Sports Broadcaster and Basketball Great Clark Kellogg Returns to Ohio State University Oct. 8 with Playbook for Life

The Ohio State Buckeyes will get a real-life lesson in money management when CBS Sports college basketball analyst Clark Kellogg returns to his alma mater Monday evening with the award-winning national education program, Playbook for Life. Developed by The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: HIG) in collaboration with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), Playbook for Life gives student-athletes and all college students the basic financial know-how to score beyond the college arena. Kellogg and members of "Team Hartford” – a select group of former college student-athletes and professional athletes who have achieved success on and off the playing field – will share practical insights and enlighten Ohio State University students about the importance of planning for their financial future. The Playbook for Life presentation at Ohio State is scheduled for Monday, October 8 at 7 p.m. in Ohio Stadium’s Huntington Club. "By returning to Ohio State with these vital messages, I can help students learn to tackle financial pressures early on,” explained Clark Kellogg who earned All-Big Ten and Most Valuable Player honors while playing for Ohio State and was the No.1 draft pick of the Indiana Pacers. "Knowing the basics of personal finance will not only help them make ends meet after graduation, but also provide a solid footing for their entire future.” Many college students are ill-prepared to deal with the financial challenges that await them after graduation and need guidance on critical topics such as budgeting for housing and living costs and managing credit card and student loan debt. In Ohio, the average college student carries more than $19,000 of debt, according to a 2006 analysis by The Project for Student Debt. Also, students attending school in the Midwest region of the country tend to carry the highest credit card debt, according to a 2007 study by Nellie Mae. Moreover, nearly half (47 percent) of college students nationwide say their parents have had to bail them out of debt at some time, as reported in a recent survey by The Hartford. This survey also reveals 71 percent of college students are concerned about their ability to meet financial obligations after graduation and 76 percent of college students wish they had more help preparing for their financial future. Joining Kellogg at Ohio State are two former NCAA football players who were not as fortunate to realize their dreams of becoming professional athletes. Bill Zimmerman, a former offensive lineman for Columbia University and a Chartered Retirement Planning CounselorSM, will deliver practical information about developing a budget and a savings plan, managing credit and debt, and setting realistic salary expectations. Also urging Ohio State students to get their financial house in order as they prepare for the "real world” is Dave Jorgensen, a former starting center and guard for rival University of Florida. He was on his way to a career in the NFL until he suffered a series of injuries on the field. His hopes of playing professionally vanished, but only after he maxed out his credit cards with purchases he intended to pay off with his first NFL check. With this misstep, he quickly realized that it is easy to fall into the credit card trap – but very difficult to wipe the balance sheet clean. "I’m the perfect example of how bad decisions can lead good people into tough financial situations,” said Jorgensen about his role as a member of Team Hartford. "By sharing my struggle to climb out of debt, I give students a real-life look at why they need to think ahead and get a grasp of financial concepts. I don’t want them to have to learn their lessons the hard way.” The Playbook for Life gives students tangible skills in money management with lessons on the basics of job benefits, credit, debt, saving and investing. Students at Ohio State and across the country are invited to start planning for the future by taking advantage of the free resources found in the guidebook and web site, www.playbook.thehartford.com. "We are pleased to have great sports personalities, like Clark Kellogg, involved in this important initiative,” said NCAA President Myles Brand. "Playbook for Life has enriched students’ lives by sharing the critical message of financial preparedness and it continues to grow, evolve and encourage more student-athletes and college students to start planning for tomorrow, today.” Created by The Hartford as part of the company’s philanthropic focus on education and its corporate partnership with the NCAA, the Playbook for Life is designed to give college students a solid understanding of personal finance fundamentals. Since the program’s inception in March 2005, the Playbook’s teachings have been brought to students at 20 colleges and universities, and more than 150,000 guidebooks have been distributed to date. The program has been widely praised by students, coaches, teachers and parents as a valuable resource for helping all young adults make smart decisions as they plan for their future financial success. The Hartford survey was conducted among 1,108 college students and 1,086 parents of college students nationwide by Impulse Research Corporation in February 2007 (with a margin of error of +/- 3 percent). The NCAA is a membership-led nonprofit association of colleges and universities committed to supporting academic and athletic opportunities for more than 380,000 student-athletes at more than 1,000 member colleges and universities. Each year, more than 54,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA championships in Divisions I, II and III sports. Visit www.ncaa.org and www.ncaasports.com for more details about the Association, its goals and members and corporate partnerships that help support programs for student-athletes. The Hartford, a Fortune 100 company, is one of the nation's largest diversified financial services companies, with 2006 revenues of $26.5 billion. The Hartford is 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, Brazil and the United Kingdom. The Hartford's Internet address is www.thehartford.com. HIG-C Some of the statements in this release should be considered forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These include statements about our future results of operations. 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, without limitation, those discussed in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, our 2006 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.