Hartford Life Inc. is planning to expand its global operations beyond Brazil and Japan, beginning next spring by distributing insurance products in Europe.
Gregory Boyko, the head of international operations at The Hartford Financial Services Group, has been promoted to executive vice president of Hartford Life and will head up the European operation, which is called The Hartford Europe.
Mr. Boyko said in an interview Wednesday that Hartford Life is interested in marketing to Europe because "the demographics are so good."
In population, Europe, Japan, and the United States have just 12% of the world total, Mr. Boyko said, but the United States has 30% of the life and pension market, Europe more than 30%, and Japan roughly 26% - very attractive numbers for the insurer.
Hartford is in talks with big banks in England where the Connecticut insurer could "lay out our value proposition and show them we have a very good product, great wholesaling, and customer service," Mr. Boyko said. He declined to name the banks with which his unit is in discussions.
The next-largest market that Hartford Life would like to enter is Germany, Mr. Boyko said, but its tax laws are changing, and an entry will take time. "We will start with [the] U.K., then look at Germany, Italy, Poland, France, and Spain," he said, but no timetable has been settled on.
"We have to talk to a lot of people and get an understanding of the individual markets," he said. We "want to do it the right way and be surefooted when we go in."
Hartford is selective about where to expand, said Mr. Boyko. "You won't see us go into 75 countries any time soon," he said.
As for Japan, the company entered that market in 1998 and now has relationships with 48 financial institutions, including banks, he said. Developing these relationships, which include links to Bank of Tokyo and Nomura Securities, takes time, he said.
Before Hartford Life started its Japanese initiative, Mr. Boyko said, he "visited Japan more than 20 times and had meetings with every distributor. It takes a while to build relationships and confidence."
Hartford Life also sells life insurance and employee benefits and personal savings products in Brazil, he said.
Speaking of his marketing strategy for Japan, Mr. Boyko said, "We want to service them and not compete with them." The distribution relationships are true partnerships with local businesses to market Hartford's products and services, he added. The Connecticut insurer has $13 billion of assets in the Japanese market.
He declined to discuss sales goals for the European business.
The United Kingdom "is a quarter of the size of Japan's economy, and it is more competitive," he said. "We want to build a multichannel institution, but it takes time and effort."
Hartford Life had 2003 revenues of $18.7 billion. It sells investment products, life insurance, and group benefits; automobile and homeowners products; and business property/casualty insurance.
Mr. Boyko joined Hartford Life in 1995 as controller and was named chief financial officer and treasurer in 1996. He was named a senior vice president in 1998 and appointed then to run international operations at The Hartford Financial Services Group.
