, and retention.
For entry-level roles in the organization, we recruit at colleges and universities, and offer a range of training and development programs, including:
•The Hartford’s Leadership Development Program, which provides curriculum to enhance leadership skill sets for all participants – from first-time leaders through our executive ranks;
•The Hartford Early Career Leadership Program, which offers programs in Actuarial, Finance, Underwriting, Claims, Operations, Technology, Data and Analytics through rotational development to gain a breadth of experiences;
•The Hartford’s Apprenticeship Program, which prepares students for careers in insurance;
•HartCloud Academy which offers an immersive training program for our mid-career engineers to advance their proficiency in cloud technologies;
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•The Hartford’s College Internship Program, which provides paid work experience and professional development opportunities for rising college seniors and graduate students supporting the Company’s early career talent pipeline; and
•The Hartford’s Tech Catalyst Program, which supports the development of early career software and data engineers through a structured ten-week onboarding and training program
The Hartford prioritizes sustaining a workforce that upholds the highest standards of ethics and trust. We are committed to creating a work environment where employees are respected, inspired to perform at their best, and are recognized for their contributions. The Hartford believes that fostering a culture of integrity and ethical behavior leads to better decisions, outcomes and experiences for both our customers and employees. We believe that creating a work environment centered on trust enables us to attract, retain and leverage top talent to meet our business goals. We are committed to ethical conduct and a bias-free workplace for all employees as we build, enhance and sustain a welcoming and supportive culture.
In 2025, we achieved top quartile employee engagement and performance enablement scores, as measured by our enterprise engagement survey using independent third party benchmarks. These results were achieved in part due to continued focus on leader effectiveness, career growth, belonging and well-being.
We have nine Employee Resource Groups (“ERG’s”) that are voluntary participation groups led by employees, open to all and dedicated to enabling people to connect and collaborate for professional and business success. These groups focus on advancing the development of our employees and strengthening our business results through education, networking, mentorship and volunteer opportunities. As of December 31, 2025, over 60% of employees were members of at least one ERG.
We persistently work to improve the employee experience in support of our continuing strategic objective to attract, retain and develop the best talent in the industry.
Pay and Benefits
Compensation and Pay Equity
We offer competitive pay and benefits to our employees, with performance-based variable compensation making up a large share of the total compensation paid to executives in the organization. Variable compensation for the majority of employees includes an annual bonus plan. Executives also receive long-term incentive awards. Annual bonus payouts are informed by whether the Company achieves core earnings (as adjusted for compensation purposes) above or below a target level that is determined from the annual operating plan set at the beginning of each year and reviewed and approved by the Compensation Committee. Long-term incentive awards include restricted stock units, performance shares and, for the most senior executives, stock options. Additional information about The Hartford’s variable compensation programs is provided in the Company’s Proxy Statement.
We use an independent third party to conduct statistical pay equity analyses for the vast majority of our U.S. employees each year – a three-step process that includes analysis before, during
and after the annual compensation planning cycle. This enables us to identify unexplained pay disparities, conduct additional research to determine reasons for these differences and take appropriate actions to address the disparities if necessary.
The Compensation Committee is updated annually on our pay equity processes and results.
The Hartford engages in a number of additional practices to ensure pay fairness, including:
•Centralized compensation function that helps maintain consistent programs and practices across the enterprise;
•Enterprise-wide framework for evaluating and aligning roles and compensation levels based on job responsibilities, market competitiveness, strategic importance of the role, and other relevant factors;
•Prohibition against asking external job applicants for current or historical compensation information;
•A practice to disclose to applicants and employees the salary ranges for most posted positions;
•Individual compensation decisions that consider each employee’s experience, proficiency, and performance;
•Training available for managers and Human Resources business partners on performance assessment and compensation planning; and
•Multiple levels of review and approval required for all compensation decisions.
We are committed to our extensive, long-standing policies and practices to help ensure fair pay across the organization, while staying attuned to external best practices and insights, and leveraging input from subject matter experts. We evaluate our performance every year, and as markets and talent pools shift over time we work to evolve our practices accordingly.
Employee Benefits and Well-Being
The Hartford offers a comprehensive benefits and well-being package that supports our employees’ physical, emotional, social and financial well-being and helps them achieve their full potential. Our extensive benefits include:
•Medical plan options;
•Dental and vision coverage options;
•401(k) plan with company non-elective and matching contributions;
•Paid time off ("PTO") with at least 25 days annually to start;
•Paid holidays;
•Flexible work schedules, including hybrid or remote work arrangements;
•Tuition reimbursement;
•Student loan repayment assistance;
•Family medical leave;
•Paid parental leave;
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•Travel reimbursement to access medical services in other locations as needed;
•Family building support, including adoption support program;
•Organ and bone marrow donation leave policy; and
•Employee assistance program.
The Company also offers a medical advocacy program and well-being programs, weight management, fitness reimbursement and more.
Available Information
The Company’s internet address is https://www.thehartford.com. Our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports are available, without charge, on the investor relations section of our website, https://ir.thehartford.com, as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. Reports filed with the SEC may be viewed at https://www.sec.gov. References in this report to our website address are provided only as a convenience and do not constitute, and should not be viewed as, an incorporation by reference of the information contained on, or available through, the website. Therefore, such information should not be considered part of this report.
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