New Lawyers Professional Liability Product From The Hartford and Target Insurance Services Steals the Show

HARTFORD, Conn., September 06, 2005 - Law firms, like the juries they must convince, are always making decisions. Some decisions require lengthy deliberation, but not the need for broad lawyers professional liability protection. The introduction of a new Lawyers Professional Liability Program (LPL) from The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: HIG) and Target Insurance Services, has clearly simplified the choice.

The new program provides broad coverage customized to the needs of each law firm. This gives lawyers the confidence to concentrate on their clients' issues with the knowledge that their liability protection is designed to meet their needs. The program is underwritten by The Hartford's Hartford Financial Products division (HFP), a major writer of professional liability and other management liability products. It is sold through Target Insurance Services, a countrywide program administrator-managing general underwriter with years of experience handling lawyers professional liability coverage.

"The Hartford protects smaller law firms with a business insurance policy that includes professional liability insurance but that isn't sufficient to meet all of their needs," said Greg Leffard, HFP's vice president of lawyers professional liability. "Many middle market and larger law firms want a comprehensive, stand-alone professional liability policy that will provide more protection than policies currently available in the marketplace. That's why we've teamed with the experts at Target Insurance Services to raise the bar for lawyer protection," Leffard added.

The policy is available from any agent through Target.

"This new partnership allows Target to use its extensive program management experience to underwrite an excellent lawyers package from a top carrier," said Scott Williams, vice president and general manager of Target Insurance Services. "The Hartford is exceedingly easy to work with and has a strong A+ rating from A.M. Best. The combination of service and product features makes this selection an open and shut case."

The stand-alone policy provides broad protection that can be customized to meet the specific needs of an individual law firm. Features include:

Coverage for lawyers who are independent contractors
Extended Reporting Period (ERP) available that follows lawyers into retirement
Individual ERP option to protect individual lawyers if their lawfirm dissolves
Unlimited ERP option
Coverage for Bar Association-related activities
Reduced deductible for firms that agree to settle issues through arbitration or mediation

For further information, contact Scott Williams at swilliams@target-capital.com 800-692-5752 ext. 133, or Shawna Reidy, 800-692-5752 ext. 114 sreidy@target-capital.com, or visit www.target-capital.com.

Target Capital, headquartered in Avon, Connecticut, is one of the nation's fastest growing managing general underwriters and aggregators of specialty insurance programs and services. Through its underwriting and distribution partnerships, Target Capital provides property and casualty and professional liability insurance programs to niche markets.

The Hartford is one of the largest financial services and insurance companies in the U.S., with worldwide revenues of $22.7 billion in 2004. The company is a leading provider of investment products, life insurance and group benefits; automobile and homeowners products; and business property-casualty insurance. International operations are located in Japan, Brazil and the United Kingdom. The Hartford's Internet address is www.thehartford.com.

The description herein is a summary only and does not include all terms, conditions and exclusions of the policies described. Please refer to the policy for details. Coverage is provided by The Hartford companies and may not be available in all states. Some of the statements in this release may be considered forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Hartford cautions 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 those discussed in The Hartford's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, our 2004 Annual Report on Form 10-K and the other filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Hartford assumes no obligation to update this release, which speaks as of the date issued.