As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 11, 2007

Registration No. 333-      

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

Form S-3

REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

 

 

 

Please address a copy of all communications to:

 

 

 

Approximate date of commencement of the proposed sale to the public:  From time to time after this Registration Statement becomes effective, as determined by market and other factors.

 

 

If the only securities being registered on this Form are being offered pursuant to dividend or interest reinvestment plans, please check the following box.  o

 

If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, other than securities offered only in connection with dividend or interest reinvestment plans, check the following box.  þ

 

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  o

 

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  o

 

If this Form is a registration statement pursuant to General Instruction I.D. or a post-effective amendment thereto that shall become effective upon filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 462(e) under the Securities Act, check the following box.  þ

 

If this Form is a post-effective amendment to a registration statement filed pursuant to General Instruction I.D. filed to register additional securities or additional classes of securities pursuant to Rule 413(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box.  o

 

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

 

 

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PROSPECTUS

 

The Hartford Financial
Services Group, Inc.

 

Debt Securities
Junior Subordinated Debentures
Preferred Stock
Common Stock
Depositary Shares
Warrants
Stock Purchase Contracts
Stock Purchase Units

 

Hartford Capital IV
Hartford Capital V
Hartford Capital VI

 

Preferred Securities Guaranteed
as Described in this Prospectus
and the Accompanying Prospectus Supplement
by The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.

 

 

By this prospectus, we may offer from time to time the securities described in this prospectus separately or together in any combination, and the trusts may offer from time to time the trust preferred securities.

 

Specific terms of any securities to be offered will be provided in a supplement to this prospectus. You should read this prospectus and any supplement carefully before you invest. A supplement may also add to, update, supplement or clarify information contained in this prospectus.

 

Unless stated otherwise in a prospectus supplement, none of these securities will be listed on any securities exchange.

 

Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “HIG.”

 

We or the trusts may offer and sell these securities to or through one or more agents, underwriters, dealers or other third parties or directly to one or more purchasers on a continuous or delayed basis.

 

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

The date of this prospectus is April 11, 2007

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we and the trusts filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission utilizing a “shelf” registration process. Under this shelf process, we and the trusts are registering an unspecified amount of each class of the securities described in this prospectus, and we may sell any combination of the securities described in this prospectus in one or more offerings, and the trusts may sell their trust preferred securities. In addition, we or the trusts or any of their respective affiliates may use this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement in a remarketing or other resale transaction involving the securities after their initial sale. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities we or the trusts may offer. Each time we or the trusts sell securities, we or the trusts will provide a prospectus supplement that will contain specific information about the terms of that offering. The prospectus supplement may also add to, update, supplement or clarify information contained in this prospectus. The rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission allow us to incorporate by reference information into this prospectus. This information incorporated by reference is considered to be a part of this prospectus, and information that we file later with the Securities and Exchange Commission will automatically update and supersede this information. See “Incorporation by Reference.” You should read both this prospectus and any prospectus supplement together with additional information described under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information.”

 

No person has been authorized to give any information or to make any representations, other than those contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus and, if given or made, such information or representation must not be relied upon as having been authorized by The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., or any underwriter, agent, dealer or remarketing firm. Neither the delivery of this prospectus nor any sale made hereunder shall under any circumstances create any implication that there has been no change in the affairs of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. since the date hereof or that the information contained or incorporated by reference herein is correct as of any time subsequent to the date of such information. This prospectus does not constitute an

offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities by anyone in any jurisdiction in which such offer or solicitation is not authorized or in which the person making such offer or solicitation is not qualified to do so or to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation.

 

Unless otherwise indicated, or the context otherwise requires, references in this prospectus to the “trusts” are to Hartford Capital IV, Hartford Capital V and Hartford Capital VI, collectively, and, references to a “trust” are to Hartford Capital IV, Hartford Capital V or Hartford Capital VI, individually. Unless otherwise indicated, or the context otherwise requires, references in this prospectus to “The Hartford,” “we,” “us” and “our” or similar terms are to The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries.

 

Some of the statements contained in this prospectus or incorporated by reference are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and include estimates and assumptions related to economic, competitive and legislative developments. These forward-looking statements are subject to change and uncertainty which are, in many instances, beyond our control and have been made based upon management’s expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effect upon us. There can be no assurance that future developments will be in accordance with management’s expectations or that the effect of future developments on us will be those anticipated by management. Actual results could differ materially from those we expect, depending on the outcome of various factors, including, but not limited to, those set forth in our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K (as updated from time to time). These factors include:

 

 

 

All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made, and we undertake no obligation to update our forward-looking statements for any reason, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

 

The Hartford is a diversified insurance and financial services holding company. The Hartford, headquartered in Connecticut, is among the largest providers of investment products, individual life, group life and disability insurance products, and property and casualty insurance products in the United States. Hartford Fire Insurance Company, or Hartford Fire, founded in 1810, is the oldest of our subsidiaries. Our companies write insurance in the United States and internationally. At December 31, 2006, our total assets were $326.7 billion and our total stockholders’ equity was $18.9 billion.

 

As a holding company that is separate and distinct from our insurance subsidiaries, we have no significant business operations of our own. Therefore, we rely on dividends from our insurance company subsidiaries and other subsidiaries as the principal source of cash flow to meet our obligations. These obligations include payments on our debt securities and the payment of dividends on our capital stock. The Connecticut insurance holding company laws limit the payment of dividends by Connecticut-domiciled insurers. In addition, these laws require notice to and approval by the state insurance commissioner for the declaration or payment by those subsidiaries of any dividend, if the dividend and other dividends or distributions made within the preceding twelve months exceeds the greater of:

 

 

In addition, if any dividend of a Connecticut-domiciled insurer exceeds the insurer’s earned surplus, it requires the prior approval of the Connecticut Insurance Commissioner.

 

The insurance holding company laws of the other jurisdictions in which our insurance subsidiaries are incorporated, or deemed commercially domiciled, generally contain similar, and in some instances more restrictive, limitations on the payment of dividends. Our property-casualty insurance subsidiaries are permitted to pay up to a maximum of approximately $1.5 billion in dividends to The Hartford in 2007 without prior approval from the applicable insurance commissioner. Our life insurance subsidiaries are permitted to pay up to a maximum of approximately $620 million in dividends to our subsidiary, Hartford Life, Inc. (“HLI”), in 2007 without prior approval from the applicable insurance commissioner. In 2006, The Hartford and HLI received a combined total of $609 million in dividends from their insurance subsidiaries. From January 1, 2007 through April 10, 2007, The Hartford and HLI received a combined total of $967 million in dividends from their insurance subsidiaries.

 

Our rights to participate in any distribution of the assets of any of our subsidiaries, for example, upon their liquidation or reorganization, and the ability of holders of the securities to benefit indirectly from a distribution, are subject to the prior claims of creditors of the applicable subsidiary, except to the extent that we may be a creditor of that subsidiary. Claims on these subsidiaries by persons other than us include, as of December 31, 2006, claims by policyholders for benefits payable amounting to $107.3 billion, claims by separate account holders of $180.5 billion, and other liabilities including claims of trade creditors, claims from guaranty associations and claims from holders of debt obligations amounting to $15.7 billion.

 

Our principal executive offices are located at One Hartford Plaza, Hartford, Connecticut 06155, and our telephone number is (860) 547-5000.

 

We created each trust as a Delaware statutory trust pursuant to a trust agreement. We will enter into an amended and restated trust agreement for each trust, which will state the terms and conditions for the trust to issue and sell its preferred securities and common securities. We will amend and restate each trust agreement in its entirety substantially in the form filed as an exhibit to the registration statement that includes this prospectus. Each trust agreement will be qualified as an indenture under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended, which we refer to in this prospectus as the “Trust Indenture Act.”

 

Each trust exists for the exclusive purposes of:

 

 

Accordingly, the corresponding junior subordinated debentures will be the sole assets of each trust, and payments under the corresponding junior subordinated debentures and the related expense agreement will be the sole revenue of each trust.

 

We will own all of the common securities of each trust. The common securities of a trust will rank equally with, and payments will be made pro rata with, the preferred securities of the trust, except that if an event of default under a trust agreement then exists, our rights as holder of the common securities to payment of distributions and payments upon liquidation or redemption will be subordinated to your rights as a holder of the preferred securities of the trust. See “Description of Preferred Securities — Subordination of Common Securities.”

 

Unless we state otherwise in a prospectus supplement, each trust has a term of approximately 45 years from its date of formation. A trust may also terminate earlier. The trustees of each trust will conduct its business and affairs. As holder of the common securities we will initially appoint the trustees. Initially, the trustees will be:

 

 

Wilmington Trust Company, as property trustee, will act as sole indenture trustee under each trust agreement for purposes of compliance with the provisions of the Trust Indenture Act. Wilmington Trust Company will also act as trustee under the guarantee and the junior subordinated indenture pursuant to which we will issue the junior subordinated debentures. See “Description of Junior Subordinated Debentures” and “Description of Guarantee.”

 

The holder of the common securities of a trust, or the holders of a majority in liquidation preference of the preferred securities if an event of default under the trust agreement for the trust has occurred and is continuing, will be entitled to appoint, remove or replace the property trustee and/or the Delaware trustee of the trust. You will not have the right to vote to appoint, remove or replace the administrative trustees. Only we, as the holder of the common securities, will have these voting rights. The duties and obligations of the trustees are governed by the applicable trust agreement. We will pay all fees and expenses related to the trusts and the offering of the preferred securities and will pay, directly or indirectly, all ongoing costs, expenses and liabilities of the trusts, except for payments made on the preferred securities or the common securities, subject to the guarantee.

 

The principal executive office of each trust is One Hartford Plaza, Hartford, Connecticut 06155, Attention: Corporate Secretary and its telephone number is (860) 547-5000.

 

In the future, we may form additional Delaware statutory trusts or other entities similar to the trusts, and those other trusts or entities could issue securities similar to the trust securities described in this prospectus. In that event, we may issue debt securities to those other trusts or entities and guarantees under a guarantee agreement with respect to the securities they may issue. The debt securities and guarantees we may issue in those cases would be similar to those described in this prospectus, with such modifications as may be described in the applicable prospectus supplement.

 

Unless we state otherwise in an applicable prospectus supplement, we intend to use the proceeds from the sale of the securities offered by this prospectus, including the corresponding junior subordinated debentures issued to the trusts in connection with their investment of all the proceeds from the sale of preferred securities, for general corporate purposes, including working capital, capital expenditures, investments in loans to subsidiaries, acquisitions and refinancing of debt, including outstanding commercial paper and other short-term indebtedness. We may include a more detailed description of the use of proceeds of any specific offering of securities in the prospectus supplement relating to the offering.

 

We may offer unsecured senior debt securities or subordinated debt securities. We refer to the senior debt securities and the subordinated debt securities together in this prospectus as the “debt securities.” The senior debt securities will rank equally with all of our other unsecured, unsubordinated obligations. The subordinated debt securities will be subordinate and junior in right of payment to all of our senior debt.

 

We will issue the senior debt securities in one or more series under the indenture, which we refer to as the “senior indenture,” dated as of April 11, 2007, between us and The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A., as trustee. We will issue subordinated debt securities in one or more series under an indenture, which we refer to as the “subordinated indenture,” between us and the trustee to be named in the prospectus supplement relating to the offering of subordinated debt securities.

 

The following description of the terms of the indentures is a summary. It summarizes only those portions of the indentures which we believe will be most important to your decision to invest in our debt securities. You should keep in mind, however, that it is the indentures, and not this summary, which define your rights as a debtholder. There may be other provisions in the indentures which are also important to you. You should read the indentures for a full description of the terms of the debt. The senior indenture and the subordinated indenture are filed as exhibits to the registration statement that includes this prospectus. See “Where You Can Find More Information” for information on how to obtain copies of the senior indenture and the subordinated indenture.

 

The Debt Securities are Unsecured Obligations

 

Our debt securities will be unsecured obligations and our senior debt securities will be unsecured and will rank equally with all of our other senior unsecured and unsubordinated obligations. As a non-operating holding company, we have no significant business operations of our own. Therefore, we rely on dividends from our insurance company and other subsidiaries as the principal source of cash flow to meet our obligations for payment of principal and interest on our outstanding debt obligations and corporate expenses. Accordingly, the debt securities will be effectively subordinated to all existing and future liabilities of our subsidiaries, and you should rely only on our assets for payments on the debt securities. The payment of dividends by our insurance subsidiaries is limited under the insurance holding company laws in the jurisdictions where those subsidiaries are domiciled. See “The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.”

 

Unless we state otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, the indentures do not limit us from incurring or issuing other secured or unsecured debt under either of the indentures or any other indenture that we may have entered into or enter into in the future. See “— Subordination under the Subordinated Indenture” and the prospectus supplement relating to any offering of subordinated debt securities.

 

Terms of the Debt Securities

 

We may issue the debt securities in one or more series through an indenture that supplements the senior indenture or the subordinated indenture or through a resolution of our board of directors or an authorized committee of our board of directors.

 

You should refer to the applicable prospectus supplement for the specific terms of the debt securities. These terms may include the following:

 

 

Debt securities may also be issued under the indentures upon the exercise of warrants or delivery upon settlement of stock purchase contracts. See “Description of Warrants” and “Description of Stock Purchase Contracts.”

 

We may, in certain circumstances, without notice to or consent of the holders of the debt securities, issue additional debt securities having the same terms and conditions as the debt securities previously issued under this

prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement, so that such additional debt securities and the debt securities previously offered under this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement form a single series, and references in this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement to the debt securities shall include, unless the context otherwise requires, any further debt securities issued as described in this paragraph.

 

Special Payment Terms of the Debt Securities

 

We may issue one or more series of debt securities at a substantial discount below their stated principal amount. These may bear no interest or interest at a rate which at the time of issuance is below market rates. We will describe United States federal tax consequences and special considerations relating to any series in the applicable prospectus supplement.

 

The purchase price of any of the debt securities may be payable in one or more foreign currencies or currency units. The debt securities may be denominated in one or more foreign currencies or currency units, or the principal of, premium, if any, or interest on any debt securities may be payable in one or more foreign currencies or currency units. We will describe the restrictions, elections, United States federal income tax considerations, specific terms and other information relating to the debt securities and any foreign currencies or foreign currency units in the applicable prospectus supplement.

 

If we use any index to determine the amount of payments of principal of, premium, if any, or interest on any series of debt securities, we will also describe in the applicable prospectus supplement the special United States federal income tax, accounting and other considerations applicable to the debt securities.

 

Denominations, Registration and Transfer

 

We expect to issue most debt securities in fully registered form without coupons and in denominations of $1,000 and any integral multiple of $1,000. Except as we may describe in the applicable prospectus supplement, debt securities of any series will be exchangeable for other debt securities of the same issue and series, in any authorized denominations, of a like tenor and aggregate principal amount and bearing the same interest rate.

 

You may present debt securities for exchange as described above, or for registration of transfer, at the office of the security registrar or at the office of any transfer agent we designate for that purpose. You will not incur a service charge but you must pay any taxes, assessments and other governmental charges as described in the indentures. We will appoint the trustees as security registrar under the indentures. We may at any time rescind the designation of any transfer agent that we initially designate or approve a change in the location through which the transfer agent acts. We will specify the transfer agent in the applicable prospectus supplement. We may at any time designate additional transfer agents.

 

Global Debt Securities

 

We may issue all or any part of a series of debt securities in the form of one or more global securities. We will appoint the depositary holding the global debt securities. Unless we otherwise state in the applicable prospectus supplement, the depositary will be The Depository Trust Company, or DTC. We will issue global securities in registered form and in either temporary or definitive form. Unless it is exchanged for individual debt securities, a global security may not be transferred except:

 

 

We will describe the specific terms of the depositary arrangement in the applicable prospectus supplement. We expect that the following provisions will generally apply to these depositary arrangements.

 

Beneficial Interests in a Global Security

 

If we issue a global security, the depositary for the global security or its nominee will credit on its book-entry registration and transfer system the principal amounts of the individual debt securities represented by the global security to the accounts of persons that have accounts with it. We refer to those persons as “participants” in this prospectus. The accounts will be designated by the dealers, underwriters or agents for the debt securities, or by us if the debt securities are offered and sold directly by us. Ownership of beneficial interests in a global security will be limited to participants or persons who may hold interests through participants. Ownership and transfers of beneficial interests in the global security will be shown on, and transactions can be effected only through, records maintained by the applicable depositary or its nominee, for interests of participants, and the records of participants, for interests of persons who hold through participants. The laws of some states require that you take physical delivery of securities in definitive form. These limits and laws may impair your ability to transfer beneficial interests in a global security.

 

So long as the depositary or its nominee is the registered owner of a global security, the depositary or nominee will be considered the sole owner or holder of the debt securities represented by the global security for all purposes under the indenture. Except as provided below, you:

 

 

Payments of Principal, Premium and Interest

 

We will make principal, premium, if any, and interest payments on global securities to the depositary that is the registered holder of the global security or its nominee. The depositary for the global securities will be solely responsible and liable for all payments made on account of your beneficial ownership interests in the global security and for maintaining, supervising and reviewing any records relating to your beneficial ownership interests.

 

We expect that the depositary or its nominee, upon receipt of any principal, premium, if any, or interest payment immediately will credit participants’ accounts with amounts in proportion to their respective beneficial interests in the principal amount of the global security as shown on the records of the depositary or its nominee. We also expect that payments by participants to you, as an owner of a beneficial interest in the global security held through those participants, will be governed by standing instructions and customary practices, as is now the case with securities held for the accounts of customers in bearer form or registered in “street name.” These payments will be the responsibility of those participants.

