underwriter

data engineer

senior staff attorney

actuary

customer service representative

The Hartford

The Hartford talks a good game but doesn't follow through. They have all these policies that are great sounding but management distorts them & abuses them. An example is they say they coach you do to better. In reality they say they do it but don't always do it. You will get written up for "work avoidance" because you didn't fill out a form properly, but you weren't avoiding work, you just didn't know a particular field was important!

Their computer system is so out of date it is ridiculous. In the customer service telephone center there are 40+ systems you have to know expertly. They don't interface so you have to repeatedly enter the same information on multiple programs. You have to just *know* what fields to enter information into or you will keep getting error messages. The programs lock up ALL THE TIME & you have to keep restarting them again & again. This all takes time that you don't have. They micromanage you looking constantly for you to make even the slightest mistake. They have a video camera watching you at all times, they record every phone conversation you have, & they record video of you online. They have a quality assurance team that will review all of these things. Sadly instead of using these audits to help you learn what you don't know, they are used to penalize you. So many things I wasn't trained in (after 10 weeks of training!!) come up in these audits! SURPRISE, you are guilty of 'work avoidance"! Its never that you just didn't know something, you are purposely NOT doing something because you are a deadbeat. 

They have contests that are supposed to be for everyone to enjoy but since you are on the phones, there is very little chance you can participate even through they are for the phone center employees!

The calls are relentless. They are back to back. I have worked in some of the busiest telephone centers before but understand NO ONE calls their insurance company because they are happy. In training they tell you that you can hang up on an abusive caller. In reality if you do, you are guilty again of "work avoidance" and the supervisor will say they didn't think the call was abusive even when you are being screamed at, sworn at, & called horrible names.

Also be prepared that if you take 40 calls today, you better take more tomorrow, & more then next day, etc. Even when your productivity is over 100%, it isn't good enough. It's never good enough. Same with all the other metrics they use to measure your job performance.

They have a bonus system that sounds great, It is SO hard to qualify for it. I qualified on it several times, even on the first quarter I could be eligible, but don't count on it for money. The biggest drawback is the customer surveys. You can be handling your calls so well & a customer responds to the survey about the rep they spoke to before you, or about the company itself, or about the company policies. Even when they respond to the survey and they aren't talking about you, you are penalized. You have no control over how a customer responds to the surveys & you are held accountable for those that answer it negatively even when they aren't talking about you. A couple of those will ruin your metrics & it takes a LOT to bring that figure back up. Management will tell you they don't hold those types of surveys against you, but they absolutely do. 

Take 12,000 phone calls right and those couple that don't go well will get you fired. For all the hoopla about being positive & supportive, again its all just words. it doesn't matter how much you do right, only what you do wrong.

I should have known by the fact they they have training classes every spring and every fall. I should have know by the issues that came up even in training. There were people in the training class that didnt have the proper equipment, had equipment that didnt work, that never in the 10 weeks of training got access to the training programs or computer programs that we needed to be trained. IN TEN WEEKS! They tell you to report issues to the Help Desk. Should be called the No Help Desk. More times than not you are told it will take time & as I said, 10 weeks wasn't enough for the No Help Desk to just get an employee access to a program! 

They will tell you that they actively promote from within. Don't bank on that. You have to work there a minimum of one year in the same department to be eligible to be promoted or to change departments. And you have to be an OUTSTANDING employee in every single way. I mean OUTSTANDING. That rarely happens for YEARS. I mean YEARS. They have online training available to employees to learn skills needed in different departments BUT you can't use those training programs BECAUSE you have to do it on the clock & it would be then considered overtime & they are NEVER going to approve you to do training on overtime. NEVER. I requested it the entire time I was there & was never approved. NEVER.

I have been working for over 40 years & was over the moon happy about getting this job at THE HARTFORD. I was thrilled that it was remote, even the training is remote. I was so happy with the better than most jobs pay, the great benefits, & what I thought was a great work culture from such a prestigious company. All of that doesn't make up for how badly they treat you. I finished my day crying. I had nightmares about the way I was treated. I gave it my all, which has always been appreciated & led me to be promoted & work long term at all my previous jobs at some of the most demanding companies out there. If you think my experience wasn't typical, think again. Out of our training class of 15 people, only 3 are left a year later. The Hartford was nothing like I expected or like I was told by the trainers or recruiters. It doesn't matter how hard you work, how much you participate, how much you want it. It is a dark place with no hope. I left another job to take this job. Learn from me, don't do it.

I was sent an interest email from a recruiter at the Hartford/AARP call center here in Oklahoma City, OK in February 2013.

