9
The worst of 2001 brought out the best in The
Hartford’s people. 
As the world watched the horrors of Sept. 11,
some 330 of our New York employees ﬂed their ofﬁces
in 7 World Trade Center. Though many were caught in
the debris and dust from the nearby Twin Towers, all
escaped safely. 
By the time the 47-story 7 World Trade Center
building collapsed at about 5:20 p.m., The Hartford had
already arranged for temporary space in several of the
company’s other ofﬁces. Employees and suppliers
immediately began working around the clock to get
the business up and running again. Despite the
destruction, back-up systems kept distributors’ and
customers’ data secure. 
A hundred miles from Ground Zero, home ofﬁce
employees in Hartford, Conn., began shuttling equip-
ment and supplies to our temporary ofﬁces. Some 
booked Long Island Sound ferries from Connecticut to
Long Island within 48 hours of the attack. Others spent
the weekend driving supplies to the new locations so
employees could concentrate on customers instead of
on ﬁnding pens and paper. Employees and suppliers
were determined to get the company, its distributors
and its customers through the crisis.
By Monday, Sept. 17, all of The Hartford’s business
units in New York were serving customers again.
Employees had new furniture, phones, servers and PCs.
Distributors’ and customers’ access to company e-mail
was never interrupted. Calls to old phone numbers were
rerouted to cell phones or new ofﬁce phones. Print and
radio ads—along with The Hartford’s Web site—
gave customers instructions for ﬁling claims quickly.
Customer relationships were stronger than ever. The
Hartford Experience—customer solutions, ease of doing
business and extraordinary service—was never better
demonstrated.
people