 

Issuance of Individual Debt Securities

 

Unless we state otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, if a depositary for a series of debt securities is at any time unwilling, unable or ineligible to continue as depositary, we will appoint a successor depositary or we will issue individual debt securities in exchange for the global security. In addition, we may at any time and in our sole discretion, subject to any limitations described in the prospectus supplement relating to the debt securities, determine not to have any debt securities represented by one or more global securities. If that occurs, we will issue individual debt securities in exchange for the global security.

 

Further, we may specify that you may, on terms acceptable to us, the trustee and the depositary, receive individual debt securities in exchange for your beneficial interest in a global security, subject to any limitations described in the prospectus supplement relating to the debt securities. In that instance, you will be entitled to physical delivery of individual debt securities equal in principal amount to that beneficial interest and to have the debt securities registered in your name. Unless we otherwise specify, we will issue those individual debt securities in denominations of $1,000 and integral multiples of $1,000.

 

Payment and Paying Agents

 

Unless we state otherwise in an applicable prospectus supplement, we will pay principal of, premium, if any, and interest on your debt securities at the office of the trustee for your debt securities in the City of New York or at the office of any paying agent that we may designate.

 

Unless we state otherwise in an applicable prospectus supplement, we will pay any interest on debt securities to the registered owner of the debt security at the close of business on the record date for the interest, except in the case of defaulted interest. We may at any time designate additional paying agents or rescind the designation of any paying agent. We must maintain a paying agent in each place of payment for the debt securities.

 

Any moneys or U.S. government obligations (including the proceeds thereof) deposited with the trustee or any paying agent, or then held by us in trust, for the payment of the principal of, premium, if any, and interest on any debt security that remain unclaimed for two years after the principal, premium or interest has become due and payable will, at our request, be repaid to us. After repayment to us, you are entitled to seek payment only from us as a general unsecured creditor.

 

Redemption

 

Unless we state otherwise in an applicable prospectus supplement, debt securities will not be subject to any sinking fund.

 

Unless we state otherwise in an applicable prospectus supplement, we may, at our option, redeem any series of debt securities after its issuance date in whole or in part at any time and from time to time. We may redeem debt securities in denominations larger than $1,000 but only in integral multiples of $1,000.

 

Redemption Price

 

Except as we may otherwise specify in the applicable prospectus supplement, the redemption price for any debt security which we redeem will equal 100% of the principal amount plus any accrued and unpaid interest up to, but excluding, the redemption date.

 

Notice of Redemption

 

We will mail notice of any redemption of debt securities at least 30 days but not more than 60 days before the redemption date to the registered holders of the debt securities at their addresses as shown on the security register. Unless we default in payment of the redemption price, on and after the redemption date interest will cease to accrue on the debt securities or the portions called for redemption.

 

Consolidation, Merger and Sale of Assets

 

We will not consolidate with or merge into any other person or convey, transfer or lease our assets substantially as an entirety to any person, and no person may consolidate with or merge into us, unless:

 

 

This covenant would not apply to the direct or indirect conveyance, transfer or lease of all or any portion of the stock, assets or liabilities of any of our wholly owned subsidiaries to us or to our other wholly owned subsidiaries. In addition, this covenant would not apply to any recapitalization transaction, a change of control of The Hartford or a

highly leveraged transaction unless such transaction or change of control were structured to include a merger or consolidation by us or the conveyance, transfer or lease of our assets substantially as an entirety.

 

Limitations upon Liens

 

With certain exceptions set forth below, the indentures provide that neither we nor our restricted subsidiaries may create, incur, assume or permit to exist any lien, except liens created, incurred, assumed or existing prior to the date of the indentures, on, any property or assets (including the capital stock of any restricted subsidiary) now owned or hereafter acquired by it, or sell or transfer or create any lien on any income or revenues or rights in respect thereof.

 

General Exceptions

 

The restriction on our and our restricted subsidiaries’ ability to create, incur, assume or permit to exist liens will not apply to:

 

 

 

Exceptions for Specified Amount of Indebtedness

 

We and one or more of our restricted subsidiaries may create, incur, assume or permit to exist any lien which would otherwise be subject to the above restrictions, provided that immediately after the creation or assumption of such lien, the total of the aggregate principal amount of our and our restricted subsidiaries’ indebtedness (not including any liens incurred pursuant to the nine exceptions described above under “Limitations upon Liens-General Exceptions”) secured by liens shall not exceed an amount equal to 10% of our consolidated net tangible assets.

 

When we use the term “consolidated net tangible assets,” we mean the total of all of our assets, less the sum of the following items as shown on our consolidated balance sheet:

 

 

When we use the term “preferred stock,” we mean any capital stock entitled by its terms to a preference as to dividends or upon a distribution of assets.

 

When we use the term “restricted subsidiary,” we mean any subsidiary which is incorporated under the laws of any state of the United States or of the District of Columbia, and which is a regulated insurance company principally engaged in one or more of the property, casualty and life insurance businesses. However, no subsidiary is a restricted subsidiary:

 

 

 

As of the date of this prospectus, the following subsidiaries meet the definition of restricted subsidiaries: Hartford Fire, Hartford Life Insurance Company, Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Company and Hartford Life and Annuity Insurance Company.

 

Modification and Waiver

 

Modification

 

We and the trustee may modify and amend each indenture with the consent of the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the series of debt securities affected. However, no modification or amendment may, without the consent of the holder of each outstanding debt security affected:

 

 

Waiver

 

The holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of a series may, on behalf of the holders of all debt securities of that series, waive compliance by us with certain restrictive covenants of the indenture which relate to that series.

 

The holders of not less than a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of a series may, on behalf of the holders of that series, generally waive any past default under the indenture relating to that series of debt securities and the consequences of such default. However, a default in the payment of the principal of, or premium, if any, or any interest on, any debt security of that series or relating to a covenant or provision which under the indenture relating to that series of debt security cannot be modified or amended without the consent of the holder of each outstanding debt security of that series affected cannot be so waived.

 

Events of Default

 

Under the terms of each indenture, each of the following constitutes an event of default for a series of debt securities:

 

 

We are required to furnish the trustee annually with a statement as to the fulfillment of our obligations under the indenture. Each indenture provides that the trustee may withhold notice to you of any default, except in respect of the payment of principal or interest on the debt securities, if it considers it in the interests of the holders of the debt securities to do so.

 

Effect of an Event of Default

 

If an event of default exists (other than an event of default in the case of certain events of bankruptcy), the trustee or the holders of not less than 25% in aggregate principal amount of a series of outstanding debt securities may declare the principal amount, or, if the debt securities are original issue discount securities, the portion of the principal amount as may be specified in the terms of that series, of the debt securities of that series to be due and payable immediately, by a notice in writing to us, and to the trustee if given by holders. Upon that declaration the principal (or specified) amount will become immediately due and payable. However, at any time after a declaration of acceleration has been made, but before a judgment or decree for payment of the money due has been obtained, the holders of not less than a majority in aggregate principal amount of a series of outstanding debt securities may, subject to conditions specified in the indenture, rescind and annul that declaration.

 

If an event of default in the case of certain events of bankruptcy exists, the principal amount of all debt securities outstanding under the indentures shall automatically, and without any declaration or other action on the part of the trustee or any holder of such outstanding debt, become immediately due and payable.

 

Subject to the provisions of the indentures relating to the duties of the trustee, if an event of default then exists, the trustee will be under no obligation to exercise any of its rights or powers under the indentures (other than the payment of any amounts on the debt securities furnished to it pursuant to the indenture) at your (or any other person’s) request, order or direction, unless you have (or such other person has) offered to the trustee reasonable security or indemnity. Subject to the provisions for the security or indemnification of the trustee, the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of a series of outstanding debt securities have the right to direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the trustee, or exercising any trust or power conferred on the trustee in connection with the debt securities of that series.

 

Legal Proceedings and Enforcement of Right to Payment

 

You will not have any right to institute any proceeding in connection with the indentures or for any remedy under the indentures, unless you have previously given to the trustee written notice of a continuing event of default with respect to debt securities of that series. In addition, the holders of at least 25% in aggregate principal amount of a series of the outstanding debt securities must have made written request, and offered reasonable security or indemnity, to the trustee to institute that proceeding as trustee, and, within 60 days following the receipt of that notice, the trustee must not have received from the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series a direction inconsistent with that request, and must have failed to institute the proceeding. However, you will have an absolute and unconditional right to receive payment of the principal of,

premium, if any, and interest on that debt security on or after the due dates expressed in the debt security (or, in the case of redemption, on or after the redemption date) and to institute a suit for the enforcement of that payment.

 

Satisfaction and Discharge

 

Each indenture provides that when, among other things, all debt securities not previously delivered to the trustee for cancellation:

 

 

and we deposit or cause to be deposited with the trustee, money or United States government obligations or a combination thereof, as trust funds, in an amount (such amount to be certified in the case of United States government obligations) to be sufficient to pay and discharge the entire indebtedness on the debt securities not previously delivered to the trustee for cancellation, for the principal, and premium, if any, and interest to the date of the deposit or to the stated maturity or redemption date, as the case may be, then the indenture will cease to be of further effect, and we will be deemed to have satisfied and discharged the indenture. However, we will continue to be obligated to pay all other sums due under the indenture and to provide the officers’ certificates and opinions of counsel described in the indenture.

 

Defeasance and Covenant Defeasance

 

Unless we state otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, each indenture provides that we may discharge all of our obligations, other than as to transfers and exchanges and certain other specified obligations, under any series of the debt securities at any time, and that we may also be released from our obligations described above under “Limitation upon Liens” and “Consolidation, Merger and Sale of Assets” and from certain other obligations, including obligations imposed by supplemental indentures with respect to that series, if any, and elect not to comply with those sections and obligations without creating an event of default. Discharge under the first procedure is called “defeasance” and under the second procedure is called “covenant defeasance.”

 

Defeasance or covenant defeasance may be effected only if:

 

 

 

in the case of a defeasance, this opinion must be based on a ruling of the Internal Revenue Service or a change in United States federal income tax law occurring after the date of execution of the applicable indenture, that result would not occur under current tax law,

 

 

 

The subordinated indenture will not be discharged as described above if we have defaulted in the payment of principal of, premium, if any, or interest on any senior debt, as defined below under “Subordination under the Subordinated Indenture,” and that default is continuing or another event of default on the senior debt then exists and has resulted in the senior debt becoming or being declared due and payable prior to the date it otherwise would have become due and payable.

 

Conversion or Exchange

 

We may issue debt securities that we may convert or exchange into common stock or other securities, property or assets. If so, we will describe the specific terms on which the debt securities may be converted or exchanged in the applicable prospectus supplement. The conversion or exchange may be mandatory, at your option, or at our option. The applicable prospectus supplement will describe the manner in which the shares of common stock or other securities, property or assets you would receive would be issued or delivered.

 

Subordination Under the Subordinated Indenture

 

In the subordinated indenture, we have agreed, and holders of subordinated debt will be deemed to have agreed, that any subordinated debt securities are subordinate and junior in right of payment to all senior debt to the extent provided in the subordinated indenture.

 

Upon any payment or distribution of assets to creditors upon any liquidation, dissolution, winding up, reorganization, assignment for the benefit of creditors, marshaling of assets or any bankruptcy, insolvency, debt restructuring or similar proceeding in connection with our insolvency or bankruptcy, the holders of senior debt will first be entitled to receive payment in full of principal of, premium, if any, and interest on the senior debt before the holders of subordinated debt securities will be entitled to receive or retain any payment of the principal of, premium, if any, or interest on the subordinated debt securities.

 

If the maturity of any subordinated debt securities is accelerated, the holders of all senior debt outstanding at the time of the acceleration will first be entitled to receive payment in full of all amounts due, including any amounts due upon acceleration, before you will be entitled to receive any payment of the principal of, premium, if any, or interest on the subordinated debt securities.

 

We will not make any payments of principal of, premium, if any, or interest on the subordinated debt securities or for the acquisition of subordinated debt securities (other than any sinking fund payment) if:

 

 

When we use the term “debt” we mean, with respect to any person, whether recourse is to all or a portion of the assets of that person and whether or not contingent:

 

 

 

The term “debt” does not include trade accounts payable or accrued liabilities arising in the ordinary course of business.

 

When we use the term “senior debt” we mean the principal of, premium, if any, and interest on debt, whether incurred on, prior to, or after the date of the subordinated indenture, unless the instrument creating or evidencing that debt or pursuant to which that debt is outstanding states that those obligations are not superior in right of payment to the subordinated debt securities or to other debt which ranks equally with, or junior to, the subordinated debt securities. Interest on this senior debt includes interest accruing on or after the filing of any petition in bankruptcy or for reorganization relating to The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., whether or not the claim for post-petition interest is allowed in that proceeding.

 

However, senior debt will not include:

 

 

The subordinated indenture does not limit the amount of additional senior debt that we may incur. We expect from time to time to incur additional senior debt.

 

The subordinated indenture provides that we may change the subordination provisions relating to any particular issue of subordinated debt securities prior to issuance. We will describe any change in the prospectus supplement relating to the subordinated debt securities.

 

Governing Law

 

The indentures and the debt securities will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

 

Concerning the Trustees

 

The trustee under each indenture will have all the duties and responsibilities of an indenture trustee specified in the Trust Indenture Act. Neither trustee is required to expend or risk its own funds or otherwise incur financial liability in performing its duties or exercising its rights and powers if it reasonably believes that it is not reasonably assured of repayment or adequate indemnity.

 

Each of the trustees acts as depositary for funds of, makes loans to, and performs other services for, us and our subsidiaries in the normal course of business.

 

We will issue the junior subordinated debentures in one or more series under a junior subordinated indenture to be entered into between us and Wilmington Trust Company, as debenture trustee.

 

The following description of the terms of the junior subordinated debentures is a summary. It summarizes only those terms of the junior subordinated debentures which we believe will be most important to your decision to invest in our junior subordinated debentures. You should keep in mind, however, that it is the junior subordinated indenture, and not this summary, which defines your rights as a holder of our junior subordinated debentures. There may be other provisions in the junior subordinated indenture which are also important to you. You should read the junior subordinated indenture for a full description of the terms of the junior subordinated debentures. The junior subordinated indenture is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement that includes this prospectus. See “Where You Can Find More Information” for information on how to obtain a copy of the junior subordinated indenture.

 

Ranking of the Junior Subordinated Debentures

 

Each series of junior subordinated debentures will rank equally with all other series of junior subordinated debentures, and will be unsecured and subordinate and junior in right of payment, as described in the junior subordinated indenture, to all of our senior debt as defined in the junior subordinated indenture, which includes all debt issued under our senior indenture or subordinated indenture. See “— Subordination.”

 

As a non-operating holding company, we have no significant business operations of our own. Therefore, we rely on dividends from our insurance company and other subsidiaries as the principal source of cash flow to meet our obligations for payment of principal and interest on our outstanding debt obligations and corporate expenses. Accordingly, the junior subordinated debentures will be effectively subordinated to all existing and future liabilities of our subsidiaries, and you should rely only on our assets for payments on the junior subordinated debentures. The payment of dividends by our insurance subsidiaries is limited under the insurance holding company laws in the jurisdictions where those subsidiaries are domiciled. See “The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.”

 

Unless we state otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, the junior subordinated indenture does not limit us from incurring or issuing other secured or unsecured debt under the junior subordinated indenture or any other indenture that we may have entered into or enter into in the future. See “— Subordination” and the prospectus supplement relating to any offering of securities.

 

Terms of the Junior Subordinated Debentures

 

We may issue the junior subordinated debentures in one or more series through an indenture that supplements the junior subordinated indenture or through a resolution of our board of directors or an authorized committee of our board of directors.

 

You should refer to the applicable prospectus supplement for the specific terms of the junior subordinated debentures. These may include:

 

 

 

We may, in certain circumstances, without notice to or consent of the holders of the junior subordinated debentures, issue additional junior subordinated debentures having the same terms and conditions as junior subordinated debentures previously issued under this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement, so that such additional junior subordinated debentures and the junior subordinated debentures previously offered under this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement form a single series, and references in this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement to the junior subordinated debentures shall include, unless the context otherwise requires, any further junior subordinated debentures issued as described in this paragraph.

 

Special Payment Terms of the Junior Subordinated Debentures

 

We may issue junior subordinated debentures at a substantial discount below their stated principal amount, bearing no interest or interest at a rate which at the time of issuance is below market rates. We will describe United States federal income tax consequences and special considerations relating to any junior subordinated debentures in the applicable prospectus supplement.

 

The purchase price of any of the junior subordinated debentures may be payable in one or more foreign currencies or currency units. The junior subordinated debentures may be denominated in one or more foreign currencies or currency units, or the principal of, premium, if any, or interest on any junior subordinated debentures may be payable in one or more foreign currencies or currency units. We will describe the restrictions, elections, United States federal income tax considerations, specific terms and other information relating to the junior subordinated debentures and the foreign currency units in the applicable prospectus supplement.

 

If we use any index to determine the amount of payments of principal of, premium, if any, or interest on any series of junior subordinated debentures, we will also describe special United States federal income tax, accounting and other considerations relating to the junior subordinated debentures in the applicable prospectus supplement.

 

Denominations, Registration and Transfer

 

Unless we state otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, we will issue the junior subordinated debentures only in registered form without coupons in denominations of $25 and any integral multiple of $25. Junior subordinated debentures of any series will be exchangeable for other junior subordinated debentures of the same issue and series, of any authorized denomination of a like aggregate principal amount, of the same original issue date and stated maturity and bearing the same interest rate.