Having been previously licensed in insurance, I wanted to continue my career in insurance sales, so I replied.

interviewed with the Hartford back in February 2013. The process was fairly straightforward, phone interview with a "recruiter" and then a face to face with the training director and a member of the "sales team.

Was offered the position and from there, the entire process went downhill, The recruiter lost my application paperwork, so I had to redo it all, manually and handwritten (handwritten? In the age of technology, they have handwritten applications). The background check is thorough, however, it is NOT complete when you start employment. This means that you will get follow up emails long after you start with the company asking you for additional information.

Training. I was told that because I was previously licensed in both P&C and Life, I would not be required to do the two weeks of licensing training and the license test. However, when I arrived for work the first day, I had to take the testing and licensing again. The training tools, administered by a company called ExamFX, were horrendous! Having previously taken the licensing training through Kaplan, I was amazed that ExamFX had extremely poor tools, outdated info and info just missing for the licensing exam.

Out of a class of 9, 5 passed and 4 had to retake the exam. Out of the 4 that retook the test, 2 passed and the other 2 were booted out.

Training was run in an extremely disorganized and helter skelter manner. While we learned process, we learned very little about why the Hartford was a better choice for insurance. We did learn the Hartford's scripting which we had to adhere to for taking calls, which led me to believe this was more and more a "call center" job...and less about sales.

After 5 weeks of training, we were sent out to "Academy" where we started taking calls. I was on the high end of sales, averaging about 2 sales per day.

HOWEVER...I may be old school, but to me, the job description "SALES" means that there is a commission component to the process...meaning that the more I sell, the more I make.

However, with the Hartford/AARP, that is not the case...you may make alot of sales, but you will NOT make alot of commissions! They  scam the process by averaging you, a new rep, against everyone else in the call center (people who have been there for years). 

Thus, you MAY make 300-600/month in "bonuses". I was still unsure of how bonuses were to be paid, even after being there for two months...I have stayed in contact with some of my classmates and after 3 months, they still have no idea how they get paid for the sales they make.

If you are a call center person, this may be a good place for you to be. However, if you are interested in a career in insurance sales, making money based upon your own hardwork and skill sets, then you will be sorely disappointed!

This is not a sales position!!!!! While it is marketed thus, it is an entry level job that pays accordingly. 

And, if you are thinking long term career where you can branch out in to outside sales or anything other then call center positions, you will be deeply disappointed! 

I have worked at The Hartford for almost a decade in the claims department for workers’ compensation and have to put in a review of what’s going on for prospecting new hires. Look elsewhere. I started off my career here with aspirations of upward mobility and a lot of fun and great times. The culture was wonderful, management had open door policies, and work was stressful but rewarding. There has been an immense shift in the past year with procedures leading to the decline of the claims side of the company. The amount of work began to pile up, as covid hit. Initially it was easily taken care of in our teams, as we dispersed the work amongst many people to make it easier. Then it became difficult. We voiced our concerns with management, but they always indicated “we were above our hiring model in terms of people”, therefore they would not hire additional representatives to help lighten the load. This soon became a slippery slope. Our competition was slowly poaching people who have been here for decades and offering them SUBSTANTIAL pay increases. Ranging from $15k or more. As a result, team members had to bear the enormous weight of handling other people’s work, as well as their own and we’re expected to get it completed. Their only alleviation to this was to tell us to work on the weekends or stay later in the week. This would be a normal reaction to most industries, but The Hartford and management stressed the crucial importance of work life balance for years. In all my years, I maybe worked a few weekends to catch up after PTO here and there, but they wanted us to work on the weekends regularly. This coupled with the fact that the friendly and family like culture changed drastically. Managers became standoffish and teams became siloed. On top of that, career advancement opportunities were a joke. There was 0 upward mobility after a while and then when spots were filled with promotions, it was almost a popularity contest and not the most qualified candidate. I put in my resignation in, in the beginning of March and management was invasive and rude as to why I was leaving and where I was going. The icing on the cake is they don’t even offer counter offers to salaries when an employee is potentially leaving. They are very cheap and share holder oriented. Management is in shambles right now trying to hire new hires across all claims and they will continue to lose people, because they are vastly underpaying talent compared to a competing insurance group. It’s sad to see the decline of such a wonderful place to work. Please do your research further, they lure you in with great PTO offerings and an average pay, but is it worth your mental health in the end?

My experience at The Hartford has been awful. However I do want to start off by saying I think The Hartford can be a great company to work in, IF you’re in the right department. From my own experience and all the co-worker’s I talk to, we are definitely not in the right department. Seems like the people who enjoy the job the most are people who work Personal Lines. 

