Hartford insurers Travelers Cos. and Hartford Finance Services Group Inc. spent nearly $2.2 million in the fourth quarter to lobby the federal government on health reform, global warming, consumer protection rights and other issues, according to a recent disclosure report.
Travelers spent $1.66 million, up from the $1.43 million it spent in the year-ago period and the $790,000 it spent in the 2009 third quarter.
The New York-based commercial and property insurer continues to seek customers at a time when employers have fewer workers and less valuable property to insure.
Travelers also lobbied on issues including the National Insurance Consumer Protection Act, coastal wind zone proposals, bankruptcy issues and asbestos-related legislation.
In the October-December period, the company lobbied Congress, the Treasury Department, the Federal Deposit Insurance Commission, the Federal Reserve, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the White House Office, according to the report filed Jan. 19 with the House clerk’s office.
Meanwhile, The Hartford spent $520,000 in the fourth quarter, down from the $690,000 The Hartford spent in the year-ago period during the height of the financial crisis, and the $540,000 it spent in the 2009 third quarter.
Last year, the government gave six life insurers, including The Hartford, approval to tap its $700 billion bailout program. The company received $3.4 billion in funds in late June.
The insurer also lobbied on issues including the National Insurance Consumer Protection Act, flood insurance, workers’ compensation, drywall safety, health care reform, retirement securities, taxes and financial regulatory reform.
In the October-December period, the company lobbied Congress, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Labor Department, according to the report filed Jan. 20 with the House clerk’s office.
The Obama administration has proposed a series of measures to tighten the reins on financial institutions in hopes of preventing a recurrence of the crisis that struck both Wall Street and Washington in the fall of 2008. (AP)
