The Hartford Encourages Clients To Switch To Paperless Delivery of Group Benefits Bills, Mutual Fund Statements

In an effort to relieve pressure on the environment, The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: HIG) has launched Project Re-Leaf, in which the insurance and wealth management company will make a donation to the Arbor Day Foundation in order to plant one tree for each customer who opts for paperless delivery of their group benefits bill or mutual fund statement.

Through Project Re-Leaf, The Hartford has pledged a minimum donation of $10,000 to the Arbor Day Foundation, which translates into 10,000 saplings. Also, The Hartford will hold a 200-tree celebration on Friday, April 30 to mark Arbor Day and The Hartford's bicentennial year.

"The Hartford is excited to partner with the Arbor Day Foundation in a program designed to renew forests by cutting down on the use of paper and by planting trees," said Sharon Ritchey, executive vice president and director of operations, technology and eBusiness. "We are encouraging our customers to join our Project Re-Leaf and help us reach our target of 35,000 trees. Together we can help revive our nation's depleted forests."

"We applaud The Hartford's commitment to revitalizing our environment by planting trees," said John Rosenow, chief executive and founder of the Arbor Day Foundation. "The trees planted by The Hartford's Project Re-Leaf will help restore habitat for wildlife, provide relief for our water supplies, and restore our nation's forests for future generations to enjoy." Planting a Seed The Hartford began planting seeds for Project Re-Leaf last month. In March, The Hartford's group benefits clients received a notice printed on seed paper that read "after you read this message, please bury it." The paper contained seeds for Black-Eyed Susan flowers, and clients were invited to sign up for e-billing by visiting www.employerview.com.

"Our paperless billing for group benefits clients is another example of how we're working to remove the burden of benefits administration from employers' shoulders," Ritchey said. "With our e-billing, employers can receive e-mail reminders, access previous bills and pay premiums online by automatic transfer - completely bypassing the need to reconcile monthly premiums by hand." Trees for Tomorrow On this month's statement, The Hartford's mutual fund clients will receive a message asking them to sign up for e-delivery by visiting www.thehartford.com/ProjectRe-Leaf.