Our own studies reveal a 90 percent retention rate among customers who have a positive claims experience. Er i c Cruzan  t oo k  t he Schapers ’ ca ll a t  our Cus t omer Care Team cen t er i n San An t on i o , Texas . Earning trust means everything Nine out of 10 people rank word-of-mouth as an important source of information, according to a study by RoperASW, a market-research organization. When we earn agents’ or customers’ trust, we’re likely to retain their business. And it stands to reason that favorable word-of-mouth will attract more business. One way we provide excellent service to agents is by answering their queries quickly at our property-casualty service centers. Our Customer Experience Management System (CEMS) tracks service representatives’ calls and computer input to measure how long it takes to answer agents’ queries. We use the data  to coach our service representatives. The objective is “first-contact resolution”— answering every question on the first call. We piloted CEMS in one service center in 2003 and saw more consistency in first-contact resolution. Though selling through intermediaries is fundamental to our business model, we also have direct contact with customers through our claims service and our partnership with AARP.  Each time we touch a customer, we have an opportunity to deliver The Hartford Experience. We make that experience come alive when we deliver great service, provide products that serve customers’ needs throughout their lives and  do everything we can to make it easy to do business with us. 03 02 01 00 99 AARP Ne t  Wr i tt en Prem i ums ( $  i n b illi ons) $ 1 . 4 1 . 5 1 . 6 1 . 9 2 . 1 M i che l e Ac k er , c l a i ms processor i n Tampa , F l a ., he l ped ge t t he Schapers ’ car repa i red w i t h i n 24  hours a ft er  t he coup l e rece i ved word o f t he i r  f am il y emergency . Twenty -four The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.