The Hartford Financial Services Group
Reviews and Complaints

I recently received the enclosed ‘Lower Rate Notice’ from you. The only ‘lower rate’ I am interested in was the one I had with you before you cancelled my policy. In January 2017, having almost no income, I did not have the full amount for the payment requested on the statement you sent me that was 3 times what I normally paid (under the guise of being an annual deposit) and I paid only my regular monthly amount. You promptly sent that back to me with a notification that you cancelled my policy. This happened after I had requested copies of all my many years of policy and payment history because your billing amounts are irregular and I could never get the amounts you wanted, to balance with what I paid and what you said I owed. No matter what I thought I had paid in advance I was never paid in advance according to you and frequently accrued late fees because you said I still owed you money. After being a customer for many years I felt it was unnecessary for you to be charging me an annual deposit like any new client. That shows your loyalty is only to the almighty dollar and not your customers. After cancelling me and while I was searching for new insurance, you were then more than happy to provide me a quote with a ‘new rate’ that was almost $100 more per month.

You are rip off artists and I want to get the word out. I plan on doing that via the internet by explaining just what you did in order to inflate my premium and then cancel it. And in order to renew it I would be paying 1 ½ times what I had been. THAT is no discount.

I have moved on and gotten insurance elsewhere, you are thieves, do not contact me any further. I think AARP needs to know how you do business as well.

Sincerely..."

That about says it...don't trust them..it sounds good but they *** you around and instanteously cancel your policy when you start asking questions...I have had car insurance for 41 years and have NEVER been cancelled until now.

In the begining of December i had a trailor stolen off my property.I used this trailor to keep and store tools and materials i didnt have room for in my shop.

I called The Hartford and opened a claim for the tools and materials to reimburse me for the loss.Justin Koutros told me since i didnt use the trailor for work and was an extension of my shop out back to fill out the forms and fax them back to him, he wanted manuals and receipts to show proof i did in fact own over 10k worth of stuff in the trailer.I have receipts since 1990 and over half the manuals for the tools and equipment i own so thank god i was a pack rat for that.He wanted me to seperate a list of work tools from personal property tools which i did he said the 2500 would cover the work tools and the rest of the tools had a 100%recoup so after i payed for the replacement tools they would reimburse me the difference of depreciation.

I was not able to remember everything i had in the trailor but was able to come up with over 13K worth of tools and materials-(receipts and manuals to prove it)- and i didnt even claim the dmg to the trailor as i dont move it anyways its for storage 98% of the time.

Justin told me that after he got the fax id get the check and could go replace everything within the week after he sent the check out.

Fast forward to today: it has now been over a month and i have a check for $2500 for the work tools and another for $882 to cover the other tools they consider around the house tools.

My request for a list of how they come up with whats considered "around the house tools", how they price items, a copy of the policy, still have not been shown to me.All i was told was i have 180 days to except the payments or the claim will be closed.

So from what im being told and shown if your house burns down or you get robbed even if you do have proof of what was lost in the disaster your limited by whatever this company wants to pay and they use there own formulas that are secret and cannot be disclosed.

unlike others maybe who just take what they give i cannot, i am now forced to try and take this to courts so i can get put back to whole again before the theft happened which according to the insurance commissioner is the duty of the company.

My opinion is if your thinking of using THE HARTFORD you should definatly shop around .I know i will be.

Do not buy insurance with this company, you will be sorry.

They deny 100% of all disability claims. They Claim they never receive paperwork non-stop.

They will ask that you pay them back when you switch to social security, but the payback is MORE than what they paid YOU! They do this around TAX TIME and sell your FAKE DEBT to 3rd Party Debt collectors. They act VERY COY when you try to get them to acknowledge basic information.

DO NOT BUY INSURANCE WITH THIS COMPANY, YOU WILL BE SORRY.

Not surprised at all. You are very correct in stating the almighty dollar is all that matters--as it is with them! Having had prior experience with them I cringed when I saw the association with AARp-wish you every success in spreading the word, esp to AARP! Simply put on top of the price/premium issues, the care and benefits you think you are getting, may even count on --well guess what.And yep there are no scruples at all.

