The Hartford and Willis Help Keep the Water Flowing

HARTFORD, Conn., Jan. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Still water runs deep -- and so does the risk for contractors, suppliers and manufacturers in the water well industry. But the WellGuard Program, underwritten by The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. and administered through the Willis Programs Practice, can protect companies in the business of providing ground water to homes, commercial buildings and farms.

"Water, though not expensive, is an important and precious commodity," said Allan Sague, middle market product manager at The Hartford. "When a pump fails to operate and water stops flowing, or a pollution incident threatens the safety of the well or those using a water supply, the costs of rectifying the problem can be quite high."

The Hartford offers the WellGuard program to insure against these and other events facing water well drillers, pump installers, core drilling and test boring contractors, manufacturers/suppliers of products for the well drilling industry, and engineers and plumbing contractors who support drilling operations. The product originally focused on water well drillers, but was recently expanded to protect the manufacturers and suppliers of products for the industry.

WellGuard, which has been endorsed by the National Ground Water Association since 1998, provides a variety of features that specifically address the needs of the ground water contractors, suppliers and manufacturers. These features include 'Down the Hole coverage' that insures either the value or cost of replacing property that is damaged while underground as well as limited job-site pollution coverage for property damage, bodily injury and environmental clean-up costs up to $100,000 from water well drilling incidents.

The Hartford recently added the Supplemental Property Insurance Coverage Endorsement (SPICE) for Well Drillers that protects such things as business personal property while in transit or at unspecified locations, and also provides coverage for the cost of renting equipment to replace company-owned equipment that has been lost.

The program also offers a full range of standard insurance coverages, including general liability, property, commercial automobile, workers' compensation, employment practices liability, inland marine, boiler and machinery and umbrella.

"The Hartford is one of the largest writers of insurance for the water well industry, and we'd like to grow even larger this year. That's why we continue to expand WellGuard's features and broaden the type of companies we can insure," said Sague.

Agents that represent The Hartford may access the program by contacting Adam Siler at 888-803-7345 x 5729 or waterwelldrilling@thehartford.com. Members of the National Ground Water Association and agents unaffiliated with The Hartford may access it through the Willis Programs Practice by calling Rebecca Brock at 866-368-2561 x 3554 or rebecca.brock@willis.com.

Willis' North American Program Practice office in Portsmouth, N.H., specializes in niche market specialty insurance programs throughout the United States and Canada.

The Hartford is one of the nation's largest financial services and insurance companies, with 2003 revenues of $18.7 billion. The company is a leading provider of investment products, life insurance and group benefits; automobile and homeowners products; and business property-casualty insurance. The Hartford's Internet address is http://www.thehartford.com/.

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 The Hartford's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, our 2003 Annual Report on Form 10-K and the other filings The Hartford makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Hartford assumes no obligation to update this release, which speaks as of the date issued.

Contact(s): Sue Honeyman Marnie Goodman 860-547-4976 860-547-3898 shoneyman@thehartford.com marnie.goodman@thehartford.com