CONN. VOWS JOB DEVELOPMENT:

Vowing to boost the state’s status as insurance capital of the world, Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell is creating a special office within her Department of Economic and Community Development dedicated to retaining, creating and attracting insurance and financial services jobs. She said that creation of the Insurance and Financial Services Business Development Office underscores the importance of the insurance industry to the state’s economy. The IFS is being charged with helping the Governor and the DECD mobilize resources, shape public policy, engage state and local leadership and create a strategy to attract and retain insurance and financial services businesses.

A recent study found that several states, notably Iowa and Vermont, have created similar dedicated offices that have proven successful in increasing insurance and financial services employment and investment. “Recent restructurings and consolidations have shown us first-hand the impact these companies can have on the lives of our workers and their families, as well as on local and state economies,” Rell said. “If Hartford is to remain the Insurance Capital of the World we need to take action now.”

Rell and other public officials recently sparred with New York-based MetLife over keeping jobs in the state if MetLife’s proposed acquisition of Travelers Life & Annuity, which is based in Hartford, is approved. Rell and MetLife Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert Benmosche eventually announced an agreement to keep 1,310 Travelers jobs in Hartford. Rell said that the job losses, which stood at 1,200 when the talks began, would now total 490.