ANOKA, Minn. -- Oct. 4. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: HIG) announced today that it has agreed to transfer all its multi-peril crop insurance to Rural Community Insurance Company (RCIC), a subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC). Financial terms were not disclosed.

The agreement calls for The Hartford to transfer all renewals on its multi-peril crop insurance to RCIC. Subject to required approvals by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the business will transition to RCIC.

Rural Community Insurance Services (RCIS), parent of RCIC, will act as managing general agent for the 2005 reinsurance year, issuing and servicing The Hartford's policies, and RCIC will reinsure risks on this book. Starting with the 2006 season, RCIS will fully write and administer this business on its own. In addition, RCIS will offer crop hail and named peril insurance to Hartford policyholders.

RCIS is the nation's largest crop-insurance provider. The Hartford's crop-insurance business is headquartered in Omaha, Neb., and ranks fifth.

"As part of an internal review of our portfolio of businesses we began last year, we concluded that crop insurance is no longer in line with the strategic direction of The Hartford's Property & Casualty Operations," said Ralph Palmieri, senior vice president, Hartford Specialty Lines. "Long-term success with crop requires scale, new investment in technology and strategic focus. RCIS brings all of these qualities to the table, making it a very suitable partner in this transaction."

The Hartford has been writing crop insurance since the 1930s. The sale does not affect The Hartford's livestock business, which is also based in Omaha.

"Hartford is a solid company known for great customer service and strong underwriting," said Mike Connealy, president and CEO of RCIS. "This is a great fit for RCIS, which is widely known for providing local insurance agents and farmers with a wealth of information to help them run a successful business, and for providing innovative tools that take advantage of the latest technology. All of our customers will be well served by this new alliance."

About The Hartford

The Hartford is one of the nation's largest financial services and insurance companies, with 2003 revenues of $18.7 billion. The company is a leading provider of investment products, life insurance and group benefits; automobile and homeowners products; and business property-casualty insurance. The Hartford's Internet address is http://www.thehartford.com.

Some of the statements in this release may be considered forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

The Hartford cautions investors that these forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results may differ materially. Investors should consider the important risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ. These important risks and uncertainties include those discussed in The Hartford's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, our 2003 Annual Report on Form 10-K and the other filings The Hartford makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Hartford assumes no obligation to update this release, which speaks as of the date issued.

About Rural Community Insurance Services

Rural Community Insurance Services (http://www.rcis.com), headquartered in the Minneapolis area, is the nation's largest crop-insurance provider. The company helps farmers in 48 states manage risks. It serves 3,200 licensed independent insurance agencies, which in turn help farmers evaluate available products, and design coverage to fit individual needs.

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company with $420 billion in assets, providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer finance to more than 23 million customers from more than 6,000 stores and the internet (wellsfargo.com) across North America and elsewhere internationally. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. is the only "Aaa"- rated bank in the United States.