The Hartford To Sell Auto Insurance To Fleet Bank Customers
8 September 1997
The Hartford To Sell Auto Insurance To Fleet Bank Customers
HARTFORD, Conn., Sept. 8 -- Insurance giant The Hartford
Financial Services Group, Inc. and Fleet Financial Group
, New England's largest financial institution, have reached an
agreement to sell auto insurance to customers of Fleet Bank in the Northeast.
The Hartford's agreement with Fleet's Insurance Services Group calls for
The Hartford to offer auto insurance initially to Fleet customers in
Connecticut. The auto program will expand to Fleet customers in several
additional Northeast states by early next year.
The Hartford's auto products will be marketed by the Fleet Insurance
Agency to more than 600,000 Fleet customer households in Connecticut through
direct mail and in-branch merchandising to support branch referrals. Customer
inquiries will be referred to The Hartford's representatives.
Consumer marketing, customer service and claims for the auto insurance
program will be managed by The Hartford's Affinity Insurance Center in
Farmington, Conn., which handles business derived from the company's alliances
with financial institutions and other affinity clients nationwide.
Stephen Hasenmiller, The Hartford's senior vice president for personal
lines, said the company's agreement with Fleet is another example of the
company's diverse distribution strategy. "We're very pleased to have a major
regional bank like Fleet as our partner. Fleet is the largest financial
institution in the region, and its market reach perfectly compliments our
strategy of offering personal lines insurance through major regional banks,"
said Hasenmiller.
"Demographic trends tell us that consumers want to obtain insurance
products a variety of ways. One way is through their local bank," said
Hasenmiller. "The Hartford employs multiple distribution channels, which
include banks, associations such as AARP and our traditional independent
agency system to reach insurance customers."
Robert E. Evans, managing director of Fleet Insurance Services, said The
Hartford/Fleet alliance "rounds out our insurance offering to Fleet customers,
especially those individuals and families who appreciate value and
convenience. The addition of auto insurance now means that we can offer our
customers convenient solutions to many of their most basic insurance needs."
In addition to financial institutions, The Hartford's affinity and
financial insurance operations manage numerous other large accounts, including
United Airlines, the National Jaycees, and subscribers of Black Enterprise
magazine.
Boston-based Fleet Financial Group is an $83.4 billion diversified
financial services company listed on the New York Stock Exchange .
Fleet is the Northeast's preeminent financial services provider, delivering
options and solutions to more than 4.3 million households through more than
1,200 offices and 2,000 ATMs, as well as multiple electronic channels.
Fleet's lines of business include insurance, investment management, commercial
and business banking, mortgage banking, corporate finance, government banking,
asset-based lending, equipment leasing and student loan processing.
The Hartford is one of the nation's oldest and largest
international insurance and financial services operations, with 1996 revenues
of $12.5 billion. As of June 30, 1997, The Hartford had assets of
$121.1 billion and shareholders' equity of $5.4 billion. The company is a
leading provider of commercial property and casualty insurance, automobile and
homeowners coverages, and a variety of life insurance, annuities, employee
benefits and asset management plans.
The Hartford's Internet address is http://www.thehartford.com
Fleet's Internet address is http://www.fleet.com
SOURCE The Hartford Financial Services Group
