News Release Details

Company marks second year of program focused on reducing home fires in the 100 U.S. cities with the highest home fire risk

A home fire is reported in the U.S. every 90 seconds. In an effort to help reduce home fires, in 2018, The Hartford will donate a total of $700,000 in grants and educate approximately 500,000 children about the importance of fire prevention and safety.

This initiative is part of a three-year commitment, announced in 2017 as part of The Hartford’s Junior Fire Marshal Program®, that will provide $2 million in grants and educate 1.5 million children in the 100 cities with the highest home fire risk in The Hartford’s Home Fire Index.¹ Last year, the company donated a total of $590,000 in grants and educated more than 350,000 students about fire safety in more than 25 cities. In 2018, The Hartford will provide donations to an additional 35 cities on the index.

“The Hartford is on a mission to eliminate the continuing risk of home fires to our communities,” said The Hartford’s Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Kathleen Bromage. “By educating children between the ages of 6-9 about fire safety, through our partnerships with educators, parents and local fire firefighters, we believe we can significantly reduce the number of home fires in the U.S.”

2018 Grant Cities

The following 35 cities will each receive a $20,000 grant; $10,000 will be given to each local fire department and $10,000 to each public school district:

In addition to the monetary donation, The Hartford will distribute free Junior Fire Marshal educational kits to K-3 classrooms in each public school district in these 35 cities. The classroom kit comes with The Hartford’s signature red fire helmets, an educator and parent guide and coloring posters designed to introduce fire safety concepts to children.

The Hartford will be visiting schools in select cities across the U.S. with its mobile fire safety house to immerse students in fire safety demonstrations using technology that simulates various home fire situations.

The company will also hold Junior Fire Marshal days in several Major League Baseball stadiums and Minor League Baseball parks to raise awareness about the importance of fire safety and to honor first responders/firefighters. The children attending these games will also be asked to participate in a Junior Fire Marshal pledge.

The History of the Junior Fire Marshal Program

The Junior Fire Marshal program was started in 1947 by an employee of The Hartford. Since the program’s inception, The Hartford has deputized more than 110 million Junior Fire Marshals. The company’s signature red fire helmets have been displayed proudly by generations of children who have learned the basics of fire safety. For more information about The Hartford’s Home Fire Index and Junior Fire Marshal Program, visit www.thehartford.com/jfm.

About The Hartford Home Fire Index

The Hartford Home Fire Index is based on a study of the largest U.S. cities with a minimum of 80,000 housing units as reported by the 2010 U.S. Census. The Hartford calculated a rate of residential fires using the number of residential structure fires from the 2014 National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) data, dividing by 2010 U.S. Census housing units. The Hartford also conducted a survey on fire safety and prevention behaviors among the general population in late 2016 and in early 2017. Survey respondents (approximately 100 per city) were given a score based on adoption of fire safety best practices. Standardized fire rates and survey scores were averaged to produce a composite score for each city.

¹ The Index is based on an analysis of the U.S. Fire Administration’s National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) and a survey conducted by The Hartford on fire safety and prevention behaviors among the general population.
² Fire departments in these cities received their $10,000 grant in Dec. 2017. In 2018, Syracuse, Bronx, Rochester and Shreveport school districts will be receiving a $10,000 fire safety education grant.

About The Hartford

The Hartford is a leader in property and casualty insurance, group benefits and mutual funds. With more than 200 years of expertise, The Hartford is widely recognized for its service excellence, sustainability practices, trust and integrity. More information on the company and its financial performance is available at https://www.thehartford.com. Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TheHartford_PR.

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., (NYSE: HIG) operates through its subsidiaries under the brand name, The Hartford, and is headquartered in Hartford, Conn. For additional details, please read The Hartford’s legal notice.

HIG-C

Some of the statements in this release may be considered forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We caution investors that these forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results may differ materially. Investors should consider the important risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ. These important risks and uncertainties include those discussed in our 2016 Annual Report on Form 10-K, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Forms 10-Q, and the other filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We assume no obligation to update this release, which speaks as of the date issued.

From time to time, The Hartford may use its website to disseminate material company information. Financial and other important information regarding The Hartford is routinely accessible through and posted on our website at https://ir.thehartford.com. In addition, you may automatically receive email alerts and other information about The Hartford when you enroll your email address by visiting the “Email Alerts” section at https://ir.thehartford.com.