The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., usually known as The Hartford, is a United States–based investment and insurance company. The Hartford is a Fortune 500 company headquartered in its namesake city of Hartford, Connecticut. It was ranked 160th in Fortune 500 in the year of 2020. The company's earnings are divided between property-and-casualty operations, group benefits and mutual funds. The Hartford is the 13th-largest property and casualty insurance company in the United States. It sells products primarily through a network of agents and brokers, and has also been the auto and home insurance writer for AARP members for more than 25 years.

History

The Hartford was founded in 1810 in Hartford, Connecticut. A group of local merchants gathered in a Hartford inn and, with working capital of $15,000, founded the Hartford Fire Insurance Company. The company survived some of the greatest peacetime tragedies in American history. After a huge fire destroyed New York's financial district in 1835, The Hartford's president, Eliphalet Terry, used his personal wealth to cover all the company's damage claims. Other catastrophic events included the Chicago fire of 1871 and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire.

The Hartford Stag

Although it is unknown exactly when the iconic symbol first appeared as The Hartford’s logo, the earliest use on record is on the 1861 policy issued to Abraham Lincoln. It depicts a hart (a deer) fording (crossing) a stream. The company’s logo was likely inspired by the seal of the city of Hartford, which in turn borrowed from the 17th-century seal of Hertford England. By 1867, the logo began to echo the majestic stag depicted in Sir Edwin Landseer’s 1851 painting, “The Monarch of the Glen.” The logo art and style have continued to shift throughout the years to adjust to the changing art and print needs, however, the Stag remains a clear descendant of the “Monarch of the Glen.”

Acquisitions, divestitures and related changes