The Hartford Financial Services Group
Trang 1The Hartford Financial Services Group
I.Introduction
Founded in 1810, The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc (NYSE: HIG)
is one of the largest investment and insurance companies based in the United States, with offices in Japan, Brazil, Ireland, England, and the United States With nearly 30,000 employees and $2.3 billion in income in 2005, The Hartford was ranked 78th on the 2006 Fortune 100 list
The Hartford is a leading provider of investment products – annuities, mutual funds, college savings plans – as well as life insurance, group and employee benefits, automobile and homeowners' insurance, and business insurance The Hartford serves millions of customers worldwide – including individuals, institutions, and businesses – through independent agents and brokers, financial institutions, and online About 11,000 independent agencies and more than 100,000 registered broker/dealers sell The Hartford's trusted products
After nearly 200 years in business, The Hartford is known for its financial strength and stability, superior customer service, and continued operational excellence
The Hartford Financial Services Group recognizes the clear consensus within the scientific community that climate change is of real and increasing concern As an insurer, investor, employer, property owner and responsible corporate citizen, The Hartford is committed to understanding, managing and mitigating the risks associated with global climate change
In July 2007, The Hartford convened a standing committee on climate change, composed of executives with a wide range of responsibilities and perspectives, including enterprise risk management, applied research &
Trang 2product development, actuarial and underwriting, corporate finance, workplace restheirces, law and government affairs The committee has been tasked by Senior Management with examining the risks and opportunities presented by climate change, assessing The Hartford's current approach to climate change, and assisting in the development of climate change-related strategies going forward
The following discussion examines The Hartford's current views concerning the science of climate change, public policy and legislation, the effect climate change may have on their company and steps The Hartford is taking in response to climate change This statement, in conjunction with The Hartford's recent submission to the Carbon Disclosure Project, represents an early but important step in The Hartford's efforts to address the growing challenge of global climate change
II.
Mission & Values
1.Mission
They help their customers create a secure and prosperous future by anticipating their needs and providing superior financial solutions
2.Values
Customer forcus
They listen to their customers and deliver innovative solutions and extraordinary service.They prize their partnerships and relationships
Diversity Inclusion
They attract, reward and retain the best talent, and they show respect for all individuals and their ideas and experiences
Financial Discipline
Trang 3They create superior shareholder value through profitable growth and responsible risk management
Integrity
They do the right thing by holding theirselves to the highest standards of ethical conduct
Teamwork
They work together as high performing teams to achieve functional excellence and superior business results
Winning Spirit
They are action-oriented and take ownership in the success of their company
III Target
Even as climate change poses risk, increased knowledge and understanding
of climate change may give rise to a number of opportunities for The Hartford Greater understanding of the climate change mechanism will lead
to more sensitive pricing capability, allowing The Hartford to more effectively match risk to price In addition, greater understanding and public recognition of climate change may both (a) increase the demand for their insurance products and the willingness to meet their pricing terms and conditions and (b) create opportunities for The Hartford to bring a wider variety of insurance products to market to meet customer needs
As additional information is developed pointing to increased frequency and severity of weather-related catastrophes, we expect to see more public policy attention paid to such risk mitigation techniques as better land use planning, improved building codes and more rigid enforcement combined with eliminating subsidies and other incentives that promote development
in areas most exposed to natural disasters The Hartford sees an
Trang 4opportunity in establishing itself as a recognized leader in the assessment and management of climate change-related risks
As a variety of sectors seek to respond to the challenges and opportunities
of climate change - for example, through the generation of renewable energy or through the provision of climaterelated risk mitigation services -The Hartford may also benefit from these investment opportunities
Finally, The Hartford sees opportunity in establishing itself as an employer and insurer of choice by demonstrating its commitment to responsible energy use and management and GHG reduction The Hartford values its reputation
as a responsible corporate citizen and will strive to preserve and enhance that reputation in the area of environmental stewardship
IV Strategy
Although The Hartford is not a significant direct emitter of greenhouse gases [GHGs], The Hartford recognizes that the reduction of GHG emissions must