 

You may present junior subordinated debentures for exchange as described above, or for registration of transfer, at the office of the securities registrar or at the office of any transfer agent we designate for that purpose. You will not incur a service charge but you must pay any taxes and other governmental charges as described in the junior subordinated indenture. We will appoint the debenture trustee as securities registrar under the junior subordinated indenture. We may at any time rescind the designation of any transfer agent that we initially designate or approve a change in the location through which the transfer agent acts. We must maintain a transfer agent in each

place of payment. We will specify the transfer agent in the applicable prospectus supplement. We may at any time designate additional transfer agents.

 

If we redeem any junior subordinated debentures, neither we nor the debenture trustee will be required to:

 

 

Global Junior Subordinated Debentures

 

We may issue a series of junior subordinated debentures in the form of one or more global junior subordinated debentures. We will identify the depositary holding the global junior subordinated debentures in the applicable prospectus supplement. We will issue global junior subordinated debentures only in fully registered form and in either temporary or permanent form. Unless it is exchanged for an individual junior subordinated debenture, a global junior subordinated debenture may not be transferred except:

 

 

We will describe the specific terms of the depositary arrangement in the applicable prospectus supplement. We expect that the following provisions will generally apply to these depositary arrangements.

 

Beneficial Interests in a Global Junior Subordinated Debenture

 

If we issue a global junior subordinated debenture, the depositary for the global junior subordinated debenture or its nominee will credit on its book-entry registration and transfer system the principal amounts of the individual junior subordinated debentures represented by the global junior subordinated debenture to the accounts of persons that have accounts with it. We refer to those persons as “participants” in this prospectus. The accounts will be designated by the dealers, underwriters or agents for the junior subordinated debentures, or by us if the junior subordinated debentures are offered and sold directly by us. Ownership of beneficial interests in a global junior subordinated debenture will be limited to participants or persons that may hold interests through participants. Ownership and transfers of beneficial interests in the global junior subordinated debenture will be shown on, and effected only through, records maintained by the applicable depositary or its nominee, for interests of participants, and the records of participants, for interests of persons who hold through participants. The laws of some states require that you take physical delivery of securities in definitive form. These limits and laws may impair your ability to transfer beneficial interests in a global junior subordinated debenture.

 

So long as the depositary or its nominee is the registered owner of the global junior subordinated debenture, the depositary or the nominee will be considered the sole owner or holder of the junior subordinated debentures represented by the global junior subordinated debenture for all purposes under the junior subordinated indenture. Except as provided below, you:

 

 

Payments of Principal, Premium and Interest

 

We will make principal, premium and interest payments on global junior subordinated debentures to the depositary that is the registered holder of the global junior subordinated debenture or its nominee. The depositary for the junior subordinated debentures will be solely responsible and liable for all payments made on account of your beneficial ownership interests in the global junior subordinated debenture and for maintaining, supervising and reviewing any records relating to your beneficial ownership interests.

 

We expect that the depositary or its nominee, upon receipt of principal, premium or interest payments, immediately will credit participants’ accounts with amounts in proportion to their respective beneficial interests in the principal amount of the global junior subordinated debenture as shown on the records of the depositary or its nominee. We also expect that payments by participants to you, as an owner of a beneficial interest in the global junior subordinated debenture held through those participants, will be governed by standing instructions and customary practices, as is now the case with securities held for the accounts of customers in bearer form or registered in “street name.” These payments will be the responsibility of those participants.

 

Issuance of Individual Junior Subordinated Debentures

 

Unless we state otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, if a depositary for a series of junior subordinated debentures is at any time unwilling, unable or ineligible to continue as depositary, we will issue individual junior subordinated debentures in exchange for the global junior subordinated debenture. In addition, we may at any time and in our sole discretion, subject to any limitations described in the prospectus supplement relating to the junior subordinated debentures, determine not to have any junior subordinated debentures represented by one or more global junior subordinated debentures. If that occurs, we will issue individual junior subordinated debentures in exchange for the global junior subordinated debenture.

 

Further, we may specify that you may, on terms acceptable to us, the debenture trustee and the depositary for the global junior subordinated debenture, receive individual junior subordinated debentures in exchange for your beneficial interest in a global junior subordinated debenture, subject to any limitations described in the prospectus supplement relating to the junior subordinated debentures. In that instance, you will be entitled to physical delivery of individual junior subordinated debentures equal in principal amount to that beneficial interest and to have the junior subordinated debentures registered in your name. Unless we otherwise specify, those individual junior subordinated debentures will be issued in denominations of $25 and integral multiples of $25.

 

Payment and Paying Agents

 

Unless we state otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, we will pay principal of, premium, if any, and interest on your junior subordinated debentures at the office of the debenture trustee in the City of New York or at the office of any paying agent that we may designate.

 

Unless we state otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, we will pay any interest on junior subordinated debentures to the registered owner of the junior subordinated debenture at the close of business on the regular record date for the interest, except in the case of defaulted interest. We may at any time designate additional paying agents or rescind the designation of any paying agent. We must maintain a paying agent in each place of payment for the junior subordinated debentures.

 

Any moneys deposited with the debenture trustee or any paying agent, or then held by us in trust, for the payment of the principal of, premium, if any, and interest on any junior subordinated debenture that remain unclaimed for two years after the principal, premium or interest has become due and payable will, at our request, be repaid to us. After repayment to us, you are entitled to seek payment only from us as a general unsecured creditor.

 

Redemption

 

Unless we state otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, junior subordinated debentures will not be subject to any sinking fund.

 

We may, at our option, redeem any series of junior subordinated debentures after its issuance date in whole or in part at any time and from time to time. We may redeem junior subordinated debentures in denominations larger than $25 but only in integral multiples of $25.

 

Redemption Price

 

Except as we may otherwise specify in the applicable prospectus supplement, the redemption price for any junior subordinated debenture redeemed will equal any accrued and unpaid interest to the redemption date, plus the greater of:

 

 

 

The discounted remaining fixed amount payments will equal the sum of the current values of the amounts of interest and principal that would have been payable by us on each interest payment date after the redemption date and at stated maturity of the final payment of principal. This calculation will take into account any required sinking fund payments, but will otherwise assume that we have not redeemed the junior subordinated debenture prior to the stated maturity.

 

The current value of any amount is the present value of that amount on the redemption date after discounting that amount on a monthly, quarterly or semiannual basis, whichever corresponds to the interest payment date periods of the related series of junior subordinated debentures, from the originally scheduled date for payment. We will use the treasury rate to calculate this present value.

 

The treasury rate is a per annum rate, expressed as a decimal and, in the case of United States Treasury bills, converted to a per annum yield, determined on the redemption date to be the per annum rate equal to the semiannual bond equivalent yield to maturity, adjusted to reflect monthly or quarterly compounding in the case of junior subordinated debentures having monthly or quarterly interest payment dates for United States Treasury securities maturing at the stated maturity of the final payment of principal of the junior subordinated debentures redeemed. We will determine this rate by reference to the weekly average yield to maturity for United States Treasury securities maturing on that stated maturity if reported in the most recent Statistical Release H.15(519) of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve. If no such securities mature at the stated maturity, we will determine the rate by interpolation between the most recent weekly average yields to maturity for two series of United States Treasury securities, (1) one maturing as close as possible to, but earlier than, the stated maturity and (2) the other maturing as close as possible to, but later than, the stated maturity, in each case as published in the most recent Statistical Release H.15(519) of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve.

 

The discounted swap equivalent payments will equal the sum of:

 

 

 

Special Event Redemption

 

Unless we state otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, if a special event relating to a series of junior subordinated debentures then exists, we may, at our option, redeem the series of junior subordinated debentures in whole, but not in part, on any date within 90 days of the special event occurring. The redemption price will equal the principal amount of the junior subordinated debentures then outstanding plus accrued and unpaid interest to the date fixed for redemption.

 

A “special event” means a “tax event” or an “investment company event.” A “tax event” occurs when a trust receives an opinion of counsel experienced in these matters to the effect that, as a result of any amendment to, or change, including any announced prospective change in, the laws or regulations of the United States or any political subdivision or taxing authority affecting taxation, or as a result of any official administrative pronouncement or judicial decision interpreting or applying those laws or regulations, which amendment or change is effective or pronouncement or decision is announced on or after the date of issuance of the preferred securities of a trust, there is more than an insubstantial risk that:

 

 

An “investment company event” occurs when, in respect of a trust, there is a change in law or regulation, or a change in interpretation or application of law or regulation, by any legislative body, court, governmental agency or regulatory authority such that such trust is or will be considered an “investment company” that is required to be registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, which change becomes effective on or after the date of issuance of the preferred securities of a trust.

 

Notice of Redemption

 

We will mail notice of any redemption of your junior subordinated debentures at least 30 days but not more than 60 days before the redemption date to you at your registered address. Unless we default in payment of the redemption price, on and after the redemption date interest will cease to accrue on the junior subordinated debentures or the portions called for redemption.

 

Option to Extend Interest Payment Date

 

If provided in the applicable prospectus supplement, we will have the right during the term of any series of junior subordinated debentures to extend the interest payment period for a specified number of interest payment periods, subject to the terms, conditions and covenants specified in the prospectus supplement. However, we may not extend these interest payments beyond the maturity of the junior subordinated debentures. We will describe the United States federal income tax consequences and special considerations relating to any junior subordinated debentures in the applicable prospectus supplement.

 

If we exercise this right, during the extension period we and our subsidiaries may not:

 

 

other than:

 

 

Modification of Indenture

 

We and the debenture trustee may, without the consent of the holders of junior subordinated debentures, amend, waive or supplement the junior subordinated indenture for specified purposes, including, among other things, curing ambiguities, defects or inconsistencies. However, no action may materially adversely affect the interests of holders of any series of junior subordinated debentures or, in the case of corresponding junior subordinated debentures, the holders of the corresponding series of preferred securities so long as they remain outstanding. We may also amend the junior subordinated indenture to maintain the qualification of the junior subordinated indenture under the Trust Indenture Act.

 

We and the debenture trustee may, with the consent of the holders of not less than a majority in principal amount of the series of junior subordinated debentures affected, modify the junior subordinated indenture in a manner affecting the rights of the holders of junior subordinated debentures. However, no modification may, without the consent of the holder of each outstanding junior subordinated debenture affected:

 

 

In the case of corresponding junior subordinated debentures, so long as any of the corresponding series of preferred securities remain outstanding:

 

 

without the prior consent of the holders of at least a majority of the aggregate liquidation preference of the preferred securities unless the principal of the corresponding junior subordinated debentures and all accrued and unpaid interest on the corresponding junior subordinated debentures have been paid in full and other conditions are satisfied.

 

In addition, we and the debenture trustee may execute, without your consent, any supplemental indenture for the purpose of creating any new series of junior subordinated debentures.

 

Debenture Events of Default

 

Under the terms of the junior subordinated indenture, each of the following constitutes a debenture event of default for a series of junior subordinated debentures:

 

 

 

Effect of Event of Default

 

The holders of a majority in outstanding principal amount of the series of junior subordinated debentures have the right to direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the debenture trustee. The debenture trustee or the holders of not less than 25% in aggregate outstanding principal amount of the series of junior subordinated debentures may declare the principal due and payable immediately upon a debenture event of default. In the case of corresponding junior subordinated debentures, if the debenture trustee or the holders of the corresponding junior subordinated debentures fail to make this declaration, the holders of at least 25% in aggregate liquidation preference of the corresponding series of preferred securities will have that right.

 

Waiver of Event of Default

 

The holders of a majority in aggregate outstanding principal amount of the series of junior subordinated debentures may rescind and annul the declaration and its consequences if:

 

 

 

The holders of a majority in aggregate outstanding principal amount of the junior subordinated debentures affected by the default may, on behalf of the holders of all the junior subordinated debentures, waive any past default and its consequences, except:

 

 

We are required under the junior subordinated indenture to file annually with the junior subordinated indenture trustee a certificate of compliance.

 

Direct Actions by Holders of Trust Preferred Securities

 

If a debenture event of default is attributable to our failure to pay interest or principal on the corresponding junior subordinated debentures on the date the interest or principal is payable, you, as a holder of preferred securities, may institute a legal proceeding directly against us, which we refer to in this prospectus as a “direct action,” for enforcement of payment to you of the principal of or interest on the corresponding junior subordinated debentures having a principal amount equal to the aggregate liquidation amount of your related preferred securities.

 

We may not amend the junior subordinated indenture to remove the right to bring a direct action without the prior written consent of the holders of all of the preferred securities. If the right to bring a direct action is removed, the applicable issue may become subject to the reporting obligations under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. We have the right under the junior subordinated indenture to set-off any payment made to you as a holder

of preferred securities by us in connection with a direct action. You will not be able to exercise directly any other remedy available to holders of the corresponding junior subordinated debentures.

 

You will not be able to exercise directly any remedies other than those described in the preceding paragraph available to holders of the junior subordinated debentures unless there has been an event of default under the trust agreement.

 

Consolidation, Merger, Sale of Assets and Other Transactions

 

We will not consolidate with or merge into any other corporation or convey, transfer or lease our properties and assets substantially as an entirety to any person, and no person will consolidate with or merge into us or convey, transfer or lease its properties and assets substantially as an entirety to us, unless:

 

 

The general provisions of the junior subordinated indenture do not protect you against transactions, such as a highly leveraged transaction, that may adversely affect you.

 

Satisfaction and Discharge

 

The junior subordinated indenture provides that when, among other things, all junior subordinated debentures not previously delivered to the debenture trustee for cancellation:

 

 

and we deposit or cause to be deposited with the debenture trustee, in trust, an amount in the currency or currencies in which the junior subordinated debentures are payable sufficient to pay and discharge the entire indebtedness on the junior subordinated debentures not previously delivered to the debenture trustee for cancellation, for the principal, premium, if any, and interest on the date of the deposit or to the stated maturity, as the case may be, then the junior subordinated indenture will cease to be of further effect and we will be deemed to have satisfied and discharged the indenture. However, we will continue to be obligated to pay all other sums due under the junior subordinated indenture and to provide the officers’ certificates and opinions of counsel described in the junior subordinated indenture.

 

Conversion or Exchange

 

We may issue junior subordinated debentures that we may convert or exchange into preferred securities or other securities, property or assets. If so, we will describe the specific terms on which junior subordinated debentures may be converted or exchanged in the applicable prospectus supplement. The conversion or exchange may be mandatory, at your option or at our option. The applicable prospectus supplement will state the manner in which the preferred securities or other securities, property or assets you would receive would be issued or delivered.

 

Subordination

 

In the junior subordinated indenture, we have agreed that any junior subordinated debentures will be subordinate and junior in right of payment to all senior debt to the extent provided in the junior subordinated indenture.

 

In case of the pendency of any receivership, insolvency, liquidation, bankruptcy, reorganization, arrangement, adjustment, composition or other judicial proceeding relative to us, the holders of senior debt will first be entitled to receive payment in full of principal of, premium, if any, and interest on the senior debt before the holders of junior subordinated debentures or, in the case of corresponding junior subordinated debentures, the property trustee on behalf of the holders, will be entitled to receive or retain any payment of the principal, premium, if any, or interest on the junior subordinated debentures.

 

If the maturity of any junior subordinated debentures is accelerated, the holders of all senior debt outstanding at the time of the acceleration will first be entitled to receive payment in full of all amounts due, including any amounts due upon acceleration, before you will be entitled to receive any payment of the principal of, premium, if any, or interest on the junior subordinated debentures.

 

We will not make any payments of principal of, premium, if any, or interest on the junior subordinated debentures if:

 

 

When we use the term “debt,” we mean, with respect to any person, whether recourse is to all or a portion of the assets of that person and whether or not contingent:

 

 

When we use the term “senior debt” we mean the principal, premium, if any, and interest on debt, whether incurred on, prior to or after the date of the junior subordinated indenture, unless the instrument creating or evidencing that debt or pursuant to which that debt is outstanding states that those obligations are not superior in right of payment to the junior subordinated debentures or to other debt which ranks equally with, or junior to, the junior subordinated debentures. Interest on this senior debt includes interest accruing on or after the filing of any petition in bankruptcy or for reorganization relating to The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., whether or not the claim for post-petition interest is allowed in that proceeding.

 

However, senior debt will not include:

 

 

 

As a non-operating holding company, we have no significant business operations of our own. Therefore, we rely on dividends from our insurance company and other subsidiaries as the principal source of cash flow to meet our obligations for payment of principal and interest on our outstanding debt obligations and corporate expenses. Accordingly, the junior subordinated debentures will be effectively subordinated to all existing and future liabilities of our subsidiaries, and you should rely only on our assets for payments on the junior subordinated debentures. The payment of dividends by our insurance subsidiaries is limited under the insurance holding company laws in the jurisdictions where those subsidiaries are domiciled. See “The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.”

 

The junior subordinated indenture does not limit the amount of additional senior debt that we may incur. We expect from time to time to incur additional senior debt.

 

The indenture provides that we may change the subordination provisions relating to any particular issue of junior subordinated debentures prior to issuance. We will describe any change in the prospectus supplement relating to the junior subordinated debentures.

 

Governing Law

 

The junior subordinated indenture and the junior subordinated debentures will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

 

Information Concerning the Debenture Trustee

 

The debenture trustee will have all the duties and responsibilities of an indenture trustee specified in the Trust Indenture Act. Subject to those provisions, the debenture trustee is not required to exercise any of its powers under the junior subordinated indenture at your request, unless you offer reasonable indemnity against the costs, expenses and liabilities which the trustee might incur. The debenture trustee is not required to expend or risk its own funds or incur personal financial liability in performing its duties if the debenture trustee reasonably believes that it is not reasonably assured of repayment or adequate indemnity.

