New Disability Rider On Life Insurance Policies Can Help Protect Small Business Owners From Financial Hardship

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According to the Social Security Administration, nearly a third of today’s workers will be disabled before they retire.² When a disabled employee is also the owner of a small business or a key employee, a sudden disability can be financially devastating. In response, The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. HIG has become the first of the nation’s twenty largest life insurance companies to offer disability coverage as an option on most of its permanent life insurance policies.

Most small business owners understand how important life insurance coverage is to the security of their family and business. The death benefit can be used to replace income, pay estate taxes and help fund business continuation. But the disability of an owner or key employee can be just as disruptive.

The Hartford’s new DisabilityAccess Rider is designed to provide small business owners and their key employees with help with critical expenses while those covered by certain Hartford life insurance policies recover from a disability or, in the case of a life-altering illness or injury, find a new way to make a living. Once qualified under the rider, the policyowner receives a monthly disability benefit of as much as $5,000 a month for up to two full years. The rider can be purchased with many new permanent insurance policies at an additional cost of between 6-10 percent of the premium.

“The DisabilityAccess Rider is intended to provide a safety net to small business owners, sole practitioners, and their key employees when they need it most,” says Cliff Barron, The Hartford’s director of life insurance product development. “For those who already know they need life insurance to protect their family’s income, it’s an easy add-on. It can also prove useful to a highly skilled person who can no longer practice their craft because of an injury, and who now needs time to find a viable career alternative.”

When purchasing one of The Hartford’s Bicentennial UL Founders, Leaders VUL Liberty, or Leaders VUL Legacy life insurance policies, a policyholder may purchase a DisabilityAccess Rider for an additional charge and a first-year issue fee. For variable universal life insurance, consumers should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of the product and its underlying funds before investing.

The rider provides a monthly benefit with a maximum lifetime benefit equal to 24 monthly payments and can help bridge the gap between a return to work or, in the case of a permanent disability, the potential receipt of Social Security benefits. Because the DisabilityAccess Rider is on an individually owned life insurance policy, coverage is not lost if an employee changes jobs.It can be renewed up to the policy anniversary date closest to the insured’s 65^th birthday, though the cost of the coverage may increase.

The monthly benefit amount is determined when the policy is issued and is generally received income-tax free. The maximum monthly benefit is the smallest of the following: 2% of the total initial face amount of the policy, $5,000, or 30% of the monthly salary at the time the policy is issued.

Recent Survey Reveals Severe Gap in Coverage

The Hartford’s 2009 Benefit Landscape Study shows that many Americans would struggle to pay for essentials if they could not work due to an injury or illness. The research shows that 97 percent of consumers would have to change their lifestyle if they lost part of their family’s income for three to six months. Despite this, many Americans lack income protection. The Hartford study, for example, found that only 36 percent of employees have long-term disability insurance. With the average length of a long-term disability topping two years and nearly half of the 7 million workers currently receiving Social Security disability benefits under the age of 51,³ many small business owners and their employees are putting themselves, their business and their families at risk.

¹LIMRA International (2009)

²Social Security Administration Fact Sheet (January 31, 2007)

³The Council for Disability Awareness (2007)

About The Hartford

Celebrating nearly 200 years, The Hartford HIG is an insurance-based financial services company that serves households, businesses and employees by helping to protect their assets and income from risks, and by managing wealth and retirement needs. A Fortune 500 company, The Hartford is recognized widely for its service expertise and as one of the world's most ethical companies. More information on the company and its financial performance is available at www.thehartford.com.

It is important for consumers to note that life insurance policies contain fees and expenses, including cost of insurance, administrative fees, premium loads, surrender charges and other charges or fees that will impact policy values. All guarantees within a life insurance policy are based on the claims-paying ability of the issuing company.

This information is written in connection with the promotion or marketing of the matters addressed in this material. The information cannot be used or relied upon for the purpose of avoiding IRS penalties. These materials are not intended to provide tax, accounting or legal advice. As with all matters of a tax or legal nature, you should consult your own tax or legal counsel for advice.

You should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses of variable universal life and its underlying funds before investing. This and other information can be found in the prospectus for the variable universal life insurance policy, the underlying funds prospectus and appropriate product information, which can be obtained from your financial professional or by logging on to www.hartfordinvestor.com. Please read them carefully before you invest or send money.

“The Hartford” is The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries, including the issuing companies of Hartford Life Insurance Company (New York) and Hartford Life and Annuity Insurance Company (outside New York).

Variable life insurance products discussed in this material are distributed by Hartford Equity Sales Company, Inc. (HESCO), a broker/dealer affiliate of The Hartford.

Hartford Bicentennial UL Founders is a flexible premium universal life insurance policy. HLI policy form #HK-19263(08)(NY). HLA policy form # LA -1308(08). Hartford Leaders VUL Liberty is a flexible premium variable universal life insurance policy. HLI policy form #HL-15898(03)(NY). HLA policy form # LA-1240(03) and may include. Hartford Leaders VUL Legacy is a flexible premium variable universal life insurance policy. HLI policy form #15894(03)(NY). HLA policy form # LA-1238(03). All of the policy form numbers may include state abbreviation and policy features may vary by state.

Some of the statements in this release may be considered forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. 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 those discussed in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, our 2008 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.

HIG-LIF 10843

The Hartford
Robert DeMallie, 860-843-5215
Robert.demallie@hartfordlife.com
or
Timothy Benedict, 860-843-5150
Timothy.benedict@hartfordlife.com

Copyright 2009 Business Wire

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