HARTFORD, Conn.,October 15, 2004 - The following statement was issued this evening by The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE: HIG):
“The Hartford takes this investigation very seriously and has been cooperating fully with the New York Attorney General from the outset, from when we first received subpoenas on this matter in June to the most recent inquiries received about alleged bid-rigging in September. We will continue to cooperate fully with the investigation.
“The Hartford, for nearly two hundred years, has operated with the highest standards of integrity and ethics. The Hartford’s corporate policies and underwriting practices very clearly do not condone bid-rigging, nor any illegal activity whatsoever, and every one of our nearly 30,000 employees has been reminded of those policies. In addition to cooperating with this investigation, we are thoroughly reviewing, together with outside counsel, whether any Hartford employee engaged in bid-rigging or otherwise violated any law or breached any of our corporate ethics standards in connection with the matters that are the subject of this investigation. Improper or illegal activity will result in swift corrective and disciplinary action.
“As we have said repeatedly during the past year, we support the efforts of regulators to move toward a more transparent financial services industry.”
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 2003 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.
