The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., usually known as The Hartford, is a United States-based investment and

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

company. The Hartford is a

Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune (magazine), Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States Joint-stock company#Closely held corporations and publicly traded corporations, corporations by ...

company headquartered in its namesake city of Hartford,

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

. It was ranked 160th in

in the year of 2020. The company's earnings are divided between

property Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, r ...

-and- casualty operations, group benefits and mutual funds. The Hartford is the 13th-largest property and casualty insurance company in the United States. It sells products primarily through a network of agents and brokers, and has also been the auto and home insurance writer for

AARP AARP (formerly called the American Association of Retired Persons) is an interest group in the United States focusing on issues affecting those over the age of fifty. The organization said it had more than 38 million members in 2018. The magazi ...

members for more than 25 years.

History

The Hartford (May, 1875 calendar postcard) (14222377016)

The Hartford was founded in 1810 in

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...

. A group of local merchants gathered in a Hartford inn and, with working capital of $15,000, founded the Hartford Fire Insurance Company. The company survived some of the greatest peacetime tragedies in American history. After a huge fire destroyed New York's financial district in 1835, The Hartford's president, Eliphalet Terry, used his personal wealth to cover all the company's damage claims. Other catastrophic events included the Chicago fire of 1871 and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire. The company logo shows a male elk (bull), which in full maturity was referred to by the

medieval hunting Throughout Western Europe in the Middle Ages, humans hunted wild animals. While game was at times an important source of food, it was rarely the principal source of nutrition. All classes engaged in hunting, but by the High Middle Ages, the nece ...

term '' hart''. The etymology of 'Hartford' is the ford where harts cross (deer crossing). The Seal of the City of Hartford likewise features a mature male deer (buck).

Acquisitions, divestitures and related changes

* 2021: Chubb makes three takeover offers for The Hartford, but negotiations fell through on 28 April. *2020: Castel Underwriting Europe B.V. has decided to acquire from The Hartford the renewal rights for a Navigators Europe book consisting mostly of Dutch naval freight, inland hull, land-based equipment and liability company. * 2019: Acquired Navigators, adding specialty products across 22 vertical markets, and offices in the United Kingdom,

Continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...

, and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

. * 2018, Acquired Y-Risk, a managing general underwriter specializing in economy risks, with managing general agencies across the U.S. * 2014: Sold its Japan annuities business to Orix Life Insurance Corp. * 2013: Sold its life insurance business to Prudential, retirement plans to MassMutual, and a broker-dealer to AIG. * 2012: Announced it would focus on property and casualty insurance, group benefits and mutual funds, and would sell its wealth management businesses. * 2009: the company announced that it was withdrawing its business activities from Europe. * 2004: Purchased the Group Benefits Division of

CNA Financial CNA Financial Corporation is a financial corporation based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its principal subsidiary, Continental Casualty Company (CCC), was founded in 1897. CNA, the current parent company, was incorporated in 1967. CNA is ...

. The division was based in Chicago, Illinois. * 2000: Reacquired all the shares of Hartford Life (HLI was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange in 2006). * 1997: Changed name from ITT-Hartford Group, Inc. to the Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., and also issued an IPO for its Hartford Life business under the ticker symbol “HLI.” * 1995: ITT decided to streamline its operations and release some of its subsidiaries, and The Hartford became an independent entity once again, trading on the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its liste ...

under the symbol "HIG". * 1970: The Hartford was acquired by

ITT Corporation ITT Inc., formerly ITT Corporation, is an American worldwide manufacturing company based in Stamford, Connecticut. The company produces specialty components for the aerospace, transportation, energy and industrial markets. ITT's three business ...

for $1.4 billion, at the time the largest corporate takeover in American history. The combined company was renamed ITT-Hartford Group, Inc. * 1959: Expanded into the life-insurance business by acquiring The Columbian National Life Insurance Company in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Massachusetts. * 1913: Formed the Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company to provide a wide variety of insurance coverage, including accident, automobile-liability, personal-damage, business-interruption and more.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hartford Companies based in Hartford, Connecticut Financial services companies established in 1810 American companies established in 1810 1810 establishments in Connecticut Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Investment management companies of the United States Life insurance companies of the United States ITT Inc.

History

Acquisitions, divestitures and related changes

See also

References

External links