The Hartford is one of the largest group life and disability carriers in the country, and it is also one of the few major names that no longer writes individual life insurance at all. That combination produces a specific kind of confusion: people hold a Hartford certificate through work, assume it is a policy they own, and find out otherwise at the worst possible moment — the week they retire or are laid off.
This page explains what The Hartford writes today, why a group certificate is generally not saleable, and what the company’s own financial statements reveal about how many people convert group coverage into individual policies. It is education only. Pine Lake Life Solutions does not purchase policies, is not affiliated with The Hartford, and provides no legal, tax or investment advice.
In This Article
- What The Hartford Writes Today — and What It Stopped Writing
- Why a Group Certificate Cannot Usually Be Sold
- Conversion: The Hartford’s Own Numbers Show It Happening
- Portability, and How It Differs From Conversion
- Financial Strength and Who to Contact
- What to Do Before Your Coverage Ends
- Frequently Asked Questions
What The Hartford Writes Today — and What It Stopped Writing
According to The Hartford’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, the company provides property and casualty insurance, employee group benefits insurance and services, and mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. Individual life insurance is not on that list, and has not been for more than a decade.
On January 2, 2013, The Hartford completed the sale of its Individual Life insurance business to The Prudential Insurance Company of America for consideration of $615 million, consisting primarily of a ceding commission. The business sold included variable universal life, universal life and term life insurance, and the deal was structured as an indemnity reinsurance transaction covering roughly $8.7 billion of policyholder liabilities and $5.3 billion of separate account liabilities. If you hold an old individually issued Hartford life policy, Prudential is where its administration went.
Group benefits, by contrast, stayed and grew. The Hartford’s Employee Benefits segment provides group life, disability and other group coverages to members of employer groups, associations and affinity groups, written through Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Company. The company expanded that business by acquiring Aetna’s U.S. group life and disability business, with a November 1, 2017 acquisition date. The Hartford’s oldest subsidiary, Hartford Fire Insurance Company, dates back to 1810, and total assets across the group were $86.0 billion at December 31, 2025.
Why a Group Certificate Cannot Usually Be Sold
A life settlement is a transfer of ownership. The owner of a policy sells the contract to a licensed institutional buyer, who becomes the owner and beneficiary and takes over premium payments. That transaction requires someone with the legal power to convey ownership.
In a group plan, that person is not you. The employer, association or a plan trust owns the master contract; employees hold certificates evidencing coverage under it. A certificate gives you real rights — naming a beneficiary, electing coverage amounts, sometimes accelerating a benefit if you are terminally ill — but it does not give you an ownership interest you can sell.
Group coverage is also impermanent by design. It ends when employment ends, when the employer changes carriers, or when the plan is discontinued. A buyer underwriting a settlement is buying a death benefit expected to be paid many years from now, and a benefit that can evaporate when an HR department signs a new contract does not support that. This is why the honest answer for most Hartford group certificates is that a sale is not available — and why the useful conversation is about conversion instead.
Conversion: The Hartford’s Own Numbers Show It Happening
Most group life plans include a conversion privilege: when coverage ends, you may exchange group term coverage for an individual permanent policy issued by the carrier, without new medical underwriting, if you apply within a short window written into the certificate.
You do not have to take that on faith with The Hartford, because the block shows up on its balance sheet. In its 2025 Form 10-K, The Hartford discloses that Employee Benefits reserves as of December 31, 2025 include $203 million of paid-up life reserves and policy reserves on life policies and $68 million of reserves for conversions to individual life. The company also refers to long-duration insurance contracts including paid-up life and life conversions. Those are real individual policies, created by former group members who used the conversion right before it expired.
The window is short. Group life conversion periods are typically measured in days after coverage terminates, not months, and the exact number is set by your certificate and applicable state law. Ask your benefits office and the carrier, in writing, for the last date on which a conversion application will be accepted. That one dated answer determines whether you have an option at all.
| Question to ask in writing | Who answers it |
|---|---|
| Do I hold a certificate or an individually owned policy? | Benefits office; policy or certificate face page |
| What is the last date to apply for conversion? | Carrier, in writing |
| What is the last date to apply for portability? | Carrier, in writing |
| What is the converted premium and product? | Carrier quote |
| Is an accelerated death benefit available? | Certificate and carrier |
| Who owns the master contract? | Employer or plan administrator |
Portability, and How It Differs From Conversion
Some group plans also offer portability, which continues group term coverage at group rates for a limited period after you become ineligible, rather than exchanging it for a permanent individual contract. Portability is usually cheaper in the short run and usually temporary. Conversion is usually more expensive and permanent.