The small commercial department in itself is a huge mess. Upper management is the root cause of the mess. They have NO IDEA of what they are doing and all they do is pile more and more work for their employees. 

Favoritism is a huge part of small commercial. You have to be liked not just by your manager but every other manager in your department to get a quarterly bonus raise even if your manager knows what you bring to the table and they don’t. If they don’t like you, you don’t get anything. You don’t get promotions, you don’t get raises, you don’t get bonuses, anything at all. 

My manager worked our department one year. Just one year and she got promoted to being a manager bc she was another manager’s favorite. 🙃 

I believe The Hartford itself is a really great company! But they’re upper management are the ones who ruin it. 

Also, if you really need a FLEX schedule don’t work here. They say they’re work and home balanced but it’s definitely not. If you get hired, you HAVE to work the shift they assign you which is always the evening shift, so you stay until closing hours. And you can’t change shifts unless you’ve finished a full year of working and even at that, they’re has to be spots open to leave early AND you have to be a favorite. From what I see there has been people who have worked in my department for 2-3 years and they barely leave 30 mins before closing shift almost all of them have families and have to get a sitter since they’re not allowed to leave early to pick up their kids from school. The managers happily leave whenever they want to though. 

They also have surveys which they claim are anonymous but they aren’t. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing but just annoying lol. Just say the truth and be transparent. Personal Lines admits to their new hire employees they aren’t anonymous, idk why Small Commercial can’t. 

The training isn’t very well throught out  as well. You literally get out of training having no idea of what you’re doing, & they tell you that with pride. There’s a huge turnover rate for this specific position in general but they won’t tell you that. Or they’ll tell you lies saying that everyone enjoys the job when they don’t. People lie in the surveys because it’s not anonymous or they’re the favorites who get everything their way. 

In sum, if you like a job where nothing you do is good enough, little to no flexibility or bonuses, being belittled every now and then, then this job is perfect for you. 

Granted I know this review sounds like an 11 year old complaining. If you want to take the risk you can, it might work out, if it doesn’t...good luck. 

I just want to start off by saying I think The Hartford can be a great company to work in, IF you’re in the right department. From my own experience and all the co-worker’s I talk to, we are definitely not in the right department. Seems like the people who enjoy the job the most are people who work Personal Lines. 

The small commercial department in itself is a huge mess. Upper management is the root cause of the mess. They have NO IDEA of what they are doing and all they do is pile more and more work for their employees. 

Favoritism is a huge part of small commercial. You have to be liked not just by your manager but every other manager in your department to get a quarterly bonus raise even if your manager knows what you bring to the table and they don’t. If they don’t like you, you don’t get anything. You don’t get promotions, you don’t get raises, you don’t get bonuses, anything at all. 

My manager worked our department one year. Just one year and she got promoted to being a manager bc she was another manager’s favorite. 🙃 

I believe The Hartford itself is a really great company! But they’re upper management are the ones who ruin it. 

Also, if you really need a FLEX schedule don’t work here. They say they’re work and home balanced but it’s definitely not. If you get hired, you HAVE to work the shift they assign you which is always the evening shift, so you stay until closing hours. And you can’t change shifts unless you’ve finished a full year of working and even at that, they’re has to be spots open to leave early AND you have to be a favorite. From what I see there has been people who have worked in my department for 2-3 years and they barely leave 30 mins before closing shift almost all of them have families and have to get a sitter since they’re not allowed to leave early to pick up their kids from school. The managers happily leave whenever they want to though. 

They also have surveys which they claim are anonymous but they aren’t. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing but just annoying lol. Just say the truth and be transparent. Personal Lines admits to their new hire employees they aren’t anonymous, idk why Small Commercial can’t. 

The training isn’t very well throught out  as well. You literally get out of training having no idea of what you’re doing, & they tell you that with pride. There’s a huge turnover rate for this specific position in general but they won’t tell you that. Or they’ll tell you lies saying that everyone enjoys the job when they don’t. People lie in the surveys because it’s not anonymous or they’re the favorites who get everything their way. 

In sum, if you like a job where nothing you do is good enough, little to no flexibility or bonuses, being belittled every now and then, then this job is perfect for you. 

Granted I know this review sounds like an 11 year old complaining. If you want to take the risk you can, it might work out, if not, good luck. 