 

Authorized and Outstanding Capital Stock

 

Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended effective May 1, 2002, provides that our authorized capital stock is 800,000,000 shares. These shares consist of:

 

 

As of March 31, 2007, we had 316,371,491 outstanding shares of common stock. No shares of preferred stock are currently outstanding.

 

No holders of any class of our capital stock are entitled to preemptive rights except as may be agreed from time to time by us and any such holders.

 

In general, the classes of authorized capital stock are afforded preferences in relation to dividends and liquidation rights in the order listed above. Our board of directors is empowered, without the approval of our stockholders, to cause our preferred stock to be issued in one or more classes or series, or both, with the numbers of shares of each class or series and the provisions, designations, powers, preferences and relative, participating, optional and other special rights and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, of each class or series to be determined by it. The specific matters that may be determined by our board of directors include dividend rights, voting rights, redemption rights, liquidation preferences, conversion and exchange rights, retirement and sinking fund provisions, conditions or restrictions on our creation of indebtedness or our issuance of additional shares of stock, and other powers, preferences and relative, participating, optional and other special rights and any qualifications, limitations or restrictions on any wholly unissued series of preferred stock, or of the entire class of preferred stock if none of the shares have been issued, the number of shares constituting that series and the terms and conditions of the issue of the shares.

 

The following description of our capital stock is a summary. It summarizes only those aspects of our capital stock which we believe will be most important to your decision to invest in our capital stock. You should keep in mind, however, that it is our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and our Amended and Restated By-Laws, and the Delaware General Corporation Law, and not this summary, which define your rights as a securityholder. There may be other provisions in these documents which are also important to you. You should read these documents for a full description of the terms of our capital stock. Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and our Amended and Restated By-Laws are incorporated by reference as exhibits to the registration statement that includes this prospectus. See “Where You Can Find More Information” for information on how to obtain copies of these documents.

 

Common Stock

 

Subject to any preferential rights of any preferred stock created by our board of directors, as a holder of our common stock you are entitled to dividends as our board of directors may declare from time to time out of funds that we can legally use to pay dividends. The holders of common stock possess exclusive voting rights, except to the extent provided by law and to the extent our board of directors specifies voting power for any preferred stock that is issued.

 

As a holder of our common stock, you are entitled to one vote for each share of common stock and do not have any right to cumulate votes in the election of directors. In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding-up, as a holder of our common stock, you will be entitled to receive on a proportionate basis any assets remaining after provision for payment of creditors and after payment or provision for payment of any liquidation preferences to holders of preferred stock. Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “HIG.”

 

The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is The Bank of New York.

 

Preferred Stock

 

We will describe the particular terms of any series of preferred stock in the prospectus supplement relating to the offering.

 

We will fix or designate the rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions, including dividend rights, voting rights, terms of redemption, retirement and sinking fund provisions and liquidation preferences, if any, of a series of preferred stock through a certificate of designations adopted by our board of directors. We will describe the terms, if any, on which shares of any series of preferred stock are convertible or exchangeable into common stock in the prospectus supplement relating to the offering. The conversion or exchange may be mandatory, at your option or at our option. The applicable prospectus supplement will state the manner in which the shares of common stock that you will receive as a holder of preferred stock would be converted or exchanged.

 

Provisions of Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Amended and Restated By-Laws May Delay or Make More Difficult Unsolicited Acquisitions or Changes of Control of The Hartford

 

Some provisions of our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Amended and Restated By-Laws may delay or make more difficult unsolicited acquisitions or changes of control of The Hartford. We believe that these provisions will enable us to develop our business in a manner that will foster long-term growth without disruption caused by the threat of a takeover not thought by our board of directors to be in our best interest and the best interests of our stockholders.

 

Those provisions could have the effect of discouraging third parties from making proposals involving an unsolicited acquisition or change of control of The Hartford, although the proposals, if made, might be considered desirable by a majority of our stockholders. Those provisions may also have the effect of making it more difficult for third parties to cause the replacement of our current management without the concurrence of our board of directors.

 

These provisions include:

 

 

No Stockholder Action by Written Consent; Special Meetings

 

Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Amended and Restated By-Laws provide that stockholder action can be taken only at an annual or special meeting and cannot be taken by written consent. Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Amended and Restated By-Laws also provide that special meetings of stockholders can be called only by the chairman of our board of directors or by a vote of the majority of the entire board of directors. Furthermore, our Amended and Restated By-Laws provide that only such business as is specified in the notice of any special meeting of stockholders may come before the meeting.

 

Advance Notice for Raising Business or Making Nominations at Meetings

 

Our Amended and Restated By-Laws establish an advance notice procedure for stockholder proposals to be brought before an annual meeting of stockholders and for nominations by stockholders of candidates for election as directors at an annual or special meeting at which directors are to be elected. The only business that may be conducted at an annual meeting of stockholders is the election of members of the board of directors for the succeeding year and business that has been specified in the notice of the meeting given by or at the direction of the board of directors or otherwise brought before the meeting by, or at the direction of, the board of directors, or by a stockholder who has given to our corporate secretary timely written notice, in proper form, of the stockholder’s intention to bring that business before the meeting. Only persons who are nominated by, or at the direction of, the board of directors, or who are nominated by a stockholder who has given timely written notice, in proper form, to the secretary prior to a meeting at which directors are to be elected will be eligible for election as directors.

 

To be timely, notice of business to be brought before an annual meeting or nominations of candidates for election as directors at an annual meeting must be given by a stockholder to our corporate secretary not later than 90 days prior to the anniversary date for the immediately preceding annual meeting (or, if the date of the annual meeting is more than 30 days before or after the anniversary date of the immediately preceding annual meeting, not later than the later of (a) 90 days prior to the date of such annual meeting or (b) ten days after the first public disclosure of the date of such annual meeting).

 

Similarly, notice of nominations to be brought before a special meeting of stockholders for the election of directors must be delivered to the secretary no later than the close of business on the seventh day following the date on which notice of the date of the special meeting of stockholders is given.

 

The notice of any nomination for election as a director is required to state:

 

 

Number of Directors; Filling of Vacancies

 

Our Amended and Restated By-Laws provide that newly created directorships resulting from any increase in the authorized number of directors, or any vacancy, may be filled by a vote of a majority of directors then in office, subject to the requirement in the Amended and Restated By-Laws that the majority of directors holding office immediately after the election must be independent directors. Accordingly, our board of directors may be able to prevent any stockholder from obtaining majority representation on the board of directors by increasing the size of the board and filling the newly created directorships with its own nominees.

 

Restrictions on Ownership Under Insurance Laws

 

State insurance laws could be a significant deterrent to any person interested in acquiring control of The Hartford. The insurance holding company laws of each of the jurisdictions in which our insurance subsidiaries are incorporated or commercially domiciled, as well as state corporation laws, govern any acquisition of control of The Hartford or of our insurance subsidiaries. In general, these laws provide that no person or entity may directly or indirectly acquire control of an insurance company unless that person or entity has received the prior approval of the insurance regulatory authorities. An acquisition of control would be presumed in the case of any person or entity who purchases 10% or more of our outstanding common stock, unless the applicable insurance regulatory authorities determine otherwise.

 

Delaware General Corporation Law

 

The terms of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law apply to us since we are a Delaware corporation. Under Section 203, with some exceptions, a Delaware corporation may not engage in a broad range of business combinations, such as mergers, consolidations and sales of assets, with an “interested stockholder,” for a period of three years from the date that person became an interested stockholder unless:

 

 

 

Under Section 203, an “interested stockholder” is defined as any person (or the affiliates or associates of such person), other than the corporation and any direct or indirect majority-owned subsidiary, that is:

 

 

Section 203 does not apply to a corporation that so provides in an amendment to its certificate of incorporation or by-laws passed by a majority of its outstanding shares at any time. This stockholder action does not become effective for 12 months following its adoption and would not apply to persons who were already interested stockholders at the time of the amendment. Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation does not exclude us from the restrictions imposed under Section 203.

 

Section 203 makes it more difficult for a person who would be an interested stockholder to effect business combinations with a corporation for a three-year period, although the stockholders may elect to exclude a corporation from the restrictions imposed. The provisions of Section 203 may encourage companies interested in acquiring us to negotiate in advance with our board of directors, because the stockholder approval requirement would be avoided if a majority of the directors then in office approve either the business combination or the transaction which results in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder. These provisions also may have the effect of preventing changes in our management. It is further possible that these provisions could make it more difficult to accomplish transactions that stockholders may otherwise deem to be in their best interest.

 

General Terms

 

We may elect to offer depositary shares representing receipts for fractional interests in debt securities or preferred stock. In this case, we will issue receipts for depositary shares, each of which will represent a fraction of a debt security or share of a particular series of preferred stock, as the case may be.

 

We will deposit the debt securities or shares of any series of preferred stock represented by depositary shares under a deposit agreement between us and a depositary which we will name in the applicable prospectus supplement. Subject to the terms of the deposit agreement, as an owner of a depositary share you will be entitled, in proportion to the applicable fraction of a debt security or share of preferred stock represented by the depositary share, to all the rights and preferences of the debt security or preferred stock, as the case may be, represented by the depositary share, including, as the case may be, interest, dividend, voting, conversion, redemption, sinking fund, repayment at maturity, subscription and liquidation rights.

 

The following description of the terms of the deposit agreement is a summary. It summarizes only those terms of the deposit agreement that we believe will be most important to your decision to invest in our depositary shares. You should keep in mind, however, that it is the deposit agreement, and not this summary, which defines your rights as a holder of depositary shares. There may be other provisions in the deposit agreement that are also important to you. You should read the deposit agreement for a full description of the terms of the depositary shares. The form of the deposit agreement is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement that includes this prospectus. See “Where You Can Find More Information” for information on how to obtain a copy of the deposit agreement.

 

Interest, Dividends and Other Distributions

 

The depositary will distribute all payments of interest, cash dividends or other cash distributions received on the debt securities or preferred stock, as the case may be, to you in proportion to the number of depositary shares that you own.

 

In the event of a distribution other than in cash, the depositary will distribute property received by it to you in an equitable manner, unless the depositary determines that it is not feasible to make a distribution. In that case the depositary may sell the property and distribute the net proceeds from the sale to you.

 

Redemption of Depositary Shares

 

If we redeem a debt security or series of preferred stock represented by depositary shares, the depositary will redeem your depositary shares from the proceeds received by the depositary resulting from the redemption. The redemption price per depositary share will be equal to the applicable fraction of the redemption price per debt security or share of preferred stock, as the case may be, payable in relation to the redeemed series of debt securities or preferred stock. Whenever we redeem debt securities or shares of preferred stock held by the depositary, the depositary will redeem as of the same redemption date the number of depositary shares representing, as the case may be, the debt securities or shares of preferred stock redeemed. If fewer than all the depositary shares are to be redeemed, the depositary shares to be redeemed will be selected by lot, proportionately or by any other equitable method as the depositary may determine.

 

Exercise of Rights under the Indentures or Voting the Preferred Stock

 

Upon receipt of notice of any meeting at which you, as a holder of interests in deposited preferred stock, are entitled to vote, or of any request for instructions or directions from you, as a holder of interests in deposited debt securities, the depositary will mail to you the information contained in that notice. Each record holder of the depositary shares on the record date will be entitled to instruct the depositary how to give instructions or directions with respect to the debt securities represented by that holder’s depositary shares or how to vote the amount of the preferred stock represented by that holder’s depositary shares. The record date for the depositary shares will be the same date as the record date for the debt securities or preferred stock, as the case may be. The depositary will endeavor, to the extent practicable, to give instructions or directions with respect to the debt securities or to vote the amount of the preferred stock, as the case may be, represented by the depositary shares in accordance with those instructions. We will agree to take all reasonable action which the depositary may deem necessary to enable the depositary to do so. The depositary will abstain from giving instructions or directions with respect to the debt securities or voting shares of the preferred stock, as the case may be, if it does not receive specific instructions from you.

 

Amendment and Termination of the Deposit Agreement

 

We and the depositary may amend the form of depositary receipt evidencing the depositary shares and any provision of the deposit agreement at any time. However, any amendment which materially and adversely alters the rights of the holders of the depositary shares will not be effective unless the amendment has been approved by the holders of at least a majority of the depositary shares then outstanding.

 

The deposit agreement will terminate if:

 

 

Resignation and Removal of Depositary

 

The depositary may resign at any time by delivering to us notice of its election to do so. We also may, at any time, remove the depositary. Any resignation or removal will take effect upon the appointment of a successor depositary and its acceptance of such appointment. We must appoint the successor depositary within 60 days after delivery of the notice of resignation or removal. The successor depositary must be a bank or trust company having its principal office in the United States and having a combined capital and surplus of at least $50,000,000.

 

Charges of Depositary

 

We will pay all transfer and other taxes and governmental charges arising solely from the existence of the depositary arrangements. We will pay charges of the depositary in connection with the initial deposit of the debt securities or preferred stock, as the case may be, and issuance of depositary receipts, all withdrawals of shares of debt securities or preferred stock, as the case may be, by you and any repayment or redemption of the debt securities or preferred stock, as the case may be. You will pay other transfer and other taxes and governmental charges, as well as the other charges that are expressly provided in the deposit agreement to be for your account.

 

Miscellaneous

 

The depositary will forward all reports and communications from us which are delivered to the depositary and which we are required or otherwise determine to furnish to holders of debt securities or preferred stock, as the case may be.

 

Neither we nor the depositary will be liable under the deposit agreement to you other than for the depositary’s gross negligence, willful misconduct or bad faith. Neither we nor the depositary will be obligated to prosecute or defend any legal proceedings relating to any depositary shares, debt securities or preferred stock unless satisfactory indemnity is furnished. We and the depositary may rely upon written advice of counsel or accountants, or upon information provided by persons presenting debt securities or shares of preferred stock for deposit, you or other persons believed to be competent and on documents which we and the depositary believe to be genuine.

 

We may issue warrants, including warrants to purchase debt securities, preferred stock, common stock or other securities, property or assets (including rights to receive payment in cash or securities based on the value, rate or price of one or more specified commodities, currencies, securities or indices) as well as other types of warrants. We may issue warrants independently or together with any other securities, and they may be attached to or separate from those securities. We will issue the warrants under warrant agreements between us and a bank or trust company, as warrant agent, that we will describe in the prospectus supplement relating to the warrants that we offer.

 

The following description of the terms of the warrants is a summary. It summarizes only those terms of the warrants and the warrant agreement which we believe will be most important to your decision to invest in our warrants. You should keep in mind, however, that it is the warrant agreement and the warrant certificate relating to the warrants, and not this summary, which defines your rights as a warrantholder. There may be other provisions in the warrant agreement and the warrant certificate relating to the warrants which are also important to you. You should read these documents for a full description of the terms of the warrants. Forms of these documents are filed as exhibits to the registration statement that includes this prospectus. See “Where You Can Find More Information” for information on how to obtain copies of these documents.

 

Debt Warrants

 

We will describe in the applicable prospectus supplement the terms of warrants to purchase debt securities that we may offer, the warrant agreement relating to the debt warrants and the warrant certificates representing the debt warrants. These terms will include the following:

 

 

 

We will also describe in the applicable prospectus supplement any provisions for a change in the exercise price or expiration date of the warrants and the kind, frequency and timing of any notice to be given. You may exchange debt warrant certificates for new debt warrant certificates of different denominations and may exercise debt warrants at the corporate trust office of the warrant agent or any other office that we indicate in the applicable prospectus supplement. Prior to exercise, you will not have any of the rights of holders of the debt securities purchasable upon that exercise and will not be entitled to payments of principal, premium, if any, or interest on the debt securities purchasable upon the exercise.

 

Other Warrants

 

We may issue other warrants. We will describe in the applicable prospectus supplement the following terms of those warrants:

 

 

We will also describe in the applicable prospectus supplement any provisions for a change in the exercise price or the expiration date of the warrants and the kind, frequency and timing of any notice to be given. You may exchange warrant certificates for new warrant certificates of different denominations and may exercise warrants at the corporate trust office of the warrant agent or any other office that we indicate in the applicable prospectus supplement. Prior to the exercise of your warrants, you will not have any of the rights of holders of the preferred stock, common stock or other securities purchasable upon that exercise and will not be entitled to dividend payments, if any, or voting rights of the preferred stock, common stock or other securities purchasable upon the exercise.

 

Exercise of Warrants

 

We will describe in the prospectus supplement relating to the warrants the principal amount or the number of our securities, or amount of other securities, property or assets that you may purchase for cash upon exercise of a warrant, and the exercise price. You may exercise a warrant as described in the prospectus supplement relating to the warrants at any time up to the close of business on the expiration date stated in the prospectus supplement. Unexercised warrants will become void after the close of business on the expiration date, or any later expiration date that we determine.

 

We will forward the securities purchasable upon the exercise as soon as practicable after receipt of payment and the properly completed and executed warrant certificate at the corporate trust office of the warrant agent or other office stated in the applicable prospectus supplement. If you exercise less than all of the warrants represented by the warrant certificate, we will issue you a new warrant certificate for the remaining warrants.

