The Hartford Opening Agency Personal Lines, Claim Centers in Indy

The Hartford says that growth in its personal lines division is leading the company to open two offices in Indianapolis to support the company's Midwest agents and policyholders. The company's new claim service center, which will open in December, and an agency sales and underwriting center, which will open early next year, will create up to 340 jobs in the city.

"This expansion puts us closer to the marketplace with functions that touch our independent agents and policyholders most often and most significantly," said Stephen J. Hasenmiller, president of The Hartford's Personal Lines Company.

According to Hasenmiller, the expansion is part of The Hartford's ongoing strategy to "Invest in Independents," helping agents grow their business by making products easy for agents to sell and by making it easy to do business with The Hartford.

Keith Lyons, a 16-year claim veteran with The Hartford who was instrumental in shaping the company's Phoenix claim operation, has been named director of the new Indianapolis claim service center. Initially, the center will service policyholders in Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota, with plans to add Illinois and Iowa during 2000. In addition to Indianapolis and Phoenix, The Hartford also has personal lines claim service centers in Farmington, CT.; Tampa, FL.; San Antonio, TX; and Red Bank, NJ.

Employee recruitment and training efforts for the Indianapolis claim operation have begun. The office expects to open with approximately 130 claim professionals, with plans to staff up to 300 employees during the next year.

The Indianapolis personal lines agency center will provide sales and underwriting support to approximately 600 independent agents in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

Indianapolis will join the company's three other regional agency centers, located in Charlotte, NC; Reno, NV; and New Hartford, NY, to service approximately 4,300 independent agents countrywide.

Michael Arnaud, who headed The Hartford's business expansion into the Western region as vice president of the company's personal insurance center in Reno, will manage the Indianapolis agency center. The office will be staffed by approximately 40 professionals, including sales staff and state- specific underwriters.