S&P upgrades Hartford to AA-minus on improved underwriting performance
By Navneeta Nandan
Aug 20 - (The Insurer) - S&P Global Ratings has raised the financial strength rating (FSR) and issuer credit ratings of Hartford Insurance Group and its core subsidiaries to AA-minus from A-plus, citing an improvement in its underwriting performance, driven by strong underwriting governance, effective risk selection and sophisticated pricing strategies.
It also raised the long-term issuer credit rating on the holding company to A-minus from BBB-plus. The outlook is stable.
The rating agency expects Hartford to perform similarly, maintain lower volatility relative to its peers and sustain capital redundancy at 99.95% stress level.
The company's profitability and capital management have strengthened its capital buffers, S&P said citing its aa-minus anchor selection.
U.S.-based property casualty insurer Hartford business includes commercial, personal, group benefits and mutual funds.
S&P said that its "optimized growth and returns across various economic cycles" is an advantage.
The company's P&C segment reported a combined ratio of 92.7% in the first half of 2025, down from 93.2% last year, despite the elevated catastrophe losses, due to wildfires in California.
This was driven by an 11 percentage point improvement in the combined ratio of personal auto at 93.8%, from 104.7% the prior-year period. This was due to rate increases and improved loss trends.
S&P expects the P&C combined ratio of the insurer to range between 92% and 95%, with 5 points of catastrophe load.
The insurer's P&C performance improved with a combined ratio of 93.2% in 2024, compared to 94.9% in 2023 and 95.1% over the past five years from 2020 to 2024.
Its business insurance accounts for 80% of P&C net premiums written. It reported a combined ratio of 89.9% and strong underwriting profit. Personal insurance generated a combined ratio of 99.1%, down from 107.5% in 2023 and 100.3% in 2022.
In 2014, P&C segment contributed to over 75% of the group's earnings, employee benefits 18% and Hartford funds segments 6%, reflecting the diversified earnings profile, the ratings agency said.
The Hartford’s financial strength is also rated A-plus by AM Best with a stable outlook and A1 by Moody’s with a positive outlook.
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