The Hartford still leaning on property & specialty for diversification

The  Hartford Insurance Group will continue to grow its book towards property and specialty in its ongoing drive to reduce its reliance on its core line of workers comp, CEO Christopher Swift has said.

“The real goal is to still drive that percentage down by growing the other lines faster,” Swift said. The Hartford had been ca. 45% workers comp net written five years ago and has that in the low 30's today, he noted.

Workers’ comp remains a “high, high, high ROE business for us with strong margins,” so the goal has not been to slow that channel, where investments have continued apace, he insisted.

The Hartford has sought “more robust property capabilities,” especially for middle-market commercial, and a mix of property and liability for small corporate.

The group proceeds to leverage cross-sales to drive into global specialty, the home of a major acquisition several years back, the CEO explained. That deal “added some products and skill sets that we didn't have” and is bringing distribution partners on board, he said.

Growth in small market property, where The Hartford can accelerate the shift from underwriter-driven to automated and head into growth well ahead of its run rate.

“It's full steam ahead as far as to capture additional market share,” he said, citing $200 million of new business each quarter and 90% retention rates. The group has yet to leverage the full power of the regional mutual power it wields, he claimed.

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