The Hartford 2009 Annual Report Download - page 224

THE HARTFORD FINANCIAL SERVICES GROUP, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
F-75
15. Equity (continued)
Dividends from Insurance Subsidiaries
Dividends to the HFSG Holding Company from its insurance subsidiaries are restricted. The payment of dividends by Connecticut-
domiciled insurers is limited under the insurance holding company laws of Connecticut. These laws require notice to and approval by
the state insurance commissioner for the declaration or payment of any dividend, which, together with other dividends or distributions
made within the preceding twelve months, exceeds the greater of (i) 10% of the insurer’ s policyholder surplus as of December 31 of the
preceding year or (ii) net income (or net gain from operations, if such company is a life insurance company) for the twelve-month period
ending on the thirty-first day of December last preceding, in each case determined under statutory insurance accounting principles. 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 The Hartford’ s
insurance subsidiaries are incorporated (or deemed commercially domiciled) generally contain similar (although in certain instances
somewhat more restrictive) limitations on the payment of dividends. Dividends paid to HFSG Holding Company by its insurance
subsidiaries are further dependent on cash requirements of HLI and other factors. The Company’ s property-casualty insurance
subsidiaries are permitted to pay up to a maximum of approximately $1.4 billion in dividends to HFSG Holding Company in 2010
without prior approval from the applicable insurance commissioner. Statutory dividends from the Company’ s life insurance subsidiaries
in 2010 require prior approval from the applicable insurance commissioner. The aggregate of these amounts, net of amounts required by
HLI, is the maximum the insurance subsidiaries could pay to HFSG Holding Company in 2010. In 2009, HFSG Holding Company and
HLI received $700 in dividends from the life insurance subsidiaries representing the movement of a life subsidiary to HFSG Holding
Company, and HFSG Holding Company received $251 in dividends from its property-casualty insurance subsidiaries.