Good Luck!

When a company says that can save you 40% or whatever it is, that number is based on a general nationwide average, and it involves several discounts applied to your insurance. It is not really false advertising because there are clear disclaimers at the bottom of each ad. If you guys are happy, stick with your current insurance company. Give your agent a call to let them know that you are staying with them. They may reward you for your loyalty!

I aree with this post.
I had been insured by AARP HArtford for 10 and their rates went up significanly.Last yar they cherged me $ 1550 and ths year they jumped to 2300, so I cancelled and went with Nationwide for 1200.
Others ranged from 1000 to 1600.
AARP should investigate their methods and ads. They LIE!

Never never puchase insurance form them. If you do you will be sorry.

Instead of the BB, file with the Federal Trade Commission and State Attorney General's office in their respective state for an investigation and maybe even a discrimination case with the elderly organizations in your state. Contact your local TV stations and their consumer divisions for a human interest story. Hartford Insurance and others all spend millions of dollars each year on advertisement, putting this information out for the public to see what happens and telling what they do if they think no one will do or say anything is another. All of our dealings with Hartford Insurance company were fraudulent. Our rep from AARP could not tell the truth if he even knew how to tell the truth - he lied and lied and lied. Guess what, we are senior adults but senior adults who are consumer wise. We paid everything with a credit card and then challenged the charge with our evidence. GET IT IN WRITING and THEN SOCK IT TO THEM! We even have started taping conversations (like they do) to use against them if they are committing fraud. Get their approval first - they never think about the ramifications down the road.

The fact of the matter is that employees of insurance companies are directed, and even rewarded, when they are able to turn down a claim. I recently tried to file a claim with the Hartford auto insurance, and was turned down. They cited a technicality in my policy about how quickly I reported my claim and denied it. Now I'm stuck with $4000 in repairs to my vehicle! Remind me, why do I have car insurance again?

Similar experience with them. They bully and lie to the elderly. SCAM!

I feel for you. Do not think its only seniors. I am 33, on medical leave from a government job that started out as a fall downstairs; which lead to other issues. It has been almost 5 months and they cant 'determine' yet whether my claim is mental or physical; i said both and what difference does it make; an accident is an accident. Turns out Hartford only has to pay 2 years for 'mental claims' and until Im 65 for physical claims, needless to say Im still waiting for my results. I try to email and they HATE communicating that way. I do not have a phone readily available so email is really my most convien way to contact them. Funny they have the calls recorded and accept mail via the postal services but will not answer me rather 'remind me' email is not acceptable for them..Well geee; im sorry; im disabled, victim of dv, on medical leave from school and ordered to bed rest. Hang in there; I cant do a day at a time; try an hour at a time with them and if you try to find info on the website; good luck its very basic.

To T J Reardon:
I've had a similar experience as you have. I discontinued The Hartford auto insurance in writing and they refused to discontinue coverage. They even threatened to send it to collections. I called them up and they said that they received my discontinuance letter. They refused to discontinue coverage until I used their specific form to discontinue. In my opinion, that's called extortion and borderline illegal.
Sincerely
Mad In Marietta

AARP is a salesman disguised as Community Agency for the Elderly. Nothing they have promoted has been economical and I suspect they are in business for the money, not for the elderly. It would do most people a good turn to abandon this organization and do their own shopping.

This is a follow-up to my complaint of Dec. 5, 2012. I had subsequently filed/requested help from the Attorney General's Office and yesterday; I fell almost of my chair, we received from Hartford a check for $491.00, which - when added to the $35.00 they had already sent before - sums up to $526.00. Just wanted you all to know that we were lucky, it seems, and got most of the prepaid premium returned to us. :-) If that was in response to someone calling them on my behalf, I am not sure. But it certainly looks like this. Because this second check for $491.00 had the same notice "cancellation" as the previous $35.00 check.

