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The Hartford Applauds U. S. House Bill to Extend Public-Private Management of Terrorism Risk

Posted on: Wednesday, 20 June 2007, 15:06 CDT

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: HIG), a leading provider of investment and insurance products, commends the U.S. House Financial Services Committee and its Chairman, Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), for introducing new legislation this week that would continue the successful public-private management of terrorism risk.

The Terrorism Risk Insurance Revision and Extension Act of 2007 seeks to extend the critical protection afforded under the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 (TRIA) and the Terrorism Risk Insurance Extension Act of 2005 (TRIEA), which extends TRIA, in modified form, until the end of this year.

Lawmakers passed TRIA after the September 11 attacks to help manage the risk of terrorism on U.S. soil. Under the law, the federal government partners with the insurance industry, serving as an insurer of last resort to protect against catastrophic terror attacks that could undermine confidence in the American economy. Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), current Chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, authored the original TRIA law.

The new bill, which now covers domestic terrorism, provides for 10 more years of federal reinsurance protection with current insurer co-payments and deductibles for conventional terrorism acts. It also includes a new component for Group Life, and recognizes the unique risk characteristics associated with a nuclear, biological, chemical, or radiological (NBCR) attack, taking steps to redefine the federal reinsurance levels needed to meet these challenges.

"A partnership with the federal government is essential to our country's defense against the threat of terrorism," said Ramani Ayer, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Hartford. "We congratulate Chairman Frank on a well-constructed bill that improves upon the original program, and we look forward to working with Chairman Dodd as he guides this new bill through the Senate. The inescapable truth is that as long as this terrible risk threatens our way of life, we need to have a way to fortify our economy against it."

The Hartford, a Fortune 100 company, is one of the nation's largest financial services and insurance companies, with 2006 revenues of $26.5 billion. The Hartford is a leading provider of investment products, life insurance and group benefits; automobile and homeowners products; and business property and casualty insurance. International operations are located in Japan, Brazil and the United Kingdom. The Hartford's Internet address is www.thehartford.com.

HIG-PC

Some of the statements in this release may be considered forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These include statements about our future results of operations. We caution investors that these forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results may differ materially. Investors should consider the important risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ. These important risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, those discussed in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, our 2006 Annual Report on Form 10-K and the other filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We assume no obligation to update this release, which speaks as of the date issued.

Source: Business Wire

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