be the responsibility of all global citizens, individual and corporate The Hartford takes that responsibility seriously, and the reduction of GHG emissions is an objective for The Hartford's operations management team The Hartford believes that responsible and innovative approaches to energy efficiency will help to reduce operational costs over the long term and - most importantly - establish The Hartford as an insurer and employer of choice Current and existing efforts to promote energy efficiency include the following:
The Hartford is presently participating in the EPA Energy Star program, designed to help reduce energy usage in commercial and residential buildings The Hartford's "Building 100" in Southington, CT, is one of seven Energy Star Office Buildings in Connecticut
Trang 5The Hartford is taking into account LEED energy efficiency standards
in the construction of a new office building located in Windsor, CT The Windsor building will incorporate "daylight harvesting" systems, high efficiency HVAC, insulated glass, minimization of water usage, as well as efficient layout and gradation
The Hartford is an EPA Climate Leader
Taking the benchmark developed for the CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) as
a starting point, The Hartford is working to develop a strategic plan for ongoing GHG reduction The Hartford has engaged an outside consultant to assist with the ongoing efforts to increase energy efficiency in all Hartford buildings and operations, and as part of its participation in the EPA's Climate Leaders program, The Hartford is considering the adoption of a 5- to 10-year goal for GHG reduction
In addition to managing its own GHG emissions, which are relatively small as indicated above, The Hartford further recognizes the role that all public companies may play as advocates for sound and responsible public policy The Hartford has acted as a public advocate through its membership in the American Insurance Association (AIA)
Through AIA, we advocate for risk-based pricing, growth management and climate adaptation We believe that the insurance mechanism can play a vital role in making informed land use decisions if the mechanism is allowed to function Proper pricing will send appropriate risk signals to the most vulnerable areas Beyond pricing, we work with AIA to advocate for land use planning and building codes that reflect risk exposure Through AIA we continue to press for increased use of public transport and other non-motor vehicle transportation that will play a role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions
Trang 6V Plan
Throughout its nearly 200 year history, The Hartford has successfully supported critical business activities during earthquakes, fires, hurricanes and other natural and man-made disasters The company believes that effective planning is key to reducing the effect of any disaster and we dedicate significant restheirces to business continuity planning and testing
The Hartford has business continuity plans for all of its businesses As part of these plans, the following tactics will support the safety of their employees and the continuation of their business in the event of a disruption:
An emergency communication plan that ensures that their customers, business partners, and employees receive emergency information and instructions via a variety of stheirces, including toll-free phone numbers, websites, and external media, if necessary
The identification and training of critical business and technology teams to manage the continuity and recovery processes across the company
Technology and systems design that support the recovery processes for critical business functions
Redundant processing capacity and the potential to relocate business support to designated recovery locations
As a premier insurance and financial services company, The Hartford takes its commitment to its stakeholders very seriously and participates in industry-level discussions regarding business continuity planning under the auspices of industry organizations Participation in these forums increases their ability to recognize and manage business disruption risks and coordinate recovery efforts across the financial services industry
Although we have taken significant steps to develop and implement sound business recovery plans, we cannot guarantee that systems will always be
Trang 7available or recoverable after a disaster or significant business disruption However, we believe that their planning for such events is robust and consistent with the best practices established within the industry
VI Tactics
1.Career Development Philosophy:
Employees, with the support of management and the organization, will develop, maintain and enhance skills and competencies in alignment with strategic business plans, in order to provide for both the individual's and the company's success
At The Hartford, we understand that the success of their company depends on their people We are committed to career development and continuous learning in order to help their employees grow both professionally and personally
We enctheirage, and expect, their employees to take charge of their careers by utilizing the many development tools and opportunities including:
Degree Development Program: tuition reimbursement for college degrees and job-related ctheirsework
Professional Designation Program: reimbursement, bonuses, on-site testing, and study groups for achieving professional designations
Customizable web-based training and eLearning programs
Leadership Development Programs
