The Hartford Expands Cyber Insurance to Safeguard Small Businesses

The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. HIG has taken a strategic step to strengthen its support for small businesses by making its cyber insurance product, CyberChoice First Response, more accessible through its well-known ICON platform. This move enables agents and brokers to quickly quote and secure customized cyber coverage right alongside HIG’s existing Spectrum Business Owners Policy, streamlining the whole process and making it easier for everyone involved.

As businesses depend more on digital operations, cyber risks are expected to rise. From ransomware shutdowns to regulatory investigations, cyberattacks can cause significant financial and reputational harm. With this initiative, the company aims to make it easier for small businesses to prepare for and tackle these challenges. The coverage offers protection against income loss due to ransomware, expenses related to breaches, costs for regulatory defense and even 24/7 access to a U.S.-based hotline for cyber incidents.

By simplifying access through the ICON platform, HIG helps brokers and agents quote policies more quickly, making it easier for small businesses to obtain higher coverage limits. This includes both first-party and third-party protection against key risks such as data breaches, network security failures, cyber extortion and other disruptive digital threats.

HIG’s move reflects a significant trend in the industry aimed at making risk coverage easier and more integrated. By streamlining the process of getting cyber coverage, the company is strengthening its relationship with agents and policyholders, and opening a pathway for long-term growth.

In the second quarter of 2025, HIG’s total revenues rose 7.7% year over year, along with 10.9% growth in its business insurance segment. The segment’s losses and loss adjustment expense ratio of 56.1% improved 230 bps year over year in the same period.

HIG Stock Price Performance

Over the past year, The Hartford’s shares have risen 13% compared with the industry’s growth of 6.6%.

HIG’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks

HIG currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader finance space are Houlihan Lokey, Inc. HLI, Heritage Insurance Holdings Inc. HRTG and Acadian Asset Management Inc. AAMI, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Houlihan Lokey’s current-year earnings of $7.67 per share has witnessed three upward revisions in the past 60 days against none in the opposite direction. Houlihan Lokey beat earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 17.1%. The consensus estimate for current-year revenues is pegged at $2.7 billion, implying 13.1% year-over-year growth.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Heritage Insurance’s current-year earnings of $4.10 per share has witnessed two upward revisions in the past 60 days against no movement in the opposite direction. Heritage Insurance beat earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 360.7%. The consensus estimate for current-year revenues is pegged at $842.2 million, calling for 3.1% year-over-year growth.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Acadian Asset Management’s current-year earnings is pegged at $3.72 per share and has witnessed one upward revision in the past 60 days against no movement in the opposite direction. Acadian Asset Management beat earnings estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and met once, with the average surprise being 15.7%. The consensus estimate for current-year revenues is pegged at $620.9 million, calling for 22.8% year-over-year growth.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research