As many of the posters comment, the Hartford apparently is NOT a good, trustworthy insurer. We have been with them for almost 20 years: Home, Auto. Two years ago I was diagnosed with an incurable illness and having to get regular transfusions, we (seniors) decided to get a condo in town, where I could stay the days I had treatment. I called our Hartford Homeowners Insurance Representative and explained that and why we had now also a condo in town, which we would like to insure with them. They sent the insurance policy for this condo BUT sent us a cancellation notice for our homeowners insurance for our house!?!? I called and the Representative told me there is nothing they can do because I am selling my house!? I never said such word. On the contrary when asked by the Representative to get our condo insured, I explained how much we love to live in our home but when the day should come in the future that we have to sell it then we would have to do that.

Well, it took all my strength to stay on the line with this Rep and when he did not want to relent, even though I told him that we do not even think of selling the house, I started crying, being emotionally drained by such behavior by Hartford and mentioned that there must be a law to prevent that this can be done to people, only then he withdrew the cancellation and transferred me to another person. What the result was: We got a NEW policy with an almost $200. higher premium with another subsidiary insurance carrier of Hartford. It did not help that I complained and referred to our almost 20 years of insurance with them and NO CLAIM. They did not reverse this policy.

Now, almost two years later, since my condition worsened and I had to realize that in the future I will have to spent more time at the condo with my husband being in the house, we decided to sell it. I called the Hartford and asked, if it sells, at what point I should inform them of the cancellation of this homeowners insurance. I was told at the time of Closing the escrow and transference of the home to the new owner. As soon as I learned when the settlement would take place I called Hartford again to tell them the date (11/8/2012). That was approximately five weeks before we cancelled and the close of escrow. We removed our furniture and personal items from the house on November 3 and on November 8 was the settlement and close of escrow. The Rep had told me that we will be issued the unused premium part of the policy, but that it could take 4 weeks before we get the check. Yesterday, 12/4/2012 the check arrived: $35.00!
The term of the insurance policy was from 9/11/12-9/11/13, My calculation as to the return of the unused premium: Premium divided by 365 days to get the daily premium ($1.6) and the the amount of the unused premium days (311), multiply by $1.60 results in $497.60; used premium days were 54 multiplied by $1.60 = 86.40. Unused and used premium results in the amount of the total premium paid: $584.00.
I understand if there is an administrative fee deducted, maybe $35. or $50.? BUT to sent us a check for $35.00 instead of the expected $497.60 is an insult, especially since this was a medical necessity...
Anyone an idea of where I could get help in fighting Hartford? Thanks in advance for any information you might be able to give. When I looked at the Short Rate or Old Rate List for penalties [which I think is uncalled for since my medical condition required to leave this house] it said that an insurance may retain 25%.

I am a certified Allstate Insurance Ageny and we definitely have NO cancellation fees. We also reimburse any funds owed to the customer.

From my experience Hartford is the only one that I have come across that does this. I have associates at Geico, Esurance, State Farm and Liberty Mutual. No of them do this.

Robert
Allstate

Wow! An awful lot of complaints. This company is not a good one. I recommend that you DON'T get insurance thru them. Bad. Tons of complaints. If you have dealt with them, and are not happy - call the Better Business Bureau and complain.

Do not get involved with Hartford! My husband and I switched from Farmers to The Hartford for home and auto at the end of July. I called on Sept. 2 to ask why I had not received an invoice and was told not to worry, I could go online and pay my bill before Sept 26. Imagine our surprise when we get a letter in the mail on Sept 20 telling us that our insurance has been cancelled since we failed to comply with the necessary arrangements for a high value inspection. This is the crazy part--supposedly we had been left all sorts of messages from the Hartford and/or the inspector (they were never very clear on ANY of this!) They finally gave us the times and dates that the "inspector" left messages for us. Well, we have caller ID and not one of these calls ever showed up! My guess is that the inspector wrote down the wrong number and was leaving messages for someone else. Trying to get this straightened out was insane! I guess they'd rather take the word of their inspector over ours--well, their loss! We have never claimed anything on our home owners insurance--we were easy money with a great credit rating--what fools! I'm so glad I found this site and I'm so glad we didn't end up with The Hartford. We are now going with Amica thru the recommendation of a friend that says they're the best and their rates were not much higher than Hartfords. Thanks to all for taking the time to write about your experience with Hartford! I will be warning everyone I know to avoid this company at all cost!

