HARTFORD FINANCIAL SERVICES GROUP INC

The Hartford conducts business principally in five reporting segments including Commercial Lines, Personal Lines, Property & Casualty Other Operations, Group Benefits and Hartford Funds, as well as a Corporate category. The Company includes in the Corporate category reserves for run-off structured settlement and terminal funding agreement liabilities, restructuring costs, capital raising activities (including equity financing, debt financing and related interest expense), transaction expenses incurred in connection with an acquisition, certain M&A costs, purchase accounting adjustments related to goodwill and other expenses not allocated to the reporting segments. Corporate also includes investment management fees and expenses related to managing third-party assets. In addition, up until June 30, 2021, Corporate included a 9.7% ownership interest in Hopmeadow Holdings LP, the legal entity that acquired Talcott Resolution in May 2018 (Hopmeadow Holdings, LP, Talcott Resolution Life Inc., and its subsidiaries are collectively referred to as "Talcott Resolution"). The sale of Talcott Resolution to a new investor was completed on June 30, 2021. The Company received a total of $217 in connection with

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the sale of its 9.7% ownership interest, resulting in a realized gain of $46 before tax in 2021.

The Company derives its revenues principally from: (a) premiums earned for insurance coverage provided to insureds; (b) management fees on mutual fund and ETF assets; (c) net investment income; (d) fees earned for services provided to third parties; and (e) net realized gains and losses. Premiums charged for insurance coverage are earned principally on a pro rata basis over the terms of the related policies in-force.

The profitability of the Company's property and casualty insurance businesses over time is greatly influenced by the Company’s underwriting discipline, which seeks to manage exposure to loss through favorable risk selection and diversification, its management of claims, its use of reinsurance, the size of its in force block, making reliable estimates of actual mortality and morbidity, and its ability to manage its expense ratio which it accomplishes through economies of scale and its management of acquisition costs and other underwriting expenses. Pricing adequacy depends on a number of factors, including the ability to obtain regulatory approval for rate changes, proper evaluation of underwriting risks, the ability to project future loss cost frequency and severity based on historical loss experience adjusted for known trends, the Company’s response to rate actions taken by competitors, its expense levels and expectations about regulatory and legal developments. The Company seeks to price its insurance policies such that insurance premiums and future net investment income earned on premiums received will cover underwriting expenses and the ultimate cost of paying claims reported on the policies and provide for a profit margin. For many of its insurance products, the Company is required to obtain approval for its premium rates from state insurance departments and the Lloyd's Syndicate's ability to write business is subject to Lloyd's approval for its premium capacity each year. Most of Personal Lines written premium is associated with our exclusive licensing agreement with AARP, which is effective through December 31, 2032. This agreement provides an important competitive advantage given the size of the 50 plus population and the strength of the AARP brand.

Similar to property and casualty, profitability of the group benefits business depends, in large part, on the ability to evaluate and price risks appropriately and make reliable estimates of mortality, morbidity, disability and longevity. To manage the pricing risk, Group Benefits generally offers term insurance policies, allowing for the adjustment of rates or policy terms in order to minimize the adverse effect of market trends, loss costs, declining interest rates and other factors. However, as policies are typically sold with rate guarantees an average of three years, pricing for the Company’s products could prove to be inadequate if loss and expense trends emerge adversely during the rate guarantee period or if investment returns are lower than expected at the time the products were sold. For some of its products, the Company is required to obtain approval for its premium rates from state insurance departments. New and renewal business for group benefits business, particularly for LTD, are priced using an assumption about expected investment yields over time. While the Company employs asset-liability duration matching strategies to mitigate risk and may use interest-rate sensitive derivatives to hedge its exposure in the Group Benefits investment portfolio, cash flow patterns related to the payment of benefits and claims are

uncertain and actual investment yields could differ significantly from expected investment yields, affecting profitability of the business. In addition to appropriately evaluating and pricing risks, the profitability of the Group Benefits business depends on other factors, including the Company’s response to pricing decisions and other actions taken by competitors, its ability to offer voluntary products and self-service capabilities, the persistency of its sold business and its ability to manage its expenses which it seeks to achieve through economies of scale and operating efficiencies.

The financial results of the Company’s mutual fund and ETF businesses depend largely on the amount of AUM and the level of fees charged based, in part, on asset share class and fund type. Changes in AUM are driven by the two main factors of net flows and the market return of the funds, which are heavily influenced by the return realized in the equity and bond markets. Net flows are comprised of new sales less redemptions by mutual fund and ETF shareowners. Financial results are highly correlated to the growth in AUM since these funds generally earn fee income on a daily basis.

The investment return, or yield, on invested assets is an important element of the Company’s earnings since insurance products are priced with the assumption that premiums received can be invested for a period of time before benefits, losses and loss adjustment expenses are paid. Due to the need to maintain sufficient liquidity to satisfy claim obligations, the majority of the Company’s invested assets have been held in available-for-sale ("AFS") securities, including, among other asset classes, corporate bonds, municipal bonds, government debt, short-term debt, mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities ("ABS") and collateralized loan obligations ("CLO"). The Company also invests in commercial mortgage loans as well as limited partnerships and alternative investments, which are private investments that are less liquid, but have the potential to generate higher returns. The primary investment objective for the Company is to maximize economic value, consistent with acceptable risk parameters, including the management of credit risk and interest rate sensitivity of invested assets, while generating sufficient net of tax income to meet policyholder and corporate obligations. Investment strategies are developed based on a variety of factors including business needs, regulatory requirements and tax considerations.

Operational transformation and cost reduction plan

In recognition of the need to become more cost efficient and competitive along with enhancing the experience we provide to agents and customers, on July 30, 2020, the Company announced an operational transformation and cost reduction plan it refers to as Hartford Next. Through reduction of its headcount, Information Technology ("IT") investments to further enhance our capabilities, and other activities, relative to 2019, the Company achieved a reduction in annual insurance operating costs and other expenses of approximately $636 in 2023.

To achieve those expected savings, we incurred approximately $323 through December 31, 2023. We expect additional expected expenses of $61 after 2023, consisting mostly of amortization of internal use software and capitalized real estate costs. Included in the restructuring costs of approximately $124

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were $35 of employee severance, $25 to retire certain IT applications, and $64 for consulting and lease termination expenses. Restructuring costs are reported as a charge to net income but not in core earnings.

The following table presents Hartford Next program costs incurred, including restructuring costs, and expense savings relative to 2019 realized in 2021, 2022 and 2023:

[1]Does not include approximately $47 of IT asset amortization after 2023.

[2]Does not include approximately $9 of real estate amortization after 2023.