 

We may issue stock purchase contracts, including contracts obligating or entitling you to purchase from us, and obligating or entitling us to sell to you, a specific number of shares of common stock or preferred stock, or other securities, property or assets, at a future date or dates. Alternatively, the stock purchase contacts may obligate or entitle us to purchase from you, and obligate or entitle you to sell to us, a specific or varying number of shares of common stock or preferred stock, or other securities, property or assets, at a future date. The price per share of preferred stock or common stock may be fixed at the time the stock purchase contracts are issued or may be determined by reference to a specific formula described in the stock purchase contracts. We may issue stock purchase contracts separately or as a part of units each consisting of a stock purchase contract and debt securities, undivided beneficial ownership interests in debt securities, trust preferred securities, depositary shares representing fractional interests in debt securities or shares of preferred stock, or debt obligations of third parties, including U.S. Treasury securities, securing your obligations to purchase the preferred stock or the common stock, or other securities, property or assets, under the stock purchase contract. The stock purchase contracts may require us to make periodic payments to you or vice versa and the payments may be unsecured or prefunded on some basis. The stock purchase contracts may require you to secure your obligations in a specified manner. We will describe in the applicable prospectus supplement the terms of any stock purchase contracts or stock purchase units.

 

The trustees of each trust will issue preferred securities and common securities of the trust. The preferred securities will represent preferred undivided beneficial interests in the assets of the related trust. As a holder of trust preferred securities, you will generally be entitled to a preference with respect to distributions and amounts payable on redemption or liquidation over the common securities of the trust, as well as other benefits as described in the corresponding trust agreement. Each of the trusts is a legally separate entity and the assets of one trust are not available to satisfy the obligations of any other trust.

 

The following description of the terms of the form of trust agreement is a summary. It summarizes only those portions of the form of trust agreement which we believe will be most important to your decision to invest in the preferred securities. You should keep in mind, however, that it is the trust agreement, and not this summary, which

defines your rights as a holder. There may be other provisions in the trust agreement which are also important to you. You should read the form of trust agreement itself for a full description of the terms of the preferred securities. The form of trust agreement is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement that includes this prospectus. See “Where You Can Find More Information” for information on how to obtain a copy of the trust agreement.

 

Ranking of Preferred Securities

 

The preferred securities of a trust will rank equally, and we will make payments proportionately, with the common securities of the trust except as described under “— Subordination of Common Securities.” The preferred securities of each trust represent preferred undivided beneficial interests in the assets of the trust. The property trustee will hold legal title to the corresponding junior subordinated debentures in trust for the benefit of the holders of the related preferred securities and common securities.

 

Each guarantee agreement that we execute for your benefit, as a holder of preferred securities of a trust, will be a guarantee on a subordinated basis with respect to the related preferred securities. However, our guarantee will not guarantee payment of distributions or amounts payable on redemption or liquidation of the preferred securities when the related trust does not have funds on hand available to make such payments. See “Description of Guarantee.”

 

Distributions on the Preferred Securities

 

The trust will pay the distributions on the preferred securities and common securities at a rate specified in the prospectus supplement.

 

The amount of distributions the trust must pay for any period will be computed on the basis of a 360-day year of twelve 30-day months unless we otherwise specify in the applicable prospectus supplement. Distributions that are in arrears may bear interest at the rate per annum specified in the applicable prospectus supplement. The term “distributions” as we use it in this prospectus includes any additional amounts provided in the corresponding trust agreement.

 

Distributions on the preferred securities will be cumulative, will accrue from the date of original issuance and will be payable on the dates specified in the applicable prospectus supplement. If any date on which distributions are payable on the preferred securities is not a business day, the trust will instead make the payment on the next succeeding day that is a business day, and without any interest or other payment on account of the delay. However, if that business day is in the next succeeding calendar year, the trust will make the payment on the immediately preceding business day. In each case payment will be made with the same force and effect as if made on the date the payment was originally due. When we use the term “business day” in this prospectus, we mean any day other than a Saturday or a Sunday, or a day on which banking institutions in the City of New York are authorized or required by law or executive order to remain closed or a day on which the corporate trust office of the applicable trustee is closed for business.

 

If provided in the applicable prospectus supplement, we have the right under the junior subordinated indenture, the contract that provides the terms for the corresponding junior subordinated debentures, to extend the interest payment period for a specified number of periods. However, we may not extend these interest payments beyond the maturity of the junior subordinated debentures. As a consequence of any extension, distributions on the corresponding preferred securities would be deferred by the trust during the extension period. These distributions would continue to accumulate additional distributions at the rate per annum set form in the prospectus supplement.

 

If we exercise this right, during the extension period we and our subsidiaries may not:

 

 

other than:

 

 

We anticipate that the revenue of each trust available for distribution to you, as a holder of preferred securities, will be limited to payments under the corresponding junior subordinated debentures in which the trust will invest the proceeds from the issuance and sale of its preferred securities and its common securities. See “Description of Corresponding Junior Subordinated Debentures.”

 

If we do not make interest payments on the corresponding junior subordinated debentures, the property trustee will not have funds available to pay distributions on the corresponding preferred securities. The payment of distributions, if and to the extent the trust has funds legally available for the payment of these distributions is guaranteed by us on a limited basis as set forth under “Description of Guarantee.”

 

The trust will pay distributions on the preferred securities to you provided you are entered in the register of the trust on the relevant record dates. As long as the preferred securities remain in book-entry form, the record date will be one business day prior to the relevant distribution date. If any preferred securities are not in book-entry form, the record date for the preferred securities will be the date 15 days prior to the relevant distribution date.

 

Redemption

 

Redemption on a Repayment or Redemption of the Corresponding Junior Subordinated Debentures

 

Upon the repayment or redemption, in whole or in part, of any corresponding junior subordinated debentures, the property trustee must apply the proceeds from that repayment or redemption to redeem a like amount of the corresponding preferred securities. This redemption must be made upon not less than 30 nor more than 60 days notice to you. The redemption price will be equal to the aggregate liquidation preference of the preferred securities, plus accumulated and unpaid distributions on the preferred securities to the date of redemption and the related amount of any premium paid by us upon the concurrent redemption of the corresponding junior subordinated debentures. See “Description of Corresponding Junior Subordinated Debentures — Optional Redemption.”

 

If less than all of any series of corresponding junior subordinated debentures are repaid or redeemed, then the proceeds from the repayment or redemption will be allocated to redeem a proportionate amount of each of the preferred securities and the common securities. The amount of premium, if any, paid by us upon the redemption of all or any part of any series of any corresponding junior subordinated debentures repaid or redeemed will be allocated proportionately to the redemption of the preferred securities and the common securities.

 

We must repay the principal of the corresponding junior subordinated debentures when they are due. In addition, we will have the right to redeem any series of corresponding junior subordinated debentures:

 

 

Redemption or Distribution Upon the Occurrence of a Tax Event or an Investment Company Event

 

If an event occurs that constitutes a tax event or an investment company event we will have the right to:

 

 

If provided in the applicable prospectus supplement, we will have the right to extend or shorten the maturity of any series of corresponding junior subordinated debentures at the time that we exercise our right to elect to terminate the related trust and cause the corresponding junior subordinated debentures to be distributed to the holders of the preferred securities and common securities in liquidation of the trust.

 

When we use the term “additional sums” in this prospectus we mean the additional amounts that may be necessary in order that the amount of distributions then due and payable by a trust on its outstanding preferred securities and common securities will not be reduced as a result of any additional taxes, duties and other governmental charges to which the trust has become subject as a result of a tax event.

 

When we use the term “tax event” we mean the receipt by the trust of an opinion of counsel experienced in those matters to the effect that, as a result of any amendment to, or change, including any announced prospective change, in, the laws of the United States or any political subdivision or taxing authority affecting taxation, or as a result of any official administrative pronouncement or judicial decision interpreting or applying those laws or regulations, which amendment or change is effective or pronouncement or decision is announced on or after the trust issues the preferred securities, there is more than an insubstantial risk that:

 

 

When we use the term “investment company event” we mean the occurrence of a change in law or regulation or a change in interpretation or application of law or regulation by any legislative body, court, governmental agency or regulatory authority to the effect that the applicable trust is or will be considered an investment company that is required to be registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, which change becomes effective on or after the date of original issuance of the series of preferred securities issued by the trust.

 

When we use the term “like amount,” we mean:

 

 

When we use the term “liquidation amount,” we mean the stated amount of $25 per preferred security and common security.

 

After the liquidation date fixed for any distribution of corresponding junior subordinated debentures for any series of preferred securities:

 

 

We can make no assurance as to what the market prices will be for the preferred securities or the corresponding junior subordinated debentures that may be distributed to you in exchange for your preferred securities if a dissolution and liquidation of a trust were to occur. Accordingly, the preferred securities that you purchase, or the corresponding junior subordinated debentures that you receive on dissolution and liquidation of a trust, may trade at a discount to the price that you paid to purchase the preferred securities.

 

Voluntary Distribution of Junior Subordinated Debentures

 

If we so provide in the applicable prospectus supplement, we may elect, at any time, to dissolve the trust and cause the corresponding junior subordinated debentures to be distributed to you, as a holder of the preferred securities, and us, as the holder of the common securities, in liquidation of the trust.

 

Redemption Procedures

 

The trust will redeem the preferred securities on each redemption date at the redemption price with the applicable proceeds from the contemporaneous redemption of the corresponding junior subordinated debentures. The trust will make redemptions of the preferred securities and pay the redemption price only to the extent that it has funds available for the payment of the redemption price. See also “— Subordination of Common Securities.”

 

If a trust gives notice to you of redemption of your preferred securities, then by 12:00 noon, New York City time, on the redemption date, to the extent funds are available, the property trustee will irrevocably deposit with DTC funds sufficient to pay the applicable redemption price and will give DTC irrevocable instructions and authority to pay the redemption price to you. See “— Book-Entry Issuance.”

 

If the preferred securities are no longer in book-entry form, the trust, to the extent funds are available, will irrevocably deposit with the paying agent for the preferred securities funds sufficient to pay the applicable redemption price to you and will give the paying agent irrevocable instructions and authority to pay the redemption price to you upon surrender of your certificates.

 

The trust will pay any distributions payable on or prior to the redemption date for any preferred securities called for redemption to you on the relevant record dates for the distribution. If the trust has given notice of redemption and has deposited the required funds, then upon the date of the deposit, all your rights will cease, except your right to receive the redemption price, without interest on that redemption price, and your preferred securities will cease to be outstanding. If any date fixed for redemption of preferred securities is not a business day, then the trust will pay the redemption price on the next succeeding day which is a business day, and without any interest or other payment on account of the delay. However, if the business day falls in the next calendar year, the trust will make the payment on the immediately preceding business day. If payment of the redemption price is improperly withheld or refused and not paid either by the trust or by us pursuant to the guarantee as described under “Description of Guarantee,” distributions on the preferred securities will continue to accrue at the then applicable rate, from the redemption date originally established by the trust for the preferred securities to the date the redemption price is actually paid. In this case the actual payment date will be the date fixed for redemption for purposes of calculating the redemption price.

 

Subject to applicable law, including United States federal securities law, we or our subsidiaries may at any time purchase outstanding preferred securities by tender, in the open market or by private agreement.

 

The trust will make payment of the redemption price on the preferred securities and any distribution of corresponding junior subordinated debentures to the applicable record holders as they appear on the register for the preferred securities on the relevant record date. This date will generally be one business day prior to the relevant redemption date or liquidation date. However, if any preferred securities are not in book-entry form, the relevant record date for the preferred securities will be the date 15 days prior to the redemption date or liquidation date.

 

If less than all of the preferred securities and common securities issued by a trust are to be redeemed on a redemption date, then the aggregate liquidation amount of the preferred securities and common securities to be redeemed will be allocated proportionately among the preferred securities and the common securities. The property trustee will select the particular preferred securities to be redeemed on a proportionate basis not more than 60 days prior to the redemption date from the outstanding preferred securities not previously called for redemption, by any method that the property trustee deems fair and appropriate. This method may provide for the selection for redemption of portions, equal to $25 or an integral multiple of $25, of the liquidation amount of preferred securities. The property trustee will promptly notify the trust registrar in writing of the preferred securities selected for redemption and, in the case of any preferred securities selected for partial redemption, the liquidation amount of the preferred securities to be redeemed.

 

Subordination of Common Securities

 

The trust will make payment of distributions, any additional amounts and the redemption price on the preferred securities and common securities proportionately based on the liquidation amount of the preferred securities and common securities. However, if on any distribution date or redemption date a debenture event of default exists, the trust will not make any payment on the common securities unless payment in full in cash of all accumulated and unpaid distributions, any additional amounts and the full amount of the redemption price on all of the outstanding preferred securities of the trust, has been made or provided for. The property trustee will apply all available funds first to the payment in full in cash of all distributions on, or redemption price of, the preferred securities then due and payable. If any event of default resulting from a debenture event of default exists, we as holder of the common securities of the trust will be deemed to have waived any right to act with respect to the event of default under the trust agreement until the effect of all those events of default with respect to the preferred securities have been cured, waived or otherwise eliminated. Until any events of default under the trust agreement with respect to the preferred securities have been so cured, waived or otherwise eliminated, the property trustee will act solely on your behalf, as a holder of the preferred securities, and not on our behalf as holder of the common securities, and only you acting with the other holders will have the right to direct the property trustee to act on your behalf.

 

Liquidation Distribution Upon Dissolution

 

Each trust will automatically terminate upon expiration of its term or the redemption of all of the preferred securities of the trust. In addition, we will terminate the trust on the first to occur of:

 

 

If an early dissolution occurs as described in the clauses above, the trustees will liquidate the trust as expeditiously as the trustees determine to be possible by distributing, after satisfaction of liabilities to creditors of the trust as provided by applicable law, to the holders of the preferred securities and common securities a like amount of corresponding junior subordinated debentures. If the property trustee determines that this distribution is not practical, you will be entitled to receive out of the assets of the trust available for distribution, after satisfaction of liabilities to creditors of the trust as provided by applicable law, an amount equal to the aggregate of the

liquidation amount plus accrued and unpaid distributions to the date of payment. We refer to this liquidation amount in this prospectus as the “liquidation distribution.” If the trust can make the liquidation distribution only in part because it has insufficient assets available to pay the full aggregate liquidation distribution, then it will pay the amounts on a proportionate basis. We, as the holder of the common securities, will be entitled to receive distributions upon any liquidation proportionately with you, and the other holders of the preferred securities, except that if an event exists that constitutes a debenture event of default, the preferred securities will have a priority over the common securities. A supplemental indenture may provide that if an early dissolution occurs as described in the third clause above, the corresponding junior subordinated debentures may be subject to optional redemption in whole, but not in part.

 

Events of Default; Notice

 

Under the terms of the form of trust agreement, each of the following constitutes an event of default for a series of preferred securities:

 

 

Within five business days after the occurrence of any event of default actually known to the property trustee, the property trustee will transmit notice of the event of default to you, the administrative trustees and us, as depositor, unless the event of default has been cured or waived. We, as depositor, and the administrative trustees are required to file annually with the property trustee a certificate as to whether or not we are and they are in compliance with all the conditions and covenants applicable to them and to us under the trust agreement.

 

If a debenture event of default then exists, the preferred securities will have a preference over the common securities upon termination of the trust. See “— Liquidation Distribution Upon Dissolution.”

 

The existence of an event of default does not entitle you to accelerate the maturity.

 

Removal of Trustees

 

Unless a debenture event of default then exists, the holder of the common securities may remove any trustee. If a debenture event of default then exists the holders of a majority in liquidation amount of the outstanding preferred securities may remove the property trustee and the Delaware trustee. In no event will you have the right to vote to appoint, remove or replace the administrative trustees. These voting rights are vested exclusively in us as the holder of the common securities. No resignation or removal of a trustee and no appointment of a successor trustee will be effective until the acceptance of appointment by the successor trustee in accordance with the provisions of the trust agreement.

 

Co-trustees and Separate Property Trustee

 

Unless an event of default then exists, for the purpose of meeting the legal requirements of the Trust Indenture Act or of any jurisdiction in which any part of the trust property may be located, we, as the holder of the common securities, and the administrative trustees will have power to appoint one or more persons approved by the property trustee either to act as a co-trustee, jointly with the property trustee, of all or any part of the trust property, or, to the extent required by law, to act as separate trustee. These persons will have the powers provided in the instrument of appointment, and we may vest in that person or persons any property, title, right or power deemed necessary or desirable, subject to the provisions of the trust agreement. If a debenture event of default exists, the property trustee alone will have power to make that appointment.

 

Merger or Consolidation of Trustees

 

Any corporation into which the property trustee, the Delaware trustee or any administrative trustee that is not a natural person may be merged or converted or with which it may be consolidated, or any corporation resulting from any merger, conversion or consolidation to which the trustee is a party, or any corporation succeeding to all or substantially all the corporate trust business of the trustee, will be the successor of such trustee under the trust agreements, provided that the corporation is otherwise qualified and eligible.

 

Mergers, Consolidations, Amalgamations or Replacements of the Trusts

 

A trust may not merge with or into, consolidate, amalgamate, or be replaced by, or convey, transfer or lease its properties and assets substantially as an entirety to any corporation or other body, except as described below.

 

A trust may, at our request, with the consent of the administrative trustees and without your consent, merge with or into, consolidate, amalgamate, or be replaced by a trust organized under the laws of any state. However, the following conditions must be satisfied:

 

 

 

 

 

 

However, a trust must not, except with the consent of holders of 100% in liquidation amount of the preferred securities, consolidate, amalgamate, merge with or into, or be replaced by or convey, transfer or lease its properties and assets substantially as an entirety to any other entity or permit any other entity to consolidate, amalgamate, merge with or into, or replace it if it would cause the trust or the successor entity to be classified as other than a grantor trust for United States federal income tax purposes.

 

Voting Rights; Amendment of Trust Agreement

 

Except as provided below and under “Description of Guarantee — Amendments and Assignment” and as otherwise required by law and the applicable trust agreement, you will have no voting rights.

