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                                                                    EXHIBIT 23.6
    
 
   
                                    CONSENT
    
 
   
     I hereby consent to being named as about to become a director of Hartford
Life, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the "Company"), in the Company's
Registration Statement on Form S-3 relating to the proposed issuance of the
Company's debt securities and preferred stock.
    
 
   
                                               /s/  H. PATRICK SWYGERT
    
 
                                               ---------------------------------
   
                                               Name: H. Patrick Swygert
    
 
   
Dated: February 14, 1997