Hartford Insurance Group (HIG) has announced a major extension of its partnership with AARP, providing home and automobile insurance to AARP members. The extension of the HIG partnership will now run through January 1, 2033.

AARP has over 38 million members who can access insurance with Hartford through the program. 

HIG president, Doug Eliot, commenting on the partnership, said, “We are proud to continue our well-established and market-leading program for the age 50-plus market that comprises deep expertise, specially designed products, excellent claims service and high customer satisfaction.”

HIG has provided insurance to AARP members since 1984, when the companies established an affinity program to serve the insurance needs of the AARP demographic.

Hartford is ranked number four of the large insurance carriers, in personal line insurance, with $3.1 billion in premiums written in 2019. 

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Commenting on the continued success of the partnership, AARP CEO John Larew said, “The Hartford has served and protected AARP members on the road and in their homes. We are pleased that The Hartford will continue to meet the unique needs of our members and the 50-plus property and casualty market at large.”

Hartford also recently declared a dividend on HIG of $0.325 per share. The company’s stock has recovered from the market lows set in March, but is still well below the $60 range where it was trading pre-COVID-19.

Writing an article that appeared on CNN recently, Hartford Group CEO, Christopher Swift, said that companies like Hartford cannot be expected to cover the losses suffered by companies due to COVID-19. 

Rebutting arguments being put forth by some businesses, Swift said, “Lawyers want to turn our customers’ carefully protected and managed premiums into an all-purpose rainy-day fund, which they were never intended to be. That’s not how insurance works nor is it a realistic solution to this economic conundrum caused by the shutdowns.”

Swift noted that premiums collected by companies like Hartford are for specific purposes, and that, “Unfortunately, viruses are generally outside the scope of business interruption coverage due to the absence of any physical damage. These policies do not cover this exposure and, accordingly, premiums were never collected for it.”

The Hartford Group has covered illness caused by the virus, and has done extensive modifications to its procedures to address the unique challenges of serving customers during the health crisis.

Steven Adams’s personal position in The Hartford Insurance Group: none.