The two rights are elected on different forms, run on separate deadlines, and choosing one can foreclose the other. If you are leaving employment and coverage matters to you, ask for both quotes at once: the ported premium and term, and the converted premium and product. Comparing them side by side is the only way to see the trade.
For anyone whose long-term interest is in owning a transferable asset, only conversion produces an individually owned permanent policy. Portability keeps a group certificate alive under the group contract, with the same ownership limitation you started with.
Financial Strength and Who to Contact
The Hartford’s 2025 Form 10-K lists insurance financial strength ratings as of February 19, 2026. Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Company — the entity behind Employee Benefits group life — carried A.M. Best A+, Standard & Poor’s AA- and Moody’s A1. The filing notes that on July 3, 2025 A.M. Best upgraded the company’s senior debt rating to “a” from “a-” and affirmed the insurance financial strength ratings with a stable outlook, and that on August 19, 2025 S&P raised the long-term issuer credit and financial strength ratings on The Hartford’s core subsidiaries to AA- from A+. Ratings change; verify current levels with the agencies.
Scale, for context: Employee Benefits earned premiums and other considerations were $6,645 million in 2025, and reserves for group life and disability contracts totaled $8,404 million at December 31, 2025. The group life loss ratio, excluding buyouts, was 76.3 percent in 2025.
For service, use the phone number printed on your certificate or benefits statement, or the contact page at thehartford.com. Group benefit service lines are usually plan-specific, and a number that works for one employer group may route incorrectly for another, so start with the number your own plan gave you.
What to Do Before Your Coverage Ends
Ask your benefits office for the certificate of coverage and the summary plan description. Ask the carrier for a written statement of your current benefit amount, the last date to apply for conversion, and the last date to apply for portability. Ask whether an accelerated death benefit provision applies to your certificate, since that can matter more than any transfer in a serious illness.
If you have an older individually issued Hartford life policy rather than a group certificate, remember that the individual block moved to Prudential in the January 2013 transaction. Direct servicing questions accordingly, and confirm the current administrator before assuming an old address still works.
Pine Lake Life Solutions offers a free, no-obligation policy review. We will read your certificate and tell you plainly what routes exist, including when the answer is that none do. We do not buy policies, we guarantee nothing about eligibility or value, we are not affiliated with or endorsed by The Hartford, and we do not give legal, tax or investment advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I sell my The Hartford group life policy?
In nearly all cases, no. A group certificate is coverage under a master contract owned by your employer, association or a plan trust, so there is no ownership interest for you to transfer to a buyer. Group coverage also terminates with employment or when the plan changes carriers. Conversion to an individual policy is normally the only route to something you own.
Does The Hartford still sell individual life insurance?
No. On January 2, 2013 The Hartford completed the sale of its Individual Life business to The Prudential Insurance Company of America for $615 million, consisting primarily of a ceding commission, in an indemnity reinsurance transaction covering variable universal life, universal life and term life. The Hartford’s 2025 Form 10-K describes its businesses as property and casualty, employee group benefits, and mutual funds and ETFs.
How common is group life conversion at The Hartford?
Common enough to appear on the balance sheet. The Hartford’s 2025 Form 10-K discloses that Employee Benefits reserves at December 31, 2025 include $68 million of reserves for conversions to individual life, alongside $203 million of paid-up life reserves and policy reserves on life policies. Those figures represent individual policies created from former group coverage.
How long do I have to convert after I leave my job?
Group life conversion windows are short, typically measured in days after coverage ends rather than months, and the exact period is set by your certificate and state law. Request the last acceptable application date from the carrier in writing rather than relying on a general figure. Once the window closes, the conversion right is generally gone permanently.
Is Pine Lake affiliated with The Hartford?
No. Pine Lake Life Solutions is independent and has no affiliation with, endorsement from, or agency relationship with The Hartford or any of its subsidiaries. We do not purchase policies. Our only offer is a free, no-obligation review of your coverage and options, and nothing here is legal, tax or investment advice.
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Pine Lake Life Solutions does not purchase life insurance policies and does not provide legal, tax, or investment advice. Information provided is for educational purposes only. Eligibility for any option, including life settlements, is not guaranteed and depends on individual circumstances, policy terms, underwriting, and market conditions. Consult independent legal, tax, or financial professionals before making decisions regarding a life insurance policy.