 

We and the trustees may amend a trust agreement without your consent:

 

 

However, in the case of the first clause above, the action may not adversely affect in any material respect the interests of the holders of the preferred securities or our interests, as the holder of the common securities. Any amendments of the trust agreement will become effective when notice is given to you and us.

 

We and the trustees may also amend a trust agreement with:

 

 

Without both your and our consent a trust agreement may not be amended to:

 

 

So long as any corresponding junior subordinated debentures are held by the property trustee, the trustees may not:

 

 

without, in each case, obtaining the prior approval of the holders of a majority in aggregate liquidation amount of all outstanding preferred securities. However, where a consent under the junior subordinated indenture would require the consent of each holder of corresponding junior subordinated debentures affected by the consent, no consent may be given by the property trustee without the prior consent of each holder of the corresponding preferred securities.

 

The trustees may not revoke any action previously authorized or approved by a vote of the preferred securities except by subsequent vote of the holders of the preferred securities. The property trustee will notify you of any notice of default with respect to the corresponding junior subordinated debentures. In addition to obtaining the approval of the holders of the preferred securities prior to taking any of these actions, the trustees must obtain an opinion of counsel experienced in these matters to the effect that the trust will not be classified as a corporation or partnership for United States federal income tax purposes on account of the action.

 

Any required approval of holders of preferred securities may be given at a meeting of holders of preferred securities convened for that purpose or through a written consent. The property trustee will cause a notice of any meeting at which you are entitled to vote, or of any matter upon which action by written consent is to be taken, to be given to each holder of record of preferred securities in the manner set forth in the trust agreement.

 

Your vote or consent is not required for a trust to redeem and cancel the preferred securities under the applicable trust agreement.

 

Any preferred securities that are owned by us, the trustees or any of our affiliates or any affiliate of the trustees, will, for purposes of a vote or consent, be treated as if they were not outstanding.

 

Global Preferred Securities

 

We may issue a series of preferred securities in the form of one or more global preferred securities. We will identify the depositary which will hold the global preferred security in the applicable prospectus supplement. Unless we otherwise indicate in the applicable prospectus supplement, the depositary will be DTC. We will issue global preferred securities only in fully registered form and in either temporary or permanent form. Unless it is exchanged for individual preferred securities, a global preferred security may not be transferred except:

 

 

We will describe the specific terms of the depositary arrangement in the applicable prospectus supplement. We expect that the following provisions will generally apply to these depositary arrangements.

 

Beneficial Interests in a Global Preferred Security

 

If we issue a global preferred security, the depositary for the global preferred security or its nominee will credit on its book-entry registration and transfer system the aggregate liquidation amounts of the individual preferred securities represented by the global preferred securities to the accounts of participants. The accounts will be designated by the dealers, underwriters or agents for the preferred securities, or by us if the preferred securities are offered and sold directly by us. Ownership of beneficial interests in a global preferred security will be limited to participants or persons that may hold interests through participants. Ownership and transfers of beneficial interests in the global preferred security will be shown on, and effected only through, records maintained by the applicable depositary or its nominee, for interests of participants, and the records of participants, for interests of persons who hold through participants. The laws of some states require that you take physical delivery of the securities in definitive form. These limits and laws may impair your ability to transfer beneficial interests in a global preferred security.

 

So long as the depositary or its nominee is the registered owner of the global preferred security, the depositary or nominee will be considered the sole owner or holder of the preferred securities represented by the global preferred security for all purposes under the trust agreement. Except as provided below, you:

 

 

Payments of Distributions

 

We will pay distributions on global preferred securities to the depositary that is the registered holder of the global security, or its nominee. The depositary for the preferred securities will be solely responsible and liable for all payments made on account of your beneficial ownership interests in the global preferred security and for maintaining, supervising and reviewing any records relating to your beneficial ownership interests.

 

We expect that the depositary or its nominee, upon receipt of any payment of liquidation amount, premium or distributions, immediately will credit participants’ accounts with amounts in proportion to their respective beneficial interests in the aggregate liquidation amount of the global preferred security as shown on the records of the depositary or its nominee. We also expect that payments by participants to owners of beneficial interests in the global preferred security held through those participants will be governed by standing instructions and customary practices, as is now the case with securities held for the accounts of customers in bearer form or registered in “street name.” These payments will be the responsibility of those participants.

 

Issuance of Individual Preferred Securities

 

Unless we state otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, if a depositary for a series of preferred securities is at any time unwilling, unable or ineligible to continue as a depositary and we do not appoint a successor depositary within 90 days, we will issue individual preferred securities in exchange for the global preferred security. In addition, we may at any time and in our sole discretion, subject to any limitations described in the prospectus supplement relating to the preferred securities, determine not to have any preferred securities represented by one or more global preferred securities. If that occurs, we will issue individual preferred securities in exchange for the global preferred security.

 

Further, we may specify that you may, on terms acceptable to us, the property trustee and the depositary for the global preferred security, receive individual preferred securities in exchange for your beneficial interests in a global preferred security, subject to any limitations described in the prospectus supplement relating to the preferred securities. In that instance, you will be entitled to physical delivery of individual preferred securities equal in liquidation amount to that beneficial interest and to have the preferred securities registered in its name. Unless we otherwise specify, those individual preferred securities will be issued in denominations of $25 and integral multiples of $25.

 

Payment and Paying Agency

 

A trust will make payments on the preferred securities to DTC, which will credit the relevant accounts at DTC on the applicable distribution dates. However, if any preferred securities are not held by DTC, the trust will make the payments by check mailed to the address of the holder entitled to the payment as shown on the register. Unless we state otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, the paying agent will initially be the property trustee, together with any co-paying agent chosen by the property trustee and acceptable to the administrative trustees and us. The paying agent may resign as paying agent upon 30 days’ written notice to the administrative trustees, property trustees and us. If the property trustee ceases to be the paying agent, the administrative trustees will appoint a successor to act as paying agent. The successor must be a bank or trust company acceptable to the administrative trustees and us.

 

Registrar and Transfer Agent

 

Unless we state otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, the property trustee will act as registrar and transfer agent for the preferred securities.

 

A trust will register transfers of preferred securities without charge, but upon your payment of any tax or other governmental charges that may be imposed in connection with any transfer or exchange. A trust will not be required to register the transfer of its preferred securities after the preferred securities have been called for redemption.

 

Information Concerning the Property Trustee

 

The property trustee, unless an event of default then exists, will be required to perform only those duties that are specifically set forth in the applicable trust agreement. After an event of default, the property trustee must exercise the same degree of care and skill as a prudent person would exercise or use in the conduct of his or her own affairs. However, the property trustee is under no obligation to exercise any of the powers vested in it by the trust agreement at your request unless you offer reasonable indemnity against the costs, expenses and liabilities that it might incur. If no event of default then exists and the property trustee is required to decide between alternative causes of action, construe ambiguous provisions in a trust agreement or is unsure of the application of any provision of a trust agreement, and the matter is not one on which holders are entitled under the trust agreement to vote, then the property trustee will take such action as is directed by us. If it is not so directed, the property trustee will take such action as it deems advisable and in the best interests of the holders of the preferred securities and the holder of the common securities and will have no liability except for its own bad faith, negligence or willful misconduct.

 

Miscellaneous

 

The trust agreements authorize and direct the administrative trustees to operate the related trusts in such a way that the trusts will not be deemed to be an investment company required to be registered under the Investment Company Act or taxed as a corporation for United States federal income tax purposes and so that the corresponding junior subordinated debentures will be treated as our indebtedness for United States federal income tax purposes. We and the administrative trustees are authorized to take any action, not inconsistent with applicable law, the certificate of trust of a trust or the trust agreement, that we and the administrative trustees determine in our discretion to be necessary or desirable for these purposes, as long as the action does not materially adversely affect the interests of the holders of the preferred securities.

 

You have no preemptive or similar rights as a holder of preferred securities. No trust may borrow money or issue debt or mortgage or pledge any of its assets.

 

At the same time as the issuance by a trust of its preferred securities, we will execute and deliver a guarantee for your benefit, as a holder of the preferred securities. Wilmington Trust Company will act as indenture trustee under the guarantee for the purposes of compliance with the Trust Indenture Act. The guarantee will be qualified as an indenture under the Trust Indenture Act.

 

The following description of the terms of the guarantee is a summary. It summarizes only those portions of the guarantee that we believe will be most important to your decision to invest in the preferred securities of a trust. You should keep in mind, however, that it is the guarantee, and not this summary, which defines your rights as a holder of preferred securities. There may be other provisions in the guarantee that are also important to you. You should read the guarantee itself for a full description of its terms. The guarantee is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement that includes this prospectus. See “Where You Can Find More Information” for information on how to obtain a copy of the guarantee. When we refer in this summary to preferred securities, we mean the preferred securities issued by a trust to which the guarantee relates.

 

General Terms of the Guarantee

 

We will irrevocably agree to pay in full on a subordinated basis, to the extent described below, the guarantee payments, as defined below, to you, as and when due, regardless of any defense, right of set-off or counterclaim that the trust may have or assert other than the defense of payment.

 

The following payments, which we refer to in this prospectus as the “guarantee payments,” to the extent not paid by or on behalf of the related trust, will be subject to the guarantee:

 

 

 

Our obligation to make a guarantee payment may be satisfied by us directly paying to you the required amounts or by causing the trust to pay the amounts to you.

 

The guarantee will be an irrevocable guarantee on a subordinated basis of the related trust obligations under the preferred securities, but will apply only to the extent that the related trust has funds sufficient to make the payments. It is not a guarantee of collection.

 

If we do not make interest payments on the corresponding junior subordinated debentures held by the trust, we expect that the trust will not pay distributions on the preferred securities and will not have funds legally available for those payments. The guarantee will rank subordinate and junior in right of payment to all senior debt. See “— Status of the Guarantee.”

 

As a non-operating holding company, we have no significant business operations of our own. Therefore, we rely on dividends from our insurance company and other subsidiaries as the principal source of cash flow to meet our obligations for payment of principal and interest on our outstanding debt obligations and corporate expenses. Accordingly, our obligations under the guarantee will be effectively subordinated to all existing and future liabilities of our subsidiaries, and you should rely only on our assets for payments under the guarantee. The payment of dividends by our insurance subsidiaries is limited under the insurance holding company laws in the jurisdictions where those subsidiaries are domiciled. See “The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.”

 

Unless we state otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, the guarantee does not limit the amount of secured or unsecured debt that we may incur. We expect from time to time to incur additional senior debt.

 

We have, through the guarantee, the trust agreement, the junior subordinated debentures, the junior subordinated indenture and the expense agreement, taken together, fully, irrevocably and unconditionally guaranteed all of the obligations of the trust under the preferred securities. No single document standing alone or operating in conjunction with fewer than all of the other documents constitutes the guarantee. It is only the combined operation of these documents that has the effect of providing a full, irrevocable and unconditional guarantee of the obligations of the trust under the preferred securities. See “Relationship Among the Preferred Securities, the Corresponding Junior Subordinated Debentures and the Guarantees.”

 

Status of the Guarantee

 

The guarantee will constitute an unsecured obligation of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. and will rank subordinate and junior in right of payment to all its senior debt.

 

Unless we state otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, the guarantee of a series of preferred securities will rank equally with the guarantees relating to all other series of preferred securities that we may issue.

The guarantee will constitute a guarantee of payment and not of collection, which means that the guaranteed party may institute a legal proceeding directly against us to enforce its rights under the guarantee without first instituting a legal proceeding against any other person or entity. The property trustee of the related trust will hold the guarantee for your benefit. The guarantee will not be discharged except by payment of the guarantee payments in full to the extent not paid by the trust or upon distribution of the corresponding junior subordinated debentures to you.

 

Amendments and Assignment

 

We may not amend the guarantee without the prior approval of the holders of not less than a majority of the aggregate liquidation amount of outstanding preferred securities, except for any changes which do not materially adversely affect the rights of the holders of the preferred securities, in which case no vote will be required. The manner of obtaining any approval will be as set forth under “Description of the Preferred Securities — Voting Rights; Amendment of Trust Agreement.”

 

All guarantees and agreements contained in the guarantee will bind our successors, assigns, receivers, trustees and representatives and will inure to the benefit of the holders of the related preferred securities then outstanding.

 

Events of Default

 

An event of default under the guarantee will occur when we fail to perform any of our payment or other obligations under the guarantee. The holders of not less than a majority in aggregate liquidation amount of the related preferred securities have the right to direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the guarantee trustee under the guarantee or to direct the exercise of any trust or power conferred upon the guarantee trustee under the guarantee.

 

You may institute a legal proceeding directly against us to enforce your rights under the guarantee without first instituting a legal proceeding against the trust, the guarantee trustee or any other person or entity.

 

We, as guarantor, are required to file annually with the guarantee trustee a certificate as to whether or not we are in compliance with all the conditions and covenants applicable to us under the guarantee.

 

Information Concerning the Guarantee Trustee

 

The guarantee trustee, unless a default by us in the performance of the guarantee then exists, is required to perform only those duties that are specifically set forth in the guarantee. After a default under the guarantee, the guarantee trustee must exercise the same degree of care and skill as a prudent person would exercise or use in the conduct of his or her own affairs. However, the guarantee trustee is under no obligation to exercise any of the powers vested in it by the guarantee at your request unless you offer reasonable indemnity against the costs, expenses and liabilities that it might incur.

 

Termination of the Guarantee

 

The guarantee will terminate and be of no further force and effect:

 

 

The guarantee will continue to be effective or will be reinstated if at any time you must restore payment of any sums paid under the preferred securities or the guarantee.

 

Governing Law

 

The guarantee will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

 

The Expense Agreement

 

Under an expense agreement entered into by us, we will irrevocably and unconditionally guarantee to each person or entity to whom a trust becomes indebted or liable, the full payment of any costs, expenses or liabilities of the trust, other than obligations of the trust to pay to you the amounts due to you under the terms of the preferred securities.

 

The corresponding junior subordinated debentures are to be issued in one or more series of junior subordinated debentures under the junior subordinated indenture with terms corresponding to the terms of the related preferred securities. See “Description of Junior Subordinated Debentures.”

 

The following description of the terms of the corresponding junior subordinated debentures and the junior subordinated indenture is a summary. It summarizes only those portions of the junior subordinated indenture which we believe will be most important to your decision to invest in the preferred securities. You should keep in mind, however, that it is the junior subordinated indenture, and not this summary, which defines your rights. There may be other provisions in the junior subordinated indenture which are also important to you. You should read the junior subordinated indenture itself for a full description of its terms. The junior subordinated indenture is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement that includes this prospectus. See “Where You Can Find More Information” for information on how to obtain a copy of the junior subordinated indenture.

 

General Terms of the Corresponding Junior Subordinated Debentures

 

At the same time a trust issues preferred securities, the trust will invest the proceeds from the sale and the consideration paid by us for the common securities in a series of corresponding junior subordinated debentures issued by us to the trust. Each series of corresponding junior subordinated debentures will be in the principal amount equal to the aggregate stated liquidation amount of the related preferred securities plus our investment in the common securities and, unless we state otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, will rank equally with all other series of corresponding junior subordinated debentures. The corresponding junior subordinated debentures will be unsecured and subordinate and junior in right of payment to the extent and in the manner set forth in the junior subordinated indenture to all our senior debt. See “Description of Junior Subordinated Debentures — Subordination” and the prospectus supplement relating to any offering of related preferred securities.

 

Optional Redemption

 

Unless we state otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, we may, at our option, redeem the corresponding junior subordinated debentures on any interest payment date, in whole or in part. Unless we state otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, the redemption price for any corresponding junior subordinated debentures will be equal to any accrued and unpaid interest to the date fixed for redemption, plus the greater of:

 

 

 

If a tax event or an investment company event exists, we may, at our option, redeem the corresponding junior subordinated debentures on any interest payment date falling within 90 days of the occurrence of the tax event or investment company event, in whole but not in part, subject to the provisions of the junior subordinated indenture. The redemption price for any corresponding junior subordinated debentures will be equal to 100% of the principal

amount of the corresponding junior subordinated debentures then outstanding plus accrued and unpaid interest to the date fixed for redemption. See “Description of Junior Subordinated Debentures — Redemption.”

 

For so long as the applicable trust is the holder of all the outstanding series of corresponding junior subordinated debentures, the trust will use the proceeds of any redemption to redeem the corresponding preferred securities. We may not redeem a series of corresponding junior subordinated debentures in part unless all accrued and unpaid interest has been paid in full on all outstanding corresponding junior subordinated debentures of the series for all interest periods terminating on or prior to the redemption date.

 

Covenants of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.

 

We will covenant in the junior subordinated indenture for each series of corresponding junior subordinated debentures that we will pay additional sums to the trust, if:

 

 

We will also covenant, for each series of corresponding junior subordinated debentures, that we and our subsidiaries will not:

 

 

other than:

 

 

if at that time:

 

 

We will also covenant, for each series of corresponding junior subordinated debentures:

 

 

As long as payments of interest and other payments are made when due on each series of corresponding junior subordinated debentures, these payments will be sufficient to cover distributions and other payments due on the related preferred securities, primarily because:

 

 

We will irrevocably guarantee payments of distributions and other amounts due on the preferred securities, to the extent the trust has funds available for the payment of such distributions, to the extent set forth under “Description of Guarantee.”

 

Taken together, our obligations under each series of junior subordinated debentures, the junior subordinated indenture, the related trust agreement, the related expense agreement and the related guarantee provide a full, irrevocable and unconditional guarantee of payments of distributions and other amounts due on the related series of preferred securities. No single document standing alone or operating in conjunction with fewer than all of the other documents constitutes the guarantee. It is only the combined operation of these documents that has the effect of providing a full, irrevocable and unconditional guarantee of the obligations of the trust under the preferred securities. If and to the extent that we do not make payments on any series of corresponding junior subordinated debentures, the trust will not pay distributions or other amounts due on its preferred securities.

