The Hartford has enhanced ICON, its online quoting system for agents and brokers, to offer easier access and more comprehensive protection for small businesses. Agents and brokers will now have access to quote employee benefits as well as excess and surplus (E&S) coverage for their small business customers.

“Agents and brokers are fundamental to our business and we continuously look for innovative ways to help them succeed,” said Stephanie Bush, head of Small Commercial insurance and Personal Lines at The Hartford. “The investments we made in ICON demonstrate the strength we have across The Hartford’s businesses and provide a seamless digital experience for our distribution partners who are dedicated to helping small businesses find the protection they need.”

Access to employee benefits products

Employee benefits are now integrated with the workers’ compensation quoting experience in ICON. When an agent or broker generates a workers’ compensation quote for a small business, they will see the option to receive a bindable proposal for group benefits coverage in real-time without entering any additional information.

“Many Small Commercial agents are also licensed to sell employee benefits coverage,” said Donato Monaco, head of The Hartford’s Small Business Benefits Solutions. “As the second-largest writer of group disability and workers’ compensation insurance, we believe it is compelling to provide these agents with a simple and intuitive solution to quote both types of insurance in one place.”

Employee benefits products available to quote in ICON include:

  • Group life insurance
  • Long-term disability insurance; and
  • Business travel accident insurance.

Quoting excess and surplus coverage

To help improve the agent experience for placing and servicing E&S business, The Hartford now provides a single source for agents to submit both admitted and non-admitted products through ICON. Agents who are placing an admitted product through ICON can now access a broad range of non-admitted property and general liability coverage with improved quote turn-around times, a combined bill with multiple payment options and a streamlined renewal process for all coverages.

“We have created a differentiated experience for agents that provides them and The Hartford with the opportunity to profitably grow by providing more whole account solutions with an exceptional customer experience,” Bush said.

This new business model, E&S Advantage, has been rolled out to select retail agents, with plans to expand the offering to more agents throughout the year.

Visit The Hartford’s website to learn more about small business insurance, employee benefits, and E&S coverage. Agents and brokers who do business with The Hartford can access ICON in The Hartford’s Electronic Business Center.

About The Hartford

The Hartford is a leader in property and casualty insurance, group benefits and mutual funds. With more than 200 years of expertise, The Hartford is widely recognized for its service excellence, sustainability practices, trust and integrity. More information on the company and its financial performance is available at https://www.thehartford.com. Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TheHartford_PR.

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., (NYSE: HIG) operates through its subsidiaries under the brand name, The Hartford, and is headquartered in Hartford, Conn. For additional details, please read The Hartford’s legal notice.

HIG-S

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 2016 Annual Report on Form 10-K, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Forms 10-Q, 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.

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