Exhibit 99.1



[THE HARTFORD LOGO]                                                News Release
                                            Hartford Plaza o Hartford, CT 06115
Date:         September 6, 2002
For Release:  Upon Receipt                       Investors
                                                 ---------
Contact:      Cynthia Michener                   Stuart Carlisle
              860/547-5624                       860/547-8418
              cynthia.michener@thehartford.com   stuart.carlisle@thehartford.com

                     The Hartford's Twin City Unit Transfers
                   New Jersey Auto Insurance Book to Palisades

HARTFORD, Conn. - The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: HIG) today
announced that its subsidiary, Twin City Fire Insurance Company, has agreed to
transfer its New Jersey personal auto insurance book sold through independent
agents to state insurance carrier Palisades Safety and Insurance Association and
Palisades Insurance Company. The transaction has been approved by the New Jersey
Department of Banking and Insurance and will be effective with policy renewals
beginning in late 2002.
         Under state capitalization guidelines, Twin City will provide
approximately $9.2 million after tax in surplus to Palisades to support the book
transfer. As a result of the Twin City transaction, The Hartford will record an
expense of that amount in the third quarter of 2002.
         This action will have little impact on the New Jersey auto insurance
market. Twin City's personal auto business in New Jersey is extremely small,
representing approximately 0.4% of the market.
         The Hartford will continue to have a presence in the state, where it
has substantial agency-produced business insurance operations and other lines of
insurance products.
         The Hartford is one of the nation's largest investment and insurance
companies, with 2001 revenues of $15.1 billion. As of June 30, 2002, The
Hartford had assets of $179.6 billion and shareholders' equity of $9.7 billion.
The company is a leading provider of investment products, life insurance and
group benefits; automobile and homeowners products; business property and
casualty insurance; and reinsurance.
             The Hartford's Internet address is www.thehartford.com.
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Certain statements made in this release should be considered forward-looking
information as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
The Hartford cautions investors that any such forward-looking statements are not
guarantees of future performance, and actual results may differ materially.
Investors are directed to consider the risks and uncertainties in our business
that may affect future performance and that are discussed in readily available
documents, including the company's annual report and other documents filed by
The Hartford with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These uncertainties
include the possibility of general economic and business conditions that are
less favorable than anticipated, changes in interest rates or the stock markets,
stronger than anticipated competitive activity, and more frequent or severe
catastrophes than anticipated.