SurePayroll Partners with The Hartford to address challenges small businesses face in acquiring workers' compensation insurance

Chicago - May 19, 2004 - SurePayroll, Inc. (www.SurePayroll.com), the nation's largest online payroll provider, today announced its new partnership with The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., one of the nation’s largest insurance and financial services companies.

This new agreement allows SurePayroll to offer workers’ compensation insurance to its small business customers, many of whom have found it increasingly difficult to source affordable, high-quality insurance.

The workers compensation offering is seamlessly integrated into SurePayroll's online payroll service. Insurance applicants are individually underwritten by The Hartford. Once a policy is underwritten, premiums are calculated and paid on a "pay as you go" basis whenever payroll is processed.

Historically, most workers' compensation insurance policies tie up vital cash by requiring small businesses to pay an estimated premium in advance based on projected year-end payroll. By building insurance payments into the payroll process, SurePayroll allows its small business customers to better manage their cash flow. Participating SurePayroll customers will receive fewer year-end audit surprises; avoid costly up-front deposits; and will always have a current, accurate premium schedule.

Workers' compensation insurance provides coverage for work-related injuries and illnesses. In most states, workers' compensation is required if a small business has one or more employees. There are only a few states that do not require employers to carry workers' compensation coverage. The Hartford is a recognized leader in workers’ compensation insurance, with an outstanding record for loss prevention and claims handling services. The company has a large, diverse product portfolio and a property-casualty agency distribution network that includes some 11,000 independent agencies. The Hartford has more than 26,000 employees worldwide.

"At SurePayroll, we listen closely to what our customers tell us and we work hard to meet their needs. We've done that since the beginning — it's been a key driver of our success." said Michael Alter, President of SurePayroll. "When customers said workers' compensation was important to them, we sought out this partnership with The Hartford, a recognized leader in small business workers' compensation insurance. We couldn't have asked for a better partner and we are excited to offer this to our customers.”

For more information about SurePayroll's workers compensation partnership with the Hartford Group, please contact SurePayroll Sales at 1-877-954-SURE.

About The Hartford:
The Hartford (NYSE: HIG) is one of the nation's largest insurance and financial services companies. The company is a leading provider of investment products, life insurance and group benefits; automobile and homeowners products; commercial property and casualty insurance; and reinsurance. For more information, visit www.thehartford.com.

About SurePayroll:
Privately held SurePayroll is America's fifth largest payroll provider and the nation's largest online payroll provider. Catering exclusively to the needs of small businesses, SurePayroll provides a simple, reliable and economical way to process payroll in minutes via the Internet. In addition to providing payroll services directly to small business, SurePayroll also provides a private-label payroll service that allows SurePayroll’s numerous partners to offer payroll processing to their small business clients. Business partners include Wells Fargo and ABN AMRO. For more information, visit www.surepayroll.com.

For Media Inquiries Contact:
Charlie Jolie
Walker Sands Communications
www.walkersands.com
Phone: (312) 207-1190, ext. 110
Email: surepayroll-inquiries@walkersands.com

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