Since my husband drives for his company work, they required us to carry very high limits, which were higher than Hartford was insuring us for. My husband talked to 6 different people, all very rude, and got six different answers. They couldn't insure us for the required amounts, then they could but had to wait until Hurricane Ike was no longer in the picture. Then 6th person said they couldn't insure the cars for that limit because we didn't carry enough mortgage insurance. That insurance is with another company because Hartford wouldn't insure our home in Florida. Sorry we don't live in a big expensive house so don't need a lot of insurance! This person denied that the other person said they would write the policy after the hurricane had passed.

Bottom line, we switched to Geico and are paying less even with the higher limits. We canceled Hartford and heard the same song and dance about the 10% penalty, which I can't find in writing. They have had my full annual payment for three months, earning them interest. We are so glad we won't have to deal with them any longer and really glad we never had to file a claim and get the same run around they gave my mother.

Yes, AARP should stop endorsing them. AARP probably gets a kick back so what do they care. Think I will be canceling AARP since I only subscribed to them because of the supposedly great Hartford insurance.

I had property insurance with Hartford and had paid annually in advance. I was offered a better
deal with another insurance company and accepted. I kept getting bills from Hartford. I phoned them on several occasions and told them I did not renew as I had found a better deal elsewhere. Most time they were just very rude. I completed and sent in a "cancellation" form twice which confirmed that the policy was canceled and that they were not responsible for any claims after the old policy had expired. I then got a letter from a debt collection co for the renewal premium. I called Hartford and at their request completed another similar waiver form, but still got calls from their debt collectors. I wrote them that they did not have a legal valid claim and that I was not going to pay, and also called the Hartford back and told them the same thing. They have threatened to take it to Court and I told them fine, but to cease all collection activity in the meantime pending the verdict. I am still awaiting a trial date, but have not had further collection activity. I will never ever insure anything with Hartford even if they drop their claim.

Had I made a claim under the policy after it had expired they would have denied liability on the grounds that I had canceled and absolved them of any liability. The Hartford is one insurance company to stay well clear of

I, too, have extremely disappointed with the service received from Hartford after a car accident. The claims handler was rude and treated my phone call as a complete inconvenience. A week later my car was still in the tow yard and no one had looked at it. I called again and talked with a woman named Josie Medina who was outstanding. She listened and truly cared. She helped me set up a rental car and gave me the number of the claim handler's supervisor. But the supervisor did nothing more than apologize and made promises that she didn't follow through on until I started calling every day.

Finally my car was picked up and taken to Denver which is 5 hours away. A week later an adjuster called and said the car could be fixed, not totalled as the computer had designated. He agreed to have the car brought back to my hometown to be fixed. His boss called later and said they didn't want to bring the car back but would have it fixed in Denver. I reminded him that according to my policy it is my choice. He unhappily agreed to have the car hauled back. An hour later he called again and offered to buy me out. Thankfully I got the offer in writing via fax.

Two weeks later the person who was to cut the check called, only the price he quoted was two thouand less than the offer. He all but called me a liar when I told him the real offer, until I told him I would be happy to fax him the quote that had been faxed to me in writing.

t took over a month and numerous phone calls to rude and uncaring "customer service" people before the claim was settled.

As a 54 year old Human Resources professional, I deal with stressful issues all day long but have to say that by the time my claim was settled, I was pretty damned fed up!

But it didn't end there. When I purchased a new vehicle, I was told that the wrecked car was still on the policy, and that I was to have called to have it removed. The claims handler does not do that. As per my call, the premium for the wrecked car would be backdated and deleted.

