CORRECTING and REPLACING Most Parents Of Children With Special Needs Lack A Plan To Cover A Lifetime Of Care

The URL before The Hartford boilerplate should read: www.thehartford.com/specialneeds (sted www.hartfordlife.com/specialneeds).

The corrected release reads:

MOST PARENTS OF CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS LACK A PLAN TO COVER A LIFETIME OF CARE

New Survey from The Hartford Reveals That 62% of Parents Have No Plan; Those That Do Often Make Mistakes That May Disqualify Their Child for Critical Government Help

Though the vast majority of America’s 2.6 million children with special needs will need costly care long after their parents have passed away, few parents are prepared for that day. New research sponsored by The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) has found that three in five (62%) parents of children with special needs have no plan to cover the cost of caring for the child when they no longer are able to do so. And those that do have a plan often make mistakes that may disqualify their child for government services on which they now depend.

The Hartford’s Special Needs Survey was conducted by the custom market research firm Harris Interactive®, which polled 580 parents of children with special needs. Nearly one-quarter (23%) of parents surveyed said they spend at least $500 a month to address their child’s special needs. Though sixty percent of parents believe these costs will continue into adulthood, less than half have a plan in place to cover the costs.

"When you consider the daily demands already being put on the parents of a special needs child, no one should be surprised that they have not taken time to create a plan for their child’s future,” said Donna Scalaro, a director in estate and business planning for The Hartford’s Individual Life business. "That being said, it is important to acknowledge that doing nothing puts the child’s future well-being at risk.”

Of parents with a plan, only 42% are confident it will cover their child’s lifetime needs. The most common strategy (65%) used to cover the anticipated cost of care was life insurance. The vast majority of parents (85%) with a child under five have life insurance. But just 46% with a child between the ages of 13-18 have a life insurance policy, despite the fact that a child’s needs may be as great or greater as an adult. Among those with a life insurance policy, 51% do not know that during the child’s lifetime they may access the accumulated cash value in a permanent policy to cover some of the cost of their child’s special needs and 72% of those who are aware they can do this do not take advantage of it.

Even parents with a plan for their child made costly mistakes. Half of all parents of children with special needs plan to leave money directly to their child and even more (58%) name their child as a beneficiary, either of which could possibly disqualify the child for critical government benefits and services. In addition, only a quarter of the parents have established a special needs trust to provide for supplemental needs and expenses of the child, while not disqualifying the individual from receiving government benefits. These missteps likely occurred because only 16% of parents with a plan created it with the help of a financial advisor or attorney.

The Hartford’s Donna Scalaro suggests that parents take these four steps to help ensure their special needs child is protected:

1. Work with a professional financial advisor to develop a plan capable of funding a lifetime of support for your special needs child, over and above what the government will provide.

2. Establish a special needs trust to protect the assets and to ensure the child will qualify to receive government benefits and services.

3. Speak with the person you want to be your child’s guardian so they fully understand the commitment and are willing to take on the obligation.

4. Buy a permanent life insurance policy to cover the anticipated cost of care.

Scalaro said parents often assume they have to amass a big savings account to cover expenses, which can easily amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of their child’s lifetime, when individual life insurance can provide a more affordable strategy. For example, she said a 45-year-old couple in good health can purchase a $950,000 last survivor universal life insurance policy for $5,000 a year or a $500,000 policy for $2,681 a year.

"Aside from faith and love, I can think of no greater gift a parent can give their child than a lifetime of financial security,” she said. "With that concern resolved parents can leave it to other family members and friends to give their child the love and support they need, when they no longer can.”

The Hartford has developed a special needs brochure, which is available for financial advisors and parents at www.thehartford.com/specialneeds.

About The Hartford

The Hartford’s Ability Philosophy is demonstrated through its corporate citizenship and philanthropy activities, including its support of U.S. Paralympics, the division of the U.S. Olympic Committee dedicated to recruiting and training elite athletes with physical disabilities; the Wounded Warrior Project, a non-profit that honors and empowers disabled U.S. veterans; and Casting for Recovery, a national non-profit organization that helps women recover physically and emotionally from breast cancer through fly fishing.

In addition, The Hartford’s focus on abilities is evident in how it serves qualified breast and prostrate cancer survivors. In 2005, The Hartford became the first insurer in the nation to offer life insurance at standard rates to qualified women age 40 and older who had been treated for early-stage breast cancer. In 2006, The Hartford became the first insurer to offer life insurance to qualified men 60 and older who had been successfully treated for moderately aggressive prostate cancer that was confined to the prostate and that had been surgically removed. Last year, The Hartford became the first U.S. insurer to offer life insurance at standard rates to qualified men who have been successfully treated with radiation for moderate levels of prostate cancer.

The Hartford is one of the nation's largest financial services companies and a leading provider of investment products, life insurance and group benefits; automobile and homeowners products; and business property and casualty insurance. International operations are located in Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada, Brazil and Ireland. The Hartford's Internet address is www.thehartford.com.

Life insurance products are issued by Hartford Life Insurance Company (New York) and Hartford Life and Annuity Insurance Company (outside New York), Simsbury, CT. Mailing address for both issuers is P.O. Box 2999, Hartford, CT 06104-2999. Harris Interactive is not an affiliate or subsidiary of The Hartford.

HIG-LIF 10113

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.

Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive^® on behalf of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. between December 10-23, 2008 among 580 U.S. adults aged 18 years and older. Respondents met the following criteria: all are their household’s primary or shared financial decision maker, have a child under the age of 18 with special needs in their household, and does not work for a marketing or market research company, a financial services firm, or a stock brokerage company or investment firm. Data were weighted using propensity score weighting to be representative of the total U.S. adult population aged 18 and older on the basis of region, age within gender, education, household income, race/ethnicity, and propensity to be online. No estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated; a full methodology is available.

About Harris Interactive^®

Harris Interactive is a global leader in custom market research. With a long and rich history in multimodal research that is powered by our science and technology, we assist clients in achieving business results. Harris Interactive serves clients globally through our North American, European and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.