The Hartford and University of Connecticut Launches Collaboration to Advance Business Resiliency and Worker Safety

Published: 2026-04-14 14:21:46 ET HIG

Published on 04/14/2026 at 02:21 pm EDT

The Hartford and The University of Connecticut announced the initial phases of a collaboration focused on research related to energy innovation, business resiliency and extreme heat. The arrangement includes a philanthropic investment in the Korey Stringer Institute, bringing together two leaders in workers? safety to gain insights that will help employers protect workers from acute and prolonged exposure to extreme heat.

The Hartford will also partner with UConn?s Institute of the Environment and Energy to create a fellowship centered around energy innovation. The Hartford Laborer Safety Fund, the company?s dedicated philanthropic fund to support ongoing research and applied safety initiatives, will enable a collaboration with UConn?s Korey Stringer Institute (KSI), a leader in heat-safety research, to study how extreme heat affects workers across industries. The research will examine short- and long-term impacts of extreme heat on worker health and productivity as well as heat-mitigation practices that support business continuity during extreme heat events.

The Hartford and KSI plan to pilot heat-management programs with select business customers to apply academic research to real-world safety applications. Findings from the research are expected to help businesses better anticipate heat-related risks, strengthen safety protocols, and improve employee productivity and effectiveness. The Hartford?s partnership with UConn?s Institute of the Environment and Energy also establishes The Hartford Sustainability Research Fellowship within the university?s College of Engineering, with support from the company?s Y-Risk innovation platform, which focuses on understanding and insuring emerging technologies and business models.

This work will examine the evolving energy needs of data centers, and explore the emerging risks related to onsite generation, battery storage, fuel cells, renewable-energy and facility microgrids utilizing the unique Real-Time Digital Simulator and hardware-in-the-loop resources of the Institute of the Environment and Energy. The research will also explore how these technologies are expected to change over time, offering insights into insurance and risk-management needs today and in the future.