But lo and behold, I get the endorsement and the wrecked car is still on the policy and I am being billed for coverage. I call again and am assured it will be taken care of, and that I will be refunded the two months premium I'd already paid on the wrecked car. Then another bill, the car is still on it. No mention of a refund. All three premium amounts have been different, the one over the phone, the first endorsement bill, and then the next. And each one higher than the previous.

Enough I say, cancel the policy and go with a certified agent here in town.

I got a letter in the mail today from Hartford. Yes, they are charging me a 10% cancellation fee.
Well worth every penny to be done with such an incompetent organization.

Bottom line, stay away from insurance companies that only offer 800 number service. With any claim, write down who you talk to and when, and get whatever you can in writing.

As for AARP, as long as they endorse a company that writes policies without the resources to back them up, I will not belong to that organization. Thankfully I was young and savvy enough to jump through all the hoops and FINALLY get my money. Thankfully this did not happen to my mother. I can only imagine how hard it would have been for her. She too, is cancelling her AARP membership.

To me, ripping off the elderly is the ultimate low blow. Shame on you Hartford! Wake up AARP, do a complete audit of what is really going on with the company that you are endorsing.

I have had similar problems when I cancelled with Hartford. This was for my business insurance. I paid annually and renewed with a different co at a better rate and cancelled with Hartford. They sent me an official form absolving them of any liabliity after the renewal date, which I faxed back to them. I still got bills so I called them again and they sent me another form (same thing) which I sent back. They said they had overhauled their computer system and some accounts were affected by missing info. I sent them the other form back and received an emailed acknowledgement as I requested. I later got a letter from a collection agency and responded with a dispute and sent copies of paperwork. I had a call
from them implying they dont care and I'm dealing with them now and as far as they are concerned I owe them!
I am not going to pay, and will see what happens in court.
I have cancelled insurance policies with other companies and have NEVER been treated like this. I will NEVER buy ANY insurance, auto home, business health from HARTFORD regardless of the outcome of this case

Never use this company to insure your car...They are the worst...I missed a month payment and they sent me a nasty letter in the mail saying they will tell the dmv that i don't have insurance...For missing 1 $60 dollar payment...Well i dumped them and got Geico..Wow I save 180 dollars every 6 months and they send nice letters not ones that threaten to have your licence taken away for not having insurance...Stay away from the Hartford...