 

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the junior subordinated indenture, we have the right to set-off any payment we are otherwise required to make under the junior subordinated indenture with and to the extent we have made or are making a payment under the related guarantee.

 

You may institute a legal proceeding directly against us to enforce your rights under the related guarantee without first instituting a legal proceeding against the guarantee trustee, the related trust or any other person or entity.

 

The preferred securities of each trust evidence your rights to the benefits of the trust. Each trust exists for the sole purpose of issuing its preferred securities and common securities, investing the proceeds from the sale of such securities in corresponding junior subordinated debentures and related purposes.

 

A principal difference between your rights as a holder of a preferred security and the rights of a holder of a corresponding junior subordinated debenture is that a holder of a corresponding junior subordinated debenture will accrue, and, subject to the permissible extension of the interest period, is entitled to receive, interest on the principal amount of corresponding junior subordinated debentures held, while you are only entitled to receive distributions if and to the extent the trust has funds available for the payment of those distributions.

 

Upon any voluntary or involuntary termination, winding-up or liquidation of any trust involving the liquidation of the corresponding junior subordinated debentures, you will be entitled to receive, out of assets held by the trust, the liquidation distribution in cash. See “Description of Preferred Securities — Liquidation Distribution Upon Termination.”

 

Upon any voluntary or involuntary liquidation or bankruptcy of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., the property trustee, as holder of the corresponding junior subordinated debentures, would be a subordinated

creditor. In this case, the property trustee would be subordinated in right of payment to all senior debt, but entitled to receive payment in full of principal and interest, before any of our stockholders receive payments or distributions. Since we are the guarantor under each guarantee and have agreed to pay for all costs, expenses and liabilities of each trust, your position as a holder of the preferred securities and the position of a holder of the corresponding junior subordinated debentures relative to other creditors and to our stockholders in the event of liquidation or bankruptcy of our company would be substantially the same.

 

A default or event of default under any senior debt would not constitute a default or event of default under the junior subordinated indenture. However, in the event of payment defaults under, or acceleration of, senior debt, the subordination provisions of the junior subordinated indenture provide that we may not make payments on the corresponding junior subordinated debentures until the senior debt has been paid in full or any payment default under the senior debt has been cured or waived. Our failure to make required payments on any series of corresponding junior subordinated debentures would constitute an event of default under the junior subordinated indenture.

 

We may sell securities from time to time in one or more transactions separately or as units with other securities, and the trusts may sell from time to time the trust preferred securities. We or the trusts may sell the securities of or within any series to or through agents, underwriters, dealers, remarketing firms or other third parties or directly to one or more purchasers or through a combination of any of these methods. We or the trusts may issue securities as a dividend or distribution. In some cases, we or the trusts or dealers acting with us or the trusts or on behalf of us or the trusts may also purchase securities and reoffer them to the public. We or the trusts may also offer and sell, or agree to deliver, securities pursuant to, or in connection with, any option agreement or other contractual arrangement.

 

Agents whom we or the trusts designate may solicit offers to purchase the securities.

 

 

We or the trusts may use an underwriter or underwriters in the offer or sale of the securities.

 

 

We or the trusts may use a dealer to sell the securities.

 

 

We or the trusts may solicit directly offers to purchase the securities, and we or the trusts may directly sell the securities to institutional or other investors. We or the trusts will describe the terms of direct sales in the applicable prospectus supplement.

 

We or the trusts may engage in at the market offerings into an existing trading market in accordance with Rule 415(a)(4) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

 

We or the trusts may also offer and sell securities, if so indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, in connection with a remarketing upon their purchase, in accordance with a redemption or repayment pursuant to their terms, or otherwise, by one or more firms referred to as remarketing firms, acting as principals for their own accounts or as our or the trusts’ agents. Any remarketing firm will be identified and the terms of its agreement, if any, with us or the trusts, and its compensation will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement. Remarketing firms may be deemed to be underwriters under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, in connection with the securities they remarket.

 

We or the trusts may indemnify agents, underwriters, dealers and remarketing firms against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Agents, underwriters, dealers and remarketing firms, or their affiliates, may be customers of, engage in transactions with or perform services for us or the trusts, in the ordinary course of business.

 

We or the trusts may authorize agents and underwriters to solicit offers by certain institutions to purchase the securities at the public offering price under delayed delivery contracts.

 

 

Until the distribution of the securities is completed, rules of the SEC may limit the ability of underwriters and other participants in the offering to bid for and purchase the securities. As an exception to these rules, the underwriters in certain circumstances are permitted to engage in certain transactions that stabilize the price of the securities. Such transactions consist of bids or purchases for the purpose of pegging, fixing or maintaining the price of the securities. If the underwriters create a short position in the securities in connection with the offering, i.e., if they sell more securities than are set forth on the cover page of the applicable prospectus supplement, the underwriters may reduce that short position by purchasing securities in the open market. The underwriters also may impose a penalty bid on certain underwriters. This means that if the underwriters purchase the securities in the open market to reduce the underwriters’ short position or to stabilize the price of the securities, they may reclaim the amount of the selling concession from the underwriters who sold those securities as part of the offering. In general, purchases of a security for the purpose of stabilization or to reduce a short position could cause the price of the security to be higher than it might be in the absence of such purchases. The imposition of a penalty bid might also have an effect on the price of a security to the extent that it were to discourage resales of the security.

 

We or the trusts may enter into derivative or other hedging transactions involving the securities with third parties, or sell securities not covered by the prospectus to third parties in privately-negotiated transactions. If we or the trusts so indicate in the applicable prospectus supplement, in connection with those derivative transactions, the third parties may sell securities covered by this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement, including in short sale transactions, or may lend securities in order to facilitate short sale transactions by others. If so, the third party may use securities pledged by us or the trusts or borrowed from us or the trusts or others to settle those sales or to close out any related open borrowings of securities, and may use securities received from us or the trusts in settlement of those derivative or hedging transactions to close out any related open borrowings of securities. The third party in such sale transactions will be an underwriter and will be identified in the applicable prospectus supplement (or a post-effective amendment to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part).

 

We or the trusts may effect sales of securities in connection with forward sale, option or other types of agreements with third parties. Any distribution of securities pursuant to any forward sale agreement may be effected from time to time in one or more transactions that may take place through a stock exchange, including block trades or ordinary broker’s transactions, or through broker-dealers acting either as principal or agent, or through privately-negotiated transactions, or through an underwritten public offering, or through a combination of any such methods of sale, at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices relating to such prevailing market prices or at negotiated or fixed prices.

 

We or the trusts may loan or pledge securities to third parties that in turn may sell the securities using this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement or, if we or the trusts default in the case of a pledge, may offer and sell the securities from time to time using this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement. Such third parties may transfer their short positions to investors in the securities or in connection with a concurrent offering of other securities offered by this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement or otherwise.

 

Unless we state otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement the validity of any securities offered by this prospectus will be passed upon for us by Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, New York, New York, and for the trusts by Richards, Layton & Finger, P.A., special Delaware counsel to the trusts, and for any underwriters or agents by counsel named in the applicable prospectus supplement.

 

The consolidated financial statements, the related financial statement schedules, and management’s report on the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting incorporated in this prospectus by reference from The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006 have been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their reports (which report on the financial statements expresses an unqualified opinion and includes an explanatory paragraph relating to the Company’s change in its method of accounting and reporting for defined benefit pension and other postretirement plans in 2006, and for certain nontraditional long-duration contracts and for separate accounts in 2004), which are incorporated herein by reference, and have been so incorporated in reliance upon the reports of such firm given upon their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.

 

We file annual, quarterly and special reports, proxy statements and other information with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. This information may be read and copied at the Public Reference Room of the Securities and Exchange Commission at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the Securities and Exchange Commission at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the operation of these public reference facilities. The Securities and Exchange Commission maintains an Internet site, http://www.sec.gov, which contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that are subject to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s reporting requirements.

 

This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we and the trusts have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the securities to be offered. This prospectus does not contain all of the information we and the trusts have included in the registration statement and the accompanying exhibits and schedules in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and we and the trusts refer you to the omitted information. The statements this prospectus makes pertaining to the content of any contract, agreement or other document that is an exhibit to the registration statement necessarily are summaries of their material provisions and does not describe all exceptions and qualifications contained in those contracts, agreements or documents. You should read those contracts, agreements or documents for information that may be important to you. The registration statement, exhibits and schedules are available at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Public Reference Room or through its Internet site.

 

The rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission allow us to incorporate by reference information into this prospectus. The information incorporated by reference is considered to be a part of this prospectus, and information that we file later with the Securities and Exchange Commission will automatically update and supersede this information. This prospectus incorporates by reference the documents listed below:

 

 

You can obtain any of the filings incorporated by reference in this prospectus through us or from the Securities and Exchange Commission through the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Internet site or at the address listed above. We will provide without charge to each person, including any beneficial owner, to whom a copy of this prospectus is delivered, upon written or oral request of such person, a copy of any or all of the documents referred to above which have been or may be incorporated by reference in this prospectus. You should direct requests for those documents to The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., One Hartford Plaza, Hartford, Connecticut 06155, Attention: Investor Relations (telephone (860) 547-5000).

PART II

 

INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS

 

 

The following table sets forth those expenses to be incurred by The Hartford in connection with the issuance and distribution of the securities being registered. Except for the Securities and Exchange Commission filing fee, all amounts shown are estimates.

 

 

 

 

 

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.

 

Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, as amended, provides in regards to indemnification of directors and officers as follows:

 

145.  Indemnification of Officers, Directors, Employees and Agents; Insurance.

 

(a) A corporation shall have power to indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than an action by or in the right of the corporation) by reason of the fact that the person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with such action, suit or proceeding if the person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe the person’s conduct was unlawful. The termination of any action, suit or proceeding by judgment, order, settlement, conviction, or upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent, shall not, of itself, create a presumption that the person did not act in good faith and in a manner which the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had reasonable cause to believe that the person’s conduct was unlawful.

 

(b) A corporation shall have power to indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action or suit by or in the right of the corporation to procure a judgment in its favor by reason of the fact that the person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with the defense or settlement of such action or suit if the person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in or

not opposed to the best interests of the corporation and except that no indemnification shall be made in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to the corporation unless and only to the extent that the Court of Chancery or the court in which such action or suit was brought shall determine upon application that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which the Court of Chancery or such other court shall deem proper.

 

(c) To the extent that a present or former director or officer of a corporation has been successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of any action, suit or proceeding referred to in subsections (a) and (b) of this section, or in defense of any claim, issue or matter therein, such person shall be indemnified against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection therewith.

 

(d) Any indemnification under subsections (a) and (b) of this section (unless ordered by a court) shall be made by the corporation only as authorized in the specific case upon a determination that indemnification of the present or former director, officer, employee or agent is proper in the circumstances because the person has met the applicable standard of conduct set forth in subsections (a) and (b) of this section. Such determination shall be made, with respect to a person who is a director or officer at the time of such determination, (1) by a majority vote of the directors who are not parties to such action, suit or proceeding, even though less than a quorum, or (2) by a committee of such directors designated by majority vote of such directors, even though less than a quorum, or (3) if there are no such directors, or if such directors so direct, by independent legal counsel in a written opinion, or (4) by the stockholders.

 

(e) Expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by an officer or director in defending any civil, criminal, administrative or investigative action, suit or proceeding may be paid by the corporation in advance of the final disposition of such action, suit or proceeding upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of such director or officer to repay such amount if it shall ultimately be determined that such person is not entitled to be indemnified by the corporation as authorized in this section. Such expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by former directors and officers or other employees and agents may be so paid upon such terms and conditions, if any, as the corporation deems appropriate.

 

(f) The indemnification and advancement of expenses provided by, or granted pursuant to, the other subsections of this section shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which those seeking indemnification or advancement of expenses may be entitled under any bylaw, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise, both as to action in such person’s official capacity and as to action in another capacity while holding such office.

 

(g) A corporation shall have power to purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against any liability asserted against such person and incurred by such person in any such capacity, or arising out of such person’s status as such, whether or not the corporation would have the power to indemnify such person against such liability under this section.

 

(h) For purposes of this section, references to “the corporation” shall include, in addition to the resulting corporation, any constituent corporation (including any constituent of a constituent) absorbed in a consolidation or merger which, if its separate existence had continued, would have had power and authority to indemnify its directors, officers, and employees or agents, so that any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of such constituent corporation, or is or was serving at the request of such constituent corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, shall stand in the same position under this section with respect to the resulting or surviving corporation as such person would have with respect to such constituent corporation if its separate existence had continued.

 

(i) For purposes of this section, references to “other enterprises” shall include employee benefit plans; references to “fines” shall include any excise taxes assessed on a person with respect to any employee benefit plan; and references to “serving at the request of the corporation” shall include any service as a director,

officer, employee or agent of the corporation which imposes duties on, or involves services by, such director, officer, employee or agent with respect to an employee benefit plan, its participants or beneficiaries; and a person who acted in good faith and in a manner such person reasonably believed to be in the interest of the participants and beneficiaries of an employee benefit plan shall be deemed to have acted in a manner “not opposed to the best interests of the corporation” as referred to in this section.

 

(j) The indemnification and advancement of expenses provided by, or granted pursuant to, this section shall, unless otherwise provided when authorized or ratified, continue as to a person who has ceased to be a director, officer, employee or agent and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors and administrators of such a person.

 

Article 4 of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.’s Amended and Restated By-Laws provides in regard to indemnification of directors and officers as follows:

 

4.1 Right to Indemnification and Effect of Amendment.  (a) Right to Indemnification. The Corporation, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law as then in effect, shall indemnify any person who is or was a Director or officer of the Corporation and who is or was involved in any manner (including, without limitation, as a party or a witness) or is threatened to be made so involved in any threatened, pending or completed investigation, claim, action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (including, without limitation, any action, suit or proceeding by or in the right of the Corporation to procure a judgment in its favor) (a “Proceeding”) by reason of the fact that such person is or was a Director, officer, employee or agent of the Corporation or is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer, employee, fiduciary or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise (including, without limitation, any employee benefit plan) (a “Covered Entity”), against all expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with such Proceeding. Any such former or present Director or officer of the Corporation finally determined to be entitled to indemnification as provided in this Article 4 is hereinafter called an “Indemnitee.” Until such final determination is made, such former or present Director or officer shall be a “Potential Indemnitee” for purposes of this Article 4. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section 4.1(a), the Corporation shall not indemnify an Indemnitee with respect to any Proceeding commenced by such Indemnitee unless the commencement of such Proceeding by such Indemnitee has been approved by a majority vote of the Disinterested Directors (as defined in Section 4.5(d); provided, however, that such approval of a majority of the Disinterested Directors shall not be required with respect to any Proceeding commenced by such Indemnitee after a Change in Control (as defined in Section 4.5(d)) has occurred.

 

(b) Effect of Amendments.  The right to indemnification conferred in this Article 4 shall be a contract right. Neither the amendment or repeal of, nor the adoption of a provision inconsistent with, any provision of this Article 4 (including, without limitation, this Section 4.1(b)) shall adversely affect the rights of any Director or officer under this Article 4 with respect to any Proceeding arising out of any action or omission occurring prior to such amendment, repeal or adoption of an inconsistent provision, without the written consent of such Director or officer.

 

4.2 Insurance, Contracts and Funding.  The Corporation may purchase and maintain insurance to protect itself and any Director, officer, employee or agent of the Corporation against any expenses, judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement as specified in Section 4.1(a) or Section 4.6 of this Article 4 or incurred by any Director, officer, employee or agent of the Corporation in connection with any Proceeding referred to in such Sections, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law as then in effect. The Corporation may enter into contracts with any Director, officer, employee or agent of the Corporation or any director, officer, employee, fiduciary or agent of any Covered Entity in furtherance of the provisions of this Article 4 and may create a trust fund or use other means (including, without limitation, a letter of credit) to ensure the payment of such amounts as may be necessary to effect indemnification as provided in this Article 4.

 

4.3 Indemnification; Not Exclusive Right.  The right of indemnification provided in this Article 4 shall not be exclusive of any other rights to which any Indemnitee or Potential Indemnitee may otherwise be entitled, and the provisions of this Article 4 shall inure to the benefit of the heirs and legal representatives of any Indemnitee or Potential Indemnitee under this Article 4 and shall be applicable to Proceedings commenced or continuing after the adoption of this Article 4, whether arising from acts or omissions occurring before or after such adoption.

 

4.4 Advancement of Expenses.  Each Potential Indemnitee shall be entitled to receive from time to time advance payment of any expenses as and when actually and reasonably incurred by such Potential Indemnitee in connection with such Proceeding prior to a determination of such Potential Indemnitee’s entitlement to indemnification pursuant to Section 4.5(a). Each Potential Indemnitee may from time to time submit one or more statements to the Corporation requesting such advance payment, whether prior to or after final disposition of such Proceeding, reasonably evidencing the expenses incurred by such Potential Indemnitee and accompanied by an undertaking by or on behalf of such Potential Indemnitee to repay the amounts advanced if ultimately it should be determined that such Potential Indemnitee is not entitled to be indemnified against such expenses pursuant to this Article 4. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section 4.4, the Corporation shall not advance expenses to a Potential Indemnitee with respect to any Proceeding commenced by such Potential Indemnitee unless the commencement of such Proceeding by such Potential Indemnitee has been approved by a majority vote of the Disinterested Directors; provided, however, that such approval of a majority of the Disinterested Directors shall not be required with respect to any Proceeding commenced by such Potential Indemnitee after a Change in Control has occurred.