Corporate University: various instructor-led, distance learning, application training and on-line offerings
Training on core competencies such as communications skills and time management
Workshops, classes and individual counseling to help employees plan and develop their career
Trang 8Training on core competencies such as communications skills and time management
Workshops, classes and individual counseling to help employees plan and develop their career
Microsoft office product training in the classroom and desktop tutorials
A lending library of books, videos and audio tapes on career development, core competency and leadership development topics
Access to internal job postings
2 The Hartford Employment
The Hartford uses the non-GAAP financial measure core earnings as an important measure of the company's operating performance The Hartford believes that the measure core earnings provides investors with a valuable measure of the performance of the Company's ongoing businesses because it reveals trends in their insurance and financial services businesses that may be obscured by the net effect of certain realized capital gains and losses Some realized capital gains and losses are primarily driven by investment decisions and external economic developments, the nature and timing of which are unrelated to the insurance and underwriting aspects of their business
Accordingly, core earnings excludes the effect of all realized gains and losses (net of tax and the effects of deferred policy acquisition costs) that tend to be highly variable from period to period based on capital market conditions The Hartford believes, however, that some realized capital gains and losses are integrally related to their insurance operations, so core earnings includes net realized gains and losses such as net periodic settlements on credit derivatives and net periodic settlements on the Japan fixed annuity cross-currency swap These net realized gains and losses are directly related to an offsetting item included in the income statement such as net investment income Core
Trang 9earnings is also used by management to assess their operating performance and is one of the measures considered in determining incentive compensation for their managers Net income is the most directly comparable GAAP measure Core earnings should not be considered as a substitute for net income and does not reflect the overall profitability of their business Therefore, The Hartford believes that it is useful for investors to evaluate both net income and core earnings when reviewing the company's performance
VII Do
1 Producer Compensation
The Hartford sells its traditional insurance products and services through insurance agents and brokers, commonly referred to as "producers." These producers are generally not their employees Producers also include firms that they engage to sell their traditional insurance products, such as broker/dealers The Hartford compensates producers for the sale and service of its products
A producer may receive one or more of the below payments, depending on the producer's business relationship with them Compensation arrangements pertaining to their variable insurance and non-insurance products are more particularly described in their prospectuses
Base Commission Producers are generally paid a base commission for the
sale and service of new and renewal policies placed with them The base commission is usually a fixed percentage of the policy premium The percentage may vary depending on certain factors such as the type of product, risk classification, producer size, state where the risk is located or services provided to the policyholder
Contingent Commission Certain producers may participate in contingent
commission programs we offer Eligibility for, and the amount of, contingent commission depends upon a producer's ability to meet certain production,
Trang 10growth, profitability or other quality and performance objectives established
by them Contingent commission is not offered for all products and lines of business For example, contingent commission is not offered in their terminal/ maturity funding group annuity line of business
Other Payments, Benefits and Compensation Certain producers may
receive other payments, benefits and compensation from them, which may also depend on the producer meeting production and other performance objectives established by them These other payments, benefits and compensation may include:
Individual Producer Incentive Awards
They may provide individual producers and licensed customer service representatives employed by an agency with incentives for placing business with them These incentives may be in the form of cash or non-cash awards based on the number of policies written or other performance objectives established by them Awards of this type are not available for all products and lines of business For example, these individual producer awards are not made
in connection with the sale of variable products
Marketing and Other Support
They may pay for or subsidize a producer's marketing efforts and other business goals These payments may include, but are not limited to, items such as continuing education, training expenses, lead generation services, advertising assistance, sales and business meetings or other services that help the producer promote them and their products
Other Benefits
They may provide certain producers with other benefits, including, but not limited to, entertainment, tickets to sporting events, travel, gifts, branded