For the first year and a half. I loved my job. Even though the hours were not the best, the pay, benefits and culture at that time were worth working late hours. I even did 12 hours days regularly during Covid. Over the last year there has been a significant change in culture. Nurses are expected to maintain extremely high survey results that have increased, making it harder to stay within the parameters which allow the possibility of advancement, raises and bonuses. Even though the company has done better this year than the previous year, bonuses and raises have been cut. In the past, they supported stretch projects, involvement in work clubs and opportunities to help secure advancement in the future. However, now that is not the case. In the past, nurses were praised and rewarded for the care that we provided to employees going through extreme health problems needing to start claims. Now we are penalized for not asking sick people to take a survey at the end of the call. Even though the pre-recorded message states that there will be a survey at the end of the call. It can be very awkward to ask somebody that is very sick to provide a response to a survey, especially after someone has suffered the loss of a loved one. In communication with management, the main focus is on meeting your numbers and metrics. It used to be about taking care of the employees of the companies that The Hartford services. Instead of fixing the problems that exist currently they are seeking to hire new nurses. Many nurses have left the company, transferred out in the rare case that there is an opportunity for advancement, or are out on leave of absence due to job related stress. I used to be proud to be an employee of the company, but now I am writing a review in the hopes of helping other nurses get a clear picture of what is currently happening within the company. The pay is wonderful but not at the cost of your mental health. The micromanagement is at an all-time high. There is a lot of turnover with the team leaders and instead of focusing on employees strengths and development they nit pick you. There is little to no movement out of the call center since you are not given the time to work on your development. They view you as replaceable. They hire people offshore who have little to no training and transfer unnecessary calls to nurses. And if you don't take those calls or transfer them over to a customer service rep, you are reprimanded. Also, you spend a good majority of your day taking inquiry calls and in the case of myself and many other nurses, we were not trained to take the type of calls that we take the majority of the time. I would advise somebody looking to work for this company to do some soul-searching and read other reviews prior to submitting an application.

Highly ethical company, recognized 12 times by Ethisphere.

Highly focused leadership that is taking this company in the right direction. I see it in the decisions they are making & the outcomes. Where we are today, and the bright future we're heading towards, are testimonies to how effective they have been.

The Hartford has always been an active community partner & it is something we’re all proud of!

HIG is really supportive of its employees. They offer a challenging work environment, flexible work arrangements, a comprehensive & I think rather valuable benefit plan. (No pension, though.) They pay a portion of costs & also contribute to your 401k & health spending acct. HIG truly values diversity & inclusion, and they are very proactive in recognizing talent, offering plenty of opportunity for development and advancement.  This is a safe, welcoming & supportive work environment for everyone!

I've worked for The Hartford since 1997. I truly feel like I am part of something and make a difference through what I do, and how I do it.  I know that what I've done in the past & how Hartford leverages me today aligns with its business direction & plans.  This adds such incredible value to the work experience and I think it is a rare opportunity.  I feel respected, sought after, for all that I bring to the table.  Everyone can expect the same from The Hartford:  you perform, you are valued, you are recognized, you will advance.

I am not interested in even considering a position anywhere else - and not because this is "familiar", or because this is "comfortable".  It is because I am valued, challenged every day (and in the right way!) and highly satisfied.

The biggest downside to me has been working in Hartford CT itself.  (Current position required move.)  I do understand the need to have certain positions situated in the home office, and it is a great experience - so don't let this stop you!

I've seen a lot of lay-offs (expense cutting initiatives) over the years. That's not a con specific to HIG - it's a risk at any company, really, but bears mentioning. I will add Hartford does try to place employees elsewhere internally if there is a fit.

The decision making process has always been a struggle as long as I've worked here. HIG has tried various programs to help improve the process and make people feel more empowered but I think we still struggle here.  

Settling on a decision, rather than taking reasonable risks that lead to better outcomes - that is still failure & folks lose sight of that more often than I'd like to see/experience.

