The Hartford has elected Priscilla Almodovar (pictured), former president and CEO of Fannie Mae, to its board of directors, effective September 1. She will serve on the finance, investment and risk management committee and the audit committee.
The appointment is The Hartford's second board addition effective September 1. The carrier named former AssuredPartners CEO Randy Larsen to the board in July. Larsen brings 13 years of direct insurance brokerage experience. Almodovar's background runs through large-scale financial institution management and risk governance: at Fannie Mae, which supports approximately $4.1 trillion in mortgages, she led a strategic transformation that included establishing the company's first post-financial-crisis return-on-equity target and embedding risk-adjusted capital allocation practices across the organization.
Christopher Swift, chairman and CEO of The Hartford, said Almodovar's experience leading large, complex organizations and overseeing significant transformation initiatives will bring valuable perspective as the company executes its strategy.
The board rebuild is running alongside the most significant period of strategic activity The Hartford has seen in several years, and the two developments most relevant to brokers are both in motion simultaneously.
The first is The Hartford's acquisition of Equitable's employee benefits business, announced August 4. The deal adds approximately $500 million in premium and targets the small and midsize employer market - specifically employers with under 500 lives, which The Hartford calls its Priority Business segment. The acquired portfolio covers group life, disability, paid family and medical leave, supplemental health, dental, and vision. The transaction also brings Equitable's benefits technology platform, which offers real-time API integrations designed to streamline enrollment and administration for brokers, employers, and employees. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approval.
The Hartford has said the two companies will work together to support mutual customers through closing, but brokers should confirm directly with The Hartford whether existing rate guarantees, plan designs, and claims administration processes carry over unchanged at transition rather than assuming continuity by default. The Equitable acquisition adds product lines and premium volume in a segment that is under active consolidation. The SME benefits market has seen significant carrier movement in recent months, and The Hartford is positioning to compete for scale in it.
The second transaction running in parallel is the sale of Hartford Funds to Wellington Management, valued at up to $1.9 billion and expected to close in the first quarter of 2027. That deal exits The Hartford from the asset management business and concentrates the company more tightly on its insurance operations.
The Hartford's second-quarter 2026 commercial results showed business insurance written premiums up 5% to $4.02 billion, with a combined ratio of 91.4. The company returned $615 million to shareholders during the quarter and authorized a new $4.2 billion share repurchase program running through 2028.
