As boomers approach retirement age, they want all kinds of flexibility.

In December, we reached a milestone for our company as we celebrated our 10-year anniversary as an independent publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange. Over the past decade, our shareholders have been well rewarded with a 16 percent compound annual total return that handily exceeds the performance of the Standard & Poor's 500.

Notwithstanding, the several unusual items that influenced our results the last three months demonstrate that the underlying performance of The Hartford's property and casualty and life operations was strong. This performance is a reflection of our efforts to sustain profitable growth in a competitive environment. Our return on equity of over 15 percent over the last twelve months has exceeded our stated long-term goals. Actions we have taken to broaden distribution and improve our products are driving our sales momentum.

Notwithstanding, the several unusual items that influenced our results the last three months demonstrate that the underlying performance of The Hartford's property and casualty and life operations was strong.

Our excellent underwriting results for the quarter reflect our discipline and commitment to profitable growth. The quality of our products, technology and people has helped us deepen and expand our agency relationships across the country. Small commercial and personal lines have been successful at keeping customer retention high and generating new business.

We are in active discussions with regulators on several of these matters and are working diligently to resolve them. We have cooperated fully with the ongoing investigations and will continue to do so.