I worked for the Hartford for 13 years, with dedications, loyalty and pride.  Working with a company for those many years I have had my up and downs but I was always able to survive. However not this time, and it had all to with customer's surveys.  Yes I do admit I did do something wrong but it was joked about in the office and I did not think it was all that bad because the customer survey was prejudice from the beginning.  I thought it was just as bad as not getting to a return phone call, sometimes you just can't return all phone calls in one day being a claim adjuster, it's impossible some days, especially on Mondays or after a holiday, even if you have the greatest intention to do your best. Anyway, the customer's that have an email address counted on a survey but the customer that did not have a email address did not count on a survey and in my opinion that is prejudice.  You should treat all customers the same. However, if the customer that does not have an email address does not count, who will you tend to first? Probably the customer that has an email address rather than the customer without the email address.  Well I deleted a email address with a customer that did not like my outcome, when I explained to them my determination and they got disgruntled, then I had to discuss the survey with them and they are already upset with me, and it was not because I treated the customer wrongfully, it was because I couldn't give them exactly what they wanted on their total loss or a liability decision I made. However then I get customer that loved me but they did not have a email address so they did not count.  Tell me the logic in that? Well, I have learned two wrongs don't make it right.  The sad thing about this was I just lost my father 2 months before I got let go.  I really loved the people I worked with especially my supervisor and manager.  I never saw this coming, I didn't think I was going to get let go. maybe a write up, if I would of known I would of never done it. It was like a sever heartbreak, I've cried, gone thru depression. Keep thinking to myself I can't believe I let this company down this way. How am I ever going to get thru this. I just wish this was just all a dream but it's not I'm living it and it's very hard to get back up and stand tall after you feel you've done something so bad to get fired. 

Worked there over 7 years, in touch with a lot of different departments there.  Basically, it is a churn mill now, not the good company it was years ago.

Training is terrible now, you are expected to wear too many hats, which makes it hard to be an expert on anything or remember anything, even after 6 months to a year. 

Management is new and not experienced, more like robots just counting your mistakes.  Oh, you'll get a happy balloon or a nice paper certificate once in a while, but you will always have an 'action plan' in your face, so don't forget the smallest detail and mind your schedule and quotas!  Regardless if it is relevant or not.  

Micro-management is -EXTREME- so keep that in mind, don't be late for a second.  Again, EXTREME.  If your life is by the micro second anyway, you may be ok.

If you try to go to another department, they are overworked too, so it doesn't really matter.  

They have many 'lateral moves' to make you do more work regardless if you have any experience or not, so be prepared to do many new things for ZERO extra pay.  

Your ideas mean nothing.  -Unless they get bad employee survey results, and try a new  idea that makes you feel inclusive.  Usually, common sense ideas never get pass your manager.

The takeaway is expect the unexpected.  Change will happen often along with ideas that seem to not make sense or counter-productive but if you can grin and bear it and have no other choice but to work there, good luck.

There are lots of openings at the Hartford.  Last I was there, always hearing of a new class that is coming in.  Always more people...  Think about that. 

Some of these things are not exclusive to the Hartford, many companies watch each other and do things similar, but you at least know what you are getting in to at this place.  You will take this job home with you.

The job pace and crazy ideas some can get used to but bad management you cannot change.  It's up to a company to care and speaks volumes when they don't.

Benefits keep getting worse.  All the good plans that actually give you decent coverage are gone, you get very limited plans and expected to use spending accounts to make up any difference.  

401k is ok, if you can afford to invest in it.  Retirement is ok if you last that long.

Lots of vacation time, might be around 3 weeks or less starting, but you have a lottery to pick you days, so get used to random.

I have worked in various departments within this organization however my current position as a Direct Sales Commercial Underwriter is by far the best decision I have made in my career to date. The people I work with (locally) are AMAZING. They feel like a family and are truly supportive. In what you would think would be a cut throat sales environment, everyone reaches out and supports eachother. They are supportive, appreciative and are congratulatory when you do well. I enjoy the non- Politically Correct feel the team has. I am not afraid to voice my opinion or to officr solutions. The company takes ideas to heart and they easily go as far as the CEO of the company. I feel as though management for the most part have open ears. They hear us. Change takes FOREVER to happen but eventually it does. HIG is conservative in their approach to EVERYTHING. That is probably my only complaint. 

The Sales Underwriting teams are responsible for maximizing sales opportunities as well as underwriting the risk in which they write. This can be a double edged sword. As we get paid on sales however we get quality checked on our underwriting work. Turning away business unfortunately is the name of the game as we are looking for the appropriate risks in order to protect the P&C companies we write under. 

Thoroughly enjoyable environment. Work/Life balance is adequate as PTO is plenty. HOWEVER, be ready to work that bottom off on the months you use your PTO becuase goals do not decrease if you work 10 of the 20 work days a month or 20 days a month. It remains the same for everyone. It's not impossible though... just be ready to WORK WORK WORK. 

Days go by so fast every single day. It never gets old. 

This is also a hybrid position as the employees in this department are licensed agents as well as Underwriters they do the work of both, minus the marketing of an agent. THANK GOD, all leads are inbound and there is no outbound marketing/cold calling. 

Underwriting is a tiresome animal in itself however it can be rewarding when you are able to help the business owner with insurance protection as well as the insurance company (HIG) by protecting them financially.

Great mix. LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!

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