AM Best Assigns Indicative Issue Credit Ratings to The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.’s New Shelf Registration

OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AM Best has assigned indicative Long-Term Issue Credit Ratings of “a-” (Excellent) to senior unsecured issues, “bbb+” (Good) to senior subordinated issues, and “bbb” (Good) to both junior subordinated and preferred stock to the recently filed shelf registration of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (The Hartford) (Delaware) [NYSE: HIG]. The outlook assigned to these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. Concurrently, AM Best has withdrawn the ratings on the previous shelf registration, which expired. The existing ratings of The Hartford and its insurance subsidiaries are unchanged.

The Hartford’s adjusted financial leverage, as calculated by AM Best, was at 20.3% at year-end 2021, which remain well within the company’s targets. Earnings before interest, preferred dividends and taxes interest coverage has been within AM Best’s expectations. The company’s 2021 net operating earnings results were favorable to prior year, despite some impact from the COVID-19 pandemic on mortality within its Group Benefits segment.

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best’s website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best’s Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Best’s Credit Ratings, Best’s Performance Assessments, Best’s Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Best’s Ratings & Assessments.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

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Kate Steffanelli

Associate Director

+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5063

kate.steffanelli@ambest.com

Michael Lagomarsino, CFA, FRM

Senior Director

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Jim Peavy

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Source: AM Best