Short Takes: Fleet Begins Marketing Hartford Insurance

Fleet Financial Group began marketing Hartford Financial Services Group's property and casualty insurance to its small business customers this week.

The Boston bank mailed 40,000 statement stuffers to qualifying customers-those with annual sales of $5 million or less-in Connecticut, where Hartford is based, said a Fleet spokesman.

The bank plans to extend the marketing program to include its seven state franchises in the Northeast by early 1998, the spokesman said.

"It's part of our overall strategy to offer our customers a broader array of products and services through one institution," said the spokesman. The commissions derived from marketing insurance also help the bank diversify its revenue base, he noted.

Last month the bank introduced auto insurance in an alliance with Hartford, also on a pilot basis in Connecticut. That program will also be extended throughout Fleet's franchise in the coming months, the spokesman said.

Fleet already markets long-term care and term life insurance through Travelers Life and Annuity.

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