The Hartford 2014 Annual Report Download - page 27

If we experience difficulties arising from outsourcing and similar third-party relationships, our ability to conduct business may be compromised, which
may have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
We outsource certain business and administrative functions and rely on third-party vendors to provide certain services on our behalf. As we continue to focus
on reducing the expense necessary to support our operations, we have become increasingly committed to outsourcing strategies for certain technology and
business functions. We have also taken action to reduce coordination costs and take advantage of economies of scale by transitioning multiple functions and
services to a small number of third-party providers. We periodically negotiate provisions and renewals of these relationships, and there can be no assurance
that such terms will remain acceptable to us or such third parties. If our continuing relationship with certain third-party providers, particularly those on which
we rely for multiple functions or services, is interrupted, or if such third-party providers experience disruptions or do not perform as anticipated, or we
experience problems with a transition, we may experience operational difficulties, an inability to meet obligations (including, but not limited to,
policyholder obligations), increased costs and a loss of business that may have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. For other
risks associated with our outsourcing of certain functions, see the risk factor, “If we are unable to maintain the availability of our systems and safeguard the
security of our data due to the occurrence of disasters or a cyber or other information security incident, our ability to conduct business may be compromised,
we may incur substantial costs and suffer other negative consequences, all of which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition,
results of operations and liquidity.”
We may not be able to protect our intellectual property and may be subject to infringement claims.
We rely on a combination of contractual rights and copyright, trademark, patent and trade secret laws to establish and protect our intellectual property.
Although we use a broad range of measures to protect our intellectual property rights, third parties may infringe or misappropriate our intellectual property.
We may have to litigate to enforce and protect our copyrights, trademarks, patents, trade secrets and know-how or to determine their scope, validity or
enforceability, which represents a diversion of resources that may be significant in amount and may not prove successful. The loss of intellectual property
protection or the inability to secure or enforce the protection of our intellectual property assets could have a material adverse effect on our business and our
ability to compete. We also may be subject to costly litigation in the event that another party alleges our operations or activities infringe upon their
intellectual property rights. Third parties may have, or may eventually be issued, patents that could be infringed by our products, systems, methods, processes
or services. Any party that holds such a patent could make a claim of infringement against us. We may be subject to patent claims from certain individuals
and companies who have acquired patent portfolios for the sole purpose of asserting such claims against other companies. We may also be subject to claims
by third parties for breach of copyright, trademark, trade secret or license usage rights. Any such claims and any resulting litigation could result in significant
liability for damages. If we were found to have infringed a third-party patent or other intellectual property rights, we could incur substantial liability, and in
some circumstances could be enjoined from providing certain products or services to our customers or utilizing and benefiting from certain methods,
processes, systems, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets or licenses, or alternatively could be required to enter into costly licensing arrangements with third
parties, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
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None.
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As of December 31, 2014, The Hartford owned building space of approximately 2.4 million square feet which comprised its Hartford, Connecticut location
and other properties within the greater Hartford, Connecticut area. In addition, as of December 31, 2014, The Hartford leased approximately 1.8 million
square feet, throughout the United States of America, and approximately 37 thousand square feet, in other countries. All of the properties owned or leased are
used by one or more of all six reporting segments, depending on the location. For more information on reporting segments, see Part I, Item 1, Business —
Reporting Segments. The Company believes its properties and facilities are suitable and adequate for current operations.
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