Hartford
Hooker's 1636 sermon inspired world's first constitution; 1835 fire claims built insurance empire. Now 10,000+ jobs lost since 2020. Can the Insurance Capital survive CVS?
Hartford exists because Thomas Hooker wanted a purer democracy. In 1636, the Puritan minister led 100 followers from Massachusetts to the Connecticut River, preaching that 'the foundation of authority is laid in the free consent of the people.' Three years later, Hartford, Wethersfield, and Windsor ratified the Fundamental Orders—what some historians call the world's first written constitution. Connecticut became the Constitution State on the strength of Hooker's sermon.
The river that brought Hooker also brought merchants. By the 1700s, Hartford was a port where ship captains shared voyage risks—an informal system that became formal insurance. In 1810, the Connecticut General Assembly chartered the Hartford Fire Insurance Company with $15,000 in capital. The breakthrough came with disaster: when New York City's devastating fires of 1835 and 1845 bankrupted other insurers, Hartford companies paid every claim. Aetna's president personally endorsed notes and sent them to banks to cover losses. Reputation built an industry.
By the mid-20th century, Hartford earned the title 'Insurance Capital of the World.' The Hartford, Aetna, Travelers, and Connecticut Mutual Life clustered their headquarters downtown. The industry pioneered accident, auto, and aviation policies. Insurance became Hartford's monoculture—the one thing the city made, the one industry that mattered.
Today, that monoculture is contracting. CVS Health acquired Aetna in 2018 for $69 billion, promising to keep headquarters in Hartford until 2028. Since October 2023, over 1,000 jobs have been cut from Hartford offices. Statewide insurance employment fell from 70,396 in 2020 to 60,697 in 2022. Legacy carriers are downsizing office space while startups grow in new insurance niches. Aetna claims it plans to stay for another 172 years, but the workforce keeps shrinking.
By 2026, Hartford faces the monoculture's reckoning. The Fundamental Orders enshrined democratic consent; the insurers built on mutual trust. Both principles require institutions that remain. The question: can a city famous for managing risk manage its own?