I have been off work since June 2012, it started withe an acid/stomach problem in my esophagus which was causing severe throat pain and laryngitis. I am a nurse in a hospital on a very busy surgical floor withe usually 5 patients a night but I could talk so I applied for STD and was approved. Three weeks after my on STD started, I went for a walk withe my husband and our two small dogs. I squatted down to give my dog some water out of thee pond and something popped in my right hip. Well long story short, I pulled off my tendon from my hip bone and ended up having surgery in august 2012 to reattach my tendon to my bone and also to have my bursa sac removed as it had torn apart. During this time, my STD became LTD. During this time, my lower back was hurting but we figured it was from walking withe a limp for last couple months. In November, my lower back started to hurt really bad. SO my Otho doc ordered MRI and x-rays. Well they came back showing disc bulging and tears, etc in lower back so he referred me to a spine pain specialist to have some cortisone injections placed in lower back. That was November 16 and 30the I had them done. In December I so desperately missed work and was feeling okay but still having pain to right hip and and lower back and thought by thee time I went back thee cortisone injections would have started to help. So I begged thee doctor to let me try and go back to work to see if I could do my job. Also, with my job you can not go back on limited/light duties you have to go back withe no limitations. So I talked to Hartford about it and asked if there is a trial period if you wanted to try and go back and do your job. They told me yes and that you had 6 months trial period and that if I couldn't do your job that my claim would just be restarted. So I went to work one day December 21st and about died from thee pain. I completed my eight hour shift but was in such pain on my drive home and muscle spasms I was having I had to pull over a couple of times and get out to stand up straight. The 21st was a Friday. So I called Hartford on Monday and told them what happened and that I called thee doctors office but thee first date I could see thee doctor was Jan 2. Hartford told me I just needed to have thee doctor fill out a new physicians report and send it in. Well I did what they told me (after paying 75 dollars to have thee doctor fill out thee form) I finally heard from Hartford on Jan 16the saying they got thee report and would call me in thee next day or two. Well I never hard from anyone so I tried calling on Monday (which was a ML King day) so they were closed. So then I called Tuesday left message, no answer and then called Wednesday and left message, no return call. then I called and spoke to a different agent and said he would leave my analyst a message that I called. Well I finally heard from Hartford on Thursday at 3 pm telling me that NOW they need all my records from each doctor from June 2012 to present. I asked him why I needed to do that and why didn't he ask for them earlier when he asked my doctors to fill out thee doctors form. Here is where thee bomb was dropped - He said that he has to review all my documents from thee beginning so they can decide if I am eligible to reopen claim. Mind you this is Friday at 3 pm. SO I immediately got off thee phone and called my doctors offices and told them thee situation. They were so helpful and efaxed all of my documents to my analyst. I called my analyst and he said that he got one of thee doctors records but hadn't received thee others yet. I told them he should have them shortly. He then said it usually takes 8 - 10 hours before he will get thee others and told me he would call me Monday thee 28the. I told him that he told me last month that if I went back to work and couldn't do my job that my claim would just be restarted. He said that he never told me that - he totally LIED. He said he terminated my claim in December and had to do everything all over again. This is NOT what he told me before. He also told me in December that when you return to work you have 6 months grace period to try and do your job. He denied saying that too. Right now they owe me $4000 from dec 22 to present. I have never been on disability before and I have to say that this whole thing has been a nightmare. It seems like when ever its time to get a check they want thee doctor to fill out a form even if they had just received one 2 weeks prior. What thee heck is wrong withe this company? My doctors office is 45 mins away from where I live and they just think I can just go there and see a doctor whenever I want. It usually takes a week or two to get an appt withe my doctor. Then thee pain I have to endure my getting in my car and driving that far. They just don't seem to care if you are disabled. I have worked my ### off for thee them thee last six months jumping through all their hoops. They make me do everything. Then you can't even email them. Now I can see why they don't do email is because they don't want to get caught in any lies and they could also renege on everything they tell you. This is such crap. Their website tells you crap. I can't even get a copy of my policy. I want to get better and go back to work - I don't wanna be on disability but it is what it is right now. I can't wait to hear what they have to say tomorrow.

I am going through the run around right now with The Hartford. I broke my tailbone on 5/9/08 and I was approved for disability until my follow-up appointment (6/9) at which time, my doctor indidcated that I was not ready to return to work (sitting position all day) and that I would need to be out 8 more weeks. Since this documentation was provided to The Hartford, they have gone OUT OF THEIR WAY to deny the claim. They have asked for the same exact information to be expressed to them in several different manners. They asked for the doctor's office to call them...the drs office called and answered all their questions. They asked the drs office to fill out THEIR form...the drs office filled out the form. Then, they needed more "clarification"...this word has been used at least 16 times since this whole process started. My doctors office then jumped through their hoop again and provided them with my medical records. NOW, The Hartford claim rep (probably with a high school education) is not in agreement with my SPECIALIST (a medical doctor...specialized) and apparently, she disagrees with the XRAY that clearly indicates that my tailbone has broken OFF...and she is saying that she doesn't see any reason why I can't return to work. Her exact words were, "Usually we see people going back to work the following week." That is absolutely ridiculous. I LAUGHED at her when she said that. You can do a simple google search for "broken Coccyx" and see that people are usually in pain for MONTHS. What's so upsetting about this whole thing is that my disability is not SUBJECTIVE...it is not an ache or a pain that I COULD be faking. It is a clearly documented BROKEN bone. My doctor has specifically written on all of the communications "PATIENT CANNOT RETURN TO WORK - PATIENT MUST REMAIN ON SIDE IN BED". Well, I guess we'll see how it turns out...I'm sure they'll be asking for more proof any day now.