Hartford 4/04 (4pg) - The Hartford

and conditions of coverage based onthe individual risk underwritingprofile for each client.”Blades adds: “Through our SelectCustomer Xpand underwriting teamsand local sales support, we want tobe second to none in providing fastturnaround to agents who aresubmitting accounts in this sizerange. We have challenged ourselvesin this new market segment to bringabout a five-day turnaround. Ourgoal is to underwrite new businessupfront by providing our agents withthe tools and local contacts theyneed to receive quick turnaround onrisk acceptability.”Among the tools that TheHartford will deploy to quickenturnaround is its new smallbusiness online sales guide, whichBush says “provides clear, upfrontappetite indications for differenttypes of businesses. The guide alsoidentifies class-specific details suchas definition, local appetite,available optional coverages andmandatory forms. Agents can accessthe manual via The Hartford’sElectronic Business Center (EBC) athttp://ebc.thehartford.com.”Says Blades: “To succeed in thispromising market, it is veryimportant to strike the right balancebetween sales and operatingefficiency, and underwriting intensityand integrity. Ideally, thesebusinesses require a hybrid approachthat allows accounts to be handled inan efficient way so the agent canplace business quickly, without anunnecessary expenditure inresources. It’s also important tocreate flexible and streamlinedproducts customized for both thebusiness size and industry sector.These products should retain theessential simplicity of thebusinessowners policy, whileincluding more precise ratingcapabilities so that premiums can bebetter matched to exposures.“The bottom line is that we areresponding to what our agents havetold us that our insureds need,”continues Blades. “And, they have toldus that ‘green’ businesses aredifferent enough to deserve a group ofspecially trained and expertunderwriters who should have theskills to quickly and thoroughlyassess each risk as an individualentity, provide the right products andprice them properly. We believe that,ultimately, we can capture thissignificant segment of the commerciallines market and realize good lossratios. This will also result in aconsistent market for agents.” ■For more information:The HartfordWeb site: www.thehartford.com105917 Printed in the U.S.A. © 2004