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Basis of Presentation and Accounting Policies
 3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2013
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Basis of Presentation and Accounting Policies
Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies
The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. is a holding company for insurance and financial services subsidiaries that provide property and casualty and life insurance as well as investment products to both individual and business customers in the United States (collectively, “The Hartford”, the “Company”, “we” or “our”). Also, the Company continues to manage life and annuity products previously sold.
On January 1, 2013, the Company completed the sale of its Retirement Plans business to Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company ("MassMutual") and on January 2, 2013 the Company completed the sale of its Individual Life insurance business to The Prudential Insurance Company of America ("Prudential"), a subsidiary of Prudential Financial, Inc. For further discussion of these and other such transactions, see Note 2 - Business Dispositions of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
The Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) for interim financial information, which differ materially from the accounting practices prescribed by various insurance regulatory authorities. These Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes thereto included in the Company's 2012 Form 10-K Annual Report. The results of operations for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the full year.
The accompanying Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes as of March 31, 2013, and for the three months ended March 31, 2013 and 2012 are unaudited. These financial statements reflect all adjustments (generally consisting only of normal accruals) which are, in the opinion of management, necessary for the fair presentation of the financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the interim periods. The Company's significant accounting policies are summarized in Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in the Company's 2012 Form 10-K Annual Report.
Consolidation
The Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements include the accounts of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., companies in which the Company directly or indirectly has a controlling financial interest and those variable interest entities (“VIEs”) in which the Company is required to consolidate. Entities in which the Company has significant influence over the operating and financing decisions but are not required to consolidate are reported using the equity method. Material intercompany transactions and balances between The Hartford and its subsidiaries and affiliates have been eliminated. For further information on VIEs see Note 6 - Investments and Derivative Instruments of Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.
Discontinued Operations
The results of operations of a component of the Company that either has been disposed of or is classified as held-for-sale are reported in discontinued operations if the operations and cash flows of the component have been or will be eliminated from the ongoing operations of the Company as a result of the disposal transaction and the Company will not have any significant continuing involvement in the operations of the component after the disposal transaction.
The Company is presenting the operations of certain businesses that meet the criteria for reporting as discontinued operations. Amounts for prior periods have been retrospectively reclassified. For information on the specific businesses and related impacts, see Note 14 - Discontinued Operations of Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements, in conformity with U.S. GAAP, requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
The most significant estimates include those used in determining property and casualty insurance product reserves, net of reinsurance; estimated gross profits used in the valuation and amortization of assets and liabilities associated with variable annuity and other universal life-type contracts; evaluation of other-than-temporary impairments on available-for-sale securities and valuation allowances on investments; living benefits required to be fair valued; goodwill impairment; valuation of investments and derivative instruments; valuation allowance on deferred tax assets; and contingencies relating to corporate litigation and regulatory matters. Certain of these estimates are particularly sensitive to market conditions, and deterioration and/or volatility in the worldwide debt or equity markets could have a material impact on the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

1. Basis of Presentation and Accounting Policies (continued)
Mutual Funds
The Company maintains a retail mutual fund operation whereby the Company provides investment management, administrative and distribution services to The Hartford Mutual Funds, Inc. and The Hartford Mutual Funds II, Inc. (collectively, “mutual funds”). These mutual funds are registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The mutual funds are owned by the shareholders of those funds and not by the Company. As such, the mutual fund assets and liabilities and related investment returns are not reflected in the Company’s Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements since they are not assets, liabilities and operations of the Company.
Income Taxes

A reconciliation of the tax provision at the U.S. Federal statutory rate to the provision for income taxes is as follows:
 
Three Months Ended March 31,
 
2013
2012
Tax expense (benefit) at U.S. Federal statutory rate
$
(157
)
$
1

Tax-exempt interest
(34
)
(36
)
Dividends-received deduction
(32
)
(33
)
Valuation allowance
(7
)
(20
)
Other [1]
22

(7
)
Income tax benefit
$
(208
)
$
(95
)

[1]
Includes a permanent difference of $25 related to non-deductible goodwill for the three months ended March 31, 2013.

The separate account dividends-received deduction (“DRD”) is estimated for the current year using information from the most recent return, adjusted for current year equity market performance and other appropriate factors, including estimated levels of corporate dividend payments and level of policy owner equity account balances. The actual current year DRD can vary from estimates based on, but not limited to, changes in eligible dividends received in the mutual funds, amounts of distribution from these mutual funds, amounts of short-term capital gains at the mutual fund level and the Company’s taxable income before the DRD. The Company evaluates its DRD computations on a quarterly basis.
The Company’s $48 unrecognized tax benefits were unchanged for the three months ended March 31, 2013. This entire amount, if it were recognized, would affect the effective tax rate in the period it is released.
The Company or one or more of its subsidiaries files income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction, and various states and foreign jurisdictions. The Company is no longer subject to U.S. federal, state and local, or non-U.S. income tax examinations for years prior to 2007. The audit of the years 2007-2009 commenced during 2010 and is expected to conclude in the second quarter of 2014. The 2010-2011 audit commenced in the fourth quarter of 2012 and is expected to conclude by the end of 2014. Management believes that adequate provision has been made in the financial statements for any potential assessments that may result from tax examinations and other tax-related matters for all open tax years.
The Company recorded a deferred tax asset valuation allowance that is adequate to reduce the total deferred tax asset to an amount that will be more likely than not realized. The deferred tax asset valuation allowance, relating mostly to foreign net operating losses, was $51 as of March 31, 2013 and $58 as of December 31, 2012. In assessing the need for a valuation allowance, management considered future taxable temporary difference reversals, future taxable income exclusive of reversing temporary differences and carryforwards, taxable income in open carry back years, as well as other tax planning strategies. These tax planning strategies include holding a portion of debt securities with market value losses until recovery, altering the level of tax exempt securities, selling appreciated securities to offset capital losses, business considerations such as asset-liability matching, and the sales of certain corporate assets. Management views such tax planning strategies as prudent and feasible, and will implement them, if necessary, to realize the deferred tax asset. Future economic conditions and debt market volatility, including increases in interest rates, can adversely impact the Company's tax planning strategies and in particular the Company's ability to utilize tax benefits on previously recognized realized capital losses.