The Hartford's Playbook for Life Kicks Off New Season and Brings Back-to-School Game Plan for Financial Success to DePaul University

Student-athletes at DePaul University will set aside their sports playbooks for personal finance playbooks this Tuesday as members of "Team Hartford” visit the campus to share practical lessons on money management from the award-winning national education program, Playbook for Life. Developed by The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: HIG), working closely with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA®), Playbook for Life gives student-athletes and college students the basic financial knowledge required for personal success. Team Hartford Captain Allen Pinkett, former University of Notre Dame and NFL running back, will share his personal finance fumbles and lessons learned and give student-athletes tips for preparing for life in the real world. He will be joined by Bill Poutre, a former adjunct professor of entrepreneurship and current head coach of the NCAA Division I men’s golf team at the University of Hartford, who will offer student-athletes useful information to get their financial houses in order. "I knew all the right moves to make when it came to sports and school work, but that didn’t prevent me from making some poor financial decisions,” said Pinkett. "Teaching these valuable personal finance lessons to young people early on will help prepare them for success in any venue - and help them avoid making the same mistakes I made.” Students heading back to school across the country are invited to take advantage of the free resources found in the Playbook for Life guidebook and web site, www.playbook.thehartford.com. The guidebook features easy-to-use personal finance fundamentals on such critical topics as budgeting, credit and debt management, saving and investing. With few students heading off to college with formal training in personal finance, the Playbook for Life is intended to help fill this void. Currently, only seven states require a personal finance course for high school graduation, and only nine states require the testing of student knowledge on personal finance, according to the 2007 "Survey of the States” by the National Council on Economic Education. Concrete instruction in personal finance at the college level is also inconsistent. In addition, the average student loan debt among graduating seniors is $19,237, according to the 2003-2004 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, leaving many students to face financial pressures after college with few tangible skills in money management. A recent survey by The Hartford revealed that students are seeking more guidance to make ends meet after college. Detailed findings include: 71 percent of college students are concerned about their ability to meet financial obligations after college; Less than a quarter (24 percent) of college students say they are "very well prepared” to deal with the financial challenges that lie ahead; 76 percent of college students wish they had more help preparing for their financial future; 47 percent of college students say their parents have had to bail them out of debt at some time; 50 percent of college students expect it to take between two and five years to pay off their student loans. "The Playbook for Life has enriched the lives of student-athletes and college students by encouraging them to start planning for tomorrow, today,” said NCAA President Myles Brand. "These important life lessons in the basics of job benefits, credit, debt, saving and investing are a necessity for helping them create a game plan for financial security after graduation, regardless of the career path they choose.” Pinkett and fellow members of Team Hartford – a group of former student-athletes and professional athletes who have found success both in and out of sports – have brought the Playbook’s teachings to students at 18 colleges and universities, in addition to DePaul, since the program’s inception in March 2005. Playbook for Life was created by The Hartford, as part of the company’s philanthropic focus on education and its corporate partnership with the NCAA, to help student-athletes gain a solid understanding of personal finance. More than 100,000 guidebooks have been distributed to date, and the program has been widely praised by students, coaches, teachers and parents as a valuable resource for helping all students and 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 financial services and insurance 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 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 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.