Insurer looks to branch out with new products aimed at affluent customers, business owners
The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. will kick off a campaign to help advisers sell their services to business owners.
“As a company, we have business owner customers who have bought products, but we've never tried to construct a unique set of offerings for their needs,” said John Walters, president of the insurer's wealth management business.
“There's an opportunity to work with existing distribution and offer them something comprehensive, from retirement plans, to estate planning and buy-sell agreements.”
Liam McGee, The Hartford's chief executive, announced that the company would change its dual-silo life and property-casualty structure. The company will now act as one brand with three consumer divisions: commercial markets, consumer markets and wealth management.
In addition, the company once known for being a big variable annuities player, will emphasize that it provides a suite of services — including mutual funds, retirement and life insurance — rather than focusing on one particular product.
As part of the wealth management strategy, The Hartford will focus on providing comprehensive services to affluent customers in their 40s — particularly business owners.
The company aims to compete against the likes of Fidelity Investments, MetLife Inc. and The Charles Schwab Corp.
“Most competitors in that field are dominated by their particular line of business, but we have a unique breadth of products, including our mutual funds, life insurance and retirement business, as well as annuities,” said Mr. Walters. He added that having an affiliated distributor, Woodbury Financial Services, is an advantage.
Registered representatives at Woodbury can expect an expanded platform of products and services, along with customized training to help reach out to small-business owners. Aside from serving entrepreneurial needs, such as providing employee benefits plans, reps will be able to provide a more comprehensive set of services, including arranging buy-sell agreements for small business owners.
The insurer will also bring its new entrepreneur focus to other independent reps who sell the company's products. “The short answer is that there's more training for the reps, more collateral, and more information on how to work with these opportunities,” Mr. Walters said.
There is no firm date for the kickoff of the outreach program yet. But Mr. Walters anticipates the insurer will figure out the details over the summer and will be ready to launch by fall.
The Hartford is already working on some new life insurance products that are tailored to entrepreneurs' needs, concentrating on estate planning and 401(k) alternatives for the business owner and executives, Mr. Walters said.
The carrier also plans to reach out to more independent life insurance agents in a bid to expand its wealth management distribution. In February, the company launched its independent agent program, dubbed Monarch.
“We have done most of our life insurance business through more traditional broker-dealers and financial advisers,” Mr. Walters explained. “But there's a lot of business that's done by people who aren't with broker-dealers.”
He added that registered investment advisers and advisers in the defined-contribution-investment-only field are also on the insurer's radar.
