text: **Dave Zwiener,**
  **President and Chief Operating**
  **Ofﬁcer, Property & Casualty**
  **Operations**
  program makes it easier for ﬁnancial intermediaries to sell life insurance to clients in the 
  
  “emerging afﬂuent” market. We’re relieving ﬁnancial professionals of time spent ﬁlling out 
  
  applications or asking their clients personal medical questions. Our in-house interviewers 
  
  call the client, ﬁll out the application and order any necessary medical tests or underwriting 
  
  requirements. As a result, intermediaries can concentrate on what they do best: selling. 
  
  We’re also making inroads into international markets. We have a highly successful 
  
  venture in Brazil to sell personal savings, pension and life insurance products. In addition, 
  
  our new venture in Japan, Hartford Life Insurance K.K., reported more than $500 million in 
  
  variable annuity sales in 2001. We are also exploring the possibility of establishing opera- 
  
  tions in a few select markets with favorable demographics. 
  
  The relentless pursuit of excellence also applies to our property-casualty operations. 
  
  Excluding the effect of Sept. 11, our Business Insurance segment saw a 20 percent jump in 
  
  premiums in 2001. Our combined ratio in this segment was 97.8—a 2.8-point improvement 