The Hartford to Restructure for Growth, Target Small to Medium Accounts
The announcement of the plan on April 2 came a day after the insurer repaid $3.4 billion of U.S. government bailout aid that was made necessary by massive losses during the financial crisis.
Chief Executive Liam McGee unveiled a strategy that included above-market growth goals and realigning the company into three main business units.
He said Hartford will focus on limiting company-wide risk, and avoid concentrating too heavily in the sales of certain products — like variable annuities.
The new plan focuses on small and mid-size business customers for insurance, retirement plan and group benefit sales.
Hartford also plans to grow its wealth management business by courting business owners’ as clients, and aims to sell up to $5 billion in annuities annually by 2012.
Finally, the company is ending mass marketing of personal insurance lines, and will court customers above 40 years old, primarily through affinity groups like AARP.
As part of the restructuring, the company will split its operations into three major business units — consumer markets, commercial markets, and wealth management — and focus on a narrower set of insurance, wealth and annuity services and clients.
The restructuring is expected to be completed by summer.
The commercial markets unit will oversee all insurance catering to business and corporate customers, as well as Hartford’s legacy property/casualty holdings, which will be run by former P/C chief Juan Andrade.
The new wealth management division will oversee the annuities, individual life insurance and traditional wealth advisory services, and will be managed by John Walters, who formerly oversaw the company’s life division.
The consumer markets division will manage the company’s AARP relationship, other affinity programs and general development.
McGee said the search is continuing internally and externally for an executive to run consumer markets.
Although the company is making major changes in its operations, it has no immediate plans to divest pieces of the company. “We like the businesses we’re in,” McGee said.
Longer term, Hartford executives said they are interested in expanding the insurance and other units to cover emerging industries, like renewable energy.
On the Web: Listen to an interview with The Hartford’s Commercial Market’s Juan Andrade at https://www.insurancejournal.tv/videos/3544.