Indicating that the insurer has made “a series of important decisions” about its future, The Hartford Financial Services Group’s chairman and CEO, Ramani Ayer, has announced his plans to retire from the only company he has ever worked for by the end of the year.

Ramani Ayer

Ayer informed the Hartford, Conn.-based company’s board of directors June 4 of his intent to retire after 12 years as the company’s head executive. The board announced it will begin an immediate, external search for his successor.

In a statement, Ayer said The Hartford has “recently made a series of important decisions about [the company's] path forward, setting the company on a new strategic course to build value for our shareholders.”

“We will continue to leverage the venerable Hartford brand, moving ahead with our strong property and casualty and life franchises,” Ayer said in a statement. “With this clarity in place, it is the right time for me to make my plans for retirement and for the Board to begin the search for my successor. In the meantime, I am fully committed to leading this organization during this period and to ensuring a smooth leadership transition as the company enters its third century.”

He concluded by saying for nearly 36 year, he has been “honored” to call The Hartford “my home,” and he has pride for the company’s “culture of integrity, trust and customer service that is woven into the fabric of this outstanding organization.”

Ayer’s announcement comes after the insurer lost more than $2.7 billion last year and $1.21 billion in the first quarter of 2009.  A glimmer of hope came through the announcement that the U.S. Treasury would give the company $3.4 billion through its Capital Purchase Program, an effort to build capital for life insurers and increase the flow of financing to businesses and consumers to support the economy.

Cathy Weatherford, the president of NAVA, the Association for Insured Retirement Solutions, said in a statement that The Hartford, “like all institutions tied in some way to the financial sector, has suffered recently.”

“With Ramani Ayer’s help, however, The Hartford is well-positioned to thrive in the future,” she said. “I look forward to a new, dynamic head of The Hartford to take the helm next year and a smooth transition to take place. Americans rely on companies like The Hartford to bolster their retirement security through insured retirement solutions. And they’ll continue to count on them even more in the coming years as they look for flexibility and guarantees in these turbulent economic times.”

Paul G. Kirk Jr., The Hartford’s longest serving independent director, said under Ayer’s leadership, the insurer “has been regarded as one of the most well