 

4.5 Indemnification Procedures; Presumptions and Effect of Certain Proceedings; Remedies.  In furtherance, but not in limitation, of the foregoing provisions of this Artic1e 4, the following procedures, presumptions and remedies shall apply with respect to the right to indemnification under this Article 4:

 

(a) Procedures for Determination of Entitlement to Indemnification. (i) To obtain indemnification under this Article 4, a Potential Indemnitee shall submit to the Secretary of the Corporation a written request, including such documentation and information as is reasonably available to the Potential Indemnitee and reasonably necessary to determine whether and to what extent the Potential Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification (the “Supporting Documentation”). The determination of the Potential Indemnitee’s entitlement to indemnification shall be made not later than 60 days after the later of (A) the receipt by the Corporation of the written request for indemnification together with the Supporting Documentation and (B) the receipt by the Corporation of written notice of final disposition of the Proceeding for which indemnification is sought. The Secretary of the Corporation shall, promptly upon receipt of such a request for indemnification, advise the Board in writing that the Indemnitee has requested indemnification.

 

(ii) The Potential Indemnitee’s entitlement to indemnification under this Article 4 shall be determined in one of the following ways: (A) by a majority vote of the Disinterested Directors whether or not they constitute a quorum of the Board; (B) by a committee of the Disinterested Directors designated by a majority vote of the Disinterested Directors, whether or not they constitute a quorum of the Board; (C) by a written opinion of Independent Counsel as defined in Section 4.5(d)) if (x) a Change in Control shall have occurred and the Potential Indemnitee so requests or (y) there are no Disinterested Directors or a majority of such Disinterested Directors so directs; (D) by the stockholders of the Corporation; or (E) as provided in Section 4.5(b) of this Article 4.

 

(iii) In the event the determination of entitlement to indemnification is to be made by Independent Counsel pursuant to Section 4.5(a)(ii), a majority of the Disinterested Directors (or, if there are no Disinterested Directors, the General Counsel of the Corporation or, if the General Counsel is or was a party to the Proceeding in respect of which indemnification is sought, the highest ranking officer of the Corporation who is not and was not a party to such Proceeding) shall select the Independent Counsel, but only an Independent Counsel to which the Potential Indemnitee does not reasonably object; provided, however, that if a Change in Control shall have occurred, the Potential Indemnitee shall select such Independent Counsel, but only an Independent Counsel to which a majority of the Disinterested Directors does not reasonably object.

 

(b) Presumptions and Effect of Certain Proceedings. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this Article 4, if a Change in Control shall have occurred, the Potential Indemnitee shall be presumed to be entitled to indemnification under this Article 4 (with respect to actions or failures to act occurring prior to such Change in Control) upon submission of a request for indemnification together with the Supporting Documentation in accordance with Section 5(a)(i)(b) of this Article 4, and thereafter the Corporation shall have the burden of proof to overcome that presumption in reaching a contrary determination. In any event, if the person or persons empowered under Section 4.5(a) of this Article 4 to determine entitlement to indemnification shall not have been appointed or shall not have made a determination within 60 days after the later of (x) receipt by the Corporation of the written request for indemnification together with the Supporting Documentation and (y) the

receipt by the Corporation of written notice of final disposition of the Proceeding for which indemnification is sought, the Potential Indemnitee shall be deemed to be, and shall be, entitled to indemnification. The termination of any Proceeding or of any claim, issue or matter therein, by judgment, order, settlement or conviction, or upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent, shall not, of itself, adversely affect the right of the Potential Indemnitee to indemnification or create a presumption that the Potential Indemnitee did not act in good faith and in a manner which the Indemnitee reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Corporation or, with respect to any criminal Proceeding, that the Potential Indemnitee had reasonable cause to believe that his or her conduct was unlawful.

 

(c) Remedies.  (i) In the event that a determination is made pursuant to Section 4.5(a) of this Article 4 that the Potential Indemnitee is not entitled to indemnification under this Article 4, (A) the Potential Indemnitee shall be entitled to seek an adjudication of his or her entitlement to such indemnification either, at the Potential Indemnitee’s sole option, in (x) an appropriate court of the state of Delaware or any other court of competent jurisdiction or (y) an arbitration to be conducted by a single arbitrator pursuant to the rules of the American Arbitration Association; (B) any such judicial proceeding or arbitration shall be de novo and the Indemnitee shall not be prejudiced by reason of such adverse determination; and (C) if a Change in Control shall have occurred, in any such judicial proceeding or arbitration, the Corporation shall have the burden of proving that the Potential Indemnitee is not entitled to indemnification under this Article 4 (with respect to actions or omissions occurring prior to such Change in Control).

 

(ii) If a determination shall have been made or deemed to have been made, pursuant to Section 4.5(a) or (b) of this Article 4, that the Potential Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification, the Corporation shall be obligated to pay the amounts constituting such indemnification within five days after such determination has been made or deemed to have been made and shall be conclusively bound by such determination unless (A) the Indemnitee misrepresented or failed to disclose a material fact in making the request for indemnification or in the Supporting Documentation or (B) such indemnification is prohibited by law. In the event that payment of indemnification is not made within five days after a determination of entitlement to indemnification has been made or deemed to have been made pursuant to Section 4.5(a) or (b) of this Article 4, the Indemnitee shall be entitled to seek judicial enforcement of the Corporation’s obligation to pay to the Indemnitee such indemnification. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Corporation may bring an action, in an appropriate court in the state of Delaware or any other court of competent jurisdiction, contesting the right of the Indemnitee to receive indemnification hereunder due to the occurrence of an event described in Subclause (A) or (B) of this subsection (each, a “Disqualifying Event”); provided, however, that in any such action the Corporation shall have the burden of proving the occurrence of such Disqualifying Event.

 

(iii) The Corporation shall be precluded from asserting in any judicial proceeding or arbitration commenced pursuant to this Section 4.5(c) that the procedures and presumptions of this Article 4 are not valid, binding and enforceable and shall stipulate in any such court or before any such arbitrator that the Corporation is bound by all the provisions of this Article 4.

 

(iv) In the event that the Indemnitee or Potential Indemnitee, pursuant to this Section 4.5(c), seeks a judicial adjudication of or an award in arbitration to enforce his or her rights under, or to recover damages for breach of, this Article 4, such person shall be entitled to recover from the Corporation, and shall be indemnified by the Corporation against, any expenses actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with such judicial adjudication or arbitration. If it shall be determined in such judicial adjudication or arbitration that such person is entitled to receive part but not all of the indemnification or advancement of expenses sought, the expenses incurred by such person in connection with such judicial adjudication or arbitration shall be prorated accordingly.

 

(d) Definitions.  For purposes of this Article 4:

 

(i) “Change in Control” means a change in control of the Corporation of a nature that would be required to be reported in response to Item 6(e) (or any successor provision) of Schedule 14A of Regulation 14A (or any amendment or successor provision thereto) promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Act”), whether or not the Corporation is then subject to such reporting requirement; provided that, without limitation, such a change in control shall be deemed to have occurred if (A) any “person” (as such

term is used in Sections 13(d) and 14(d) of the Act) is or becomes the “beneficial owner” (as defined in Rule 13d-3 under the Act), directly or indirectly, of securities of the Corporation representing 20% or more of the voting power of all outstanding shares of stock of the Corporation entitled to vote generally in an election of Directors without the prior approval of at least two-thirds of the members of the Board in office immediately prior to such acquisition; (B) the Corporation is a party to any merger or consolidation in which the Corporation is not the continuing or surviving corporation or pursuant to which shares of the Corporation’s common stock would be converted into cash, securities or other property, other than a merger of the Corporation in which the holders of the Corporation’s common stock immediately prior to the merger have the same proportionate ownership of common stock of the surviving corporation immediately after the merger; (C) there is a sale, lease, exchange or other transfer (in one transaction or a series of related transactions) of all, or substantially all, the assets of the Corporation, or liquidation or dissolution of the Corporation; (D) the Corporation is a party to a merger, consolidation, sale of assets or other reorganization, or a proxy contest, as a consequence of which members of the Board in office immediately prior to such transaction or event constitute less than a majority of the Board thereafter; or (E) during any period of two consecutive years, individuals who at the beginning of such period constituted the Board (including for this purpose any new Director whose election or nomination for election by the stockholders was approved by a vote of at least two-thirds of the Directors then still in office who were Directors at the beginning of such period) cease for any reason to constitute at least a majority of the Board.

 

(ii) “Disinterested Director” means a Director who is not or was not a party to the Proceeding in respect of which indemnification is sought by the Indemnitee or Potential Indemnitee.

 

(iii) “Independent Counsel” means a law firm or a member of a law firm that neither presently is, nor in the past five years has been, retained to represent: (a) the Corporation or the Indemnitee in any matter material to either such party or (b) any other party to the Proceeding giving rise to a claim for indemnification under this Article 4. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the term “Independent Counsel” shall not include any person who, under applicable standards of professional conduct then prevailing under the law of the State of Delaware, would have a conflict of interest in representing either the Corporation or the Indemnitee or Potential Indemnitees in an action to determine the Indemnitee’s or Potential Indemnitee’s rights under this Article 4.

 

4.6 Indemnification of Employees and Agents.  Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article 4, the Corporation, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law as then in effect, may indemnify any person other than a Director or officer of the Corporation who is or was an employee or agent of the Corporation and who is or was involved in any manner (including, without limitation, as a party or a witness) or is threatened to be made so involved in any threatened, pending or completed Proceeding by reasons of the fact that such person is or was an employee or agent of the Corporation or was or is serving, at the request of the Corporation, as a director, officer, employee, or agent of a Covered Entity against all expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with such Proceeding. The Corporation may also advance expenses incurred by such employee, fiduciary or agent in connection with any such Proceeding, consistent with the provisions of applicable law as then in effect. If made or advanced, such indemnification shall be made and such reasonable expenses shall be advanced pursuant to procedures to be established from time to time by the Board or its designee(s).

 

4.7 Severability.  If any of this Article 4 shall be held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable for any reason whatsoever: (i) the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Article 4 (including, without limitation, all portions of any Section of this Article 4 containing any such provision held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, that are not themselves invalid, illegal or unenforceable) shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby; and (ii) to the fullest extent possible, the provisions of this Article 4 (including, without limitation, all portions of any Section of this Article 4 containing any such provision held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, that are not themselves invalid, illegal or unenforceable) shall be construed so as to give effect to the intent manifested by the provision held invalid, illegal or unenforceable.

 

Section 102(b)(7) of the Delaware General Corporation Law, as amended, provides in regard to the limitation of liability of directors and officers as follows:

 

(b) In addition to the matters required to be set forth in the certificate of incorporation by subsection (a) of this section, the certificate of incorporation may also contain any or all of the following matters:

 

(7) A provision eliminating or limiting the personal liability of a director to the corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, provided that such provision shall not eliminate or limit the liability of a director: (i) For any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to the corporation or its stockholders; (ii) for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law; (iii) under § 174 of this title; or (iv) for any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit. No such provision shall eliminate or limit the liability of a director for any act or omission occurring prior to the date when such provision becomes effective. All references in this paragraph to a director shall also be deemed to refer (x) to a member of the governing body of a corporation which is not authorized to issue capital stock, and (y) to such other person or persons, if any, who, pursuant to a provision of the certificate of incorporation in accordance with § 141(a) of this title, exercise or perform any of the powers or duties otherwise conferred or imposed upon the board of directors by this title.

 

As permitted by Section 102(b)(7) of the Delaware General Corporation Law, Article SIXTH of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation provides in regard to the limitation of liability of directors and officers as follows:

 

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law as then in effect, no director or officer shall be personally liable to the Corporation or any of its stockholders for damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director or officer, except for liability (a) for any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to the Corporation or its stockholders, (b) for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (c) under Section 174 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, (d) for any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit or (e) for any act or omission occurring prior to the effective date of this ARTICLE SIXTH. Any repeal or modification of this ARTICLE SIXTH by the stockholders of the Corporation shall not adversely affect any right or protection of a director or officer of the Corporation existing at the time of such repeal or modification with respect to acts or omissions occurring prior to such repeal or modification.

 

We have policies in force and effect that insure our directors and officers against losses which they or any of them will become legally obligated to pay by reason of any actual or alleged error or misstatement or misleading statement or act or omission or neglect or breach of duty by such directors and officers in the discharge of their duties, individually or collectively, or as a result of any matter claimed against them solely by reason of their being directors or officers. Such coverage is limited by the specific terms and provisions of the insurance policies.

 

The underwriters or agents on whose behalf the agreements listed as Exhibits 1.01 through 1.06 to this registration statement will be executed will agree in those agreements to indemnify directors and officers of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., and persons controlling The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, against certain liabilities that might arise out of or are based upon certain information furnished to us by any such underwriter or agent.

 

The Trusts

 

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., as depositor under the respective trust agreements, has agreed to indemnify each trust’s trustee for, and to hold each such trustee harmless against, any loss, damage, claims, liability, penalty or expense incurred without negligence or bad faith on the part of any such trustee, arising out of or in connection with the acceptance or administration of the respective trust agreements, including the costs and expenses of any trustee of defending itself against any claim or liability in connection with the exercise and performance of any of its powers or duties under the respective trust agreements.

 

 

(a) Exhibits:

 

A list of Exhibits filed herewith is contained on the Index to Exhibits and is incorporated herein by reference.

 

(b) Financial Statement Schedules:

 

All schedules for which provision is made in the applicable accounting regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission have been omitted because they are not required, amounts which would otherwise be required to be shown regarding any item are not material, are inapplicable, or the required information has already been provided elsewhere in the registration statement.

 

 

(a) Rule 415 Offering

 

Each undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:

 

(1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:

 

(i) To include any prospectus required by section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933;

 

(ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than a 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement;

 

(iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement;

 

Provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i), (a)(1)(ii) and (a)(1)(iii) of this section do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the registrant pursuant to section 13 or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement, or is contained in a form of prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) that is part of the registration statement.

 

(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

 

(3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

 

(4) That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser:

 

(i) Each prospectus filed by the registrants pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) shall be deemed to be part of the registration statement as of the date the filed prospectus was deemed part of and included in the registration statement; and

 

(ii) Each prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2), (b)(5), or (b)(7) as part of a registration statement in reliance on Rule 430B relating to an offering made pursuant to Rule 415(a)(1)(i), (vii), or (x) for the purpose of providing the information required by section 10(a) of the Securities Act of

1933 shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the earlier of the date such form of prospectus is first used after effectiveness or the date of the first contract of sale of securities in the offering described in the prospectus. As provided in Rule 430B, for liability purposes of the issuer and any person that is at that date an underwriter, such date shall be deemed to be a new effective date of the registration statement relating to the securities in the registration statement to which that prospectus relates, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such effective date, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such effective date.

 

(5) That, for the purpose of determining liability of the registrants under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities the undersigned registrants undertake that in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrants pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrants will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:

 

(i) Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrants relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;

 

(ii) Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrants or used or referred to by the undersigned registrants;

 

(iii) The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrants or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrants; and

 

(iv) Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrants to the purchaser.

 

(b) Filings Incorporating Subsequent Exchange Act Documents by Reference

 

Each undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of such registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

 

(c) Equity Offerings of Nonreporting Registrants

 

Each of the trusts hereby undertakes to provide to the underwriter at the closing specified in the underwriting agreements, certificates in such denominations and registered in such names as required by the underwriter to permit prompt delivery to each purchaser.

 

(d) SEC Position on Indemnification for Securities Act Liabilities

 

Insofar as indemnifications for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrants pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrants have been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by a registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person, if any, of such registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, such registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling

precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

 

(e) Rule 430A Offering

 

Each undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that:

 

(1) for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed as part of this registration statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in a form of prospectus filed by the registrants pursuant to Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or 497(h) under the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of this registration statement as of the time it was declared effective.

 

(2) the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each post-effective amendment that contains a form of prospectus shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

 

(f) Qualification of Trust Indentures for Delayed Offerings

 

Each undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to file an application for the purpose of determining eligibility of the trustee to act under subsection (a) of section 310 of the Trust Indenture Act (“Act”) in accordance with the rules and regulations prescribed by the Commission under Section 305(b)(2) of the Act.

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (i) certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-3 and (ii) has duly caused this Registration Statement on Form S-3 to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in Hartford, Connecticut, on this 11th day of April, 2007.

 

 

Name:  Neal S. Wolin

Title:    Executive Vice President and General Counsel

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement on Form S-3 has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

SIGNATURE

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, Hartford Capital IV (i) certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-3 and (ii) has duly caused this Registration Statement on Form S-3 to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in Hartford, Connecticut, on this 11th day of April, 2007.

 

Hartford Capital IV

 

Name:  Neal S. Wolin

Title:    Executive Vice President and General Counsel

SIGNATURE

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, Hartford Capital V (i) certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-3 and (ii) has duly caused this Registration Statement on Form S-3 to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in Hartford, Connecticut, on this 11th day of April, 2007.

 

Hartford Capital V

 

Name:  Neal S. Wolin

Title:    Executive Vice President and General Counsel

SIGNATURE

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, Hartford Capital VI (i) certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-3 and (ii) has duly caused this Registration Statement on Form S-3 to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in Hartford, Connecticut, on this 11th day of April, 2007.

 

Hartford Capital VI

 

Name:  Neal S. Wolin

Title:    Executive Vice President and General Counsel

EXHIBIT INDEX

 

 

 

 

†  To be filed in accordance with Section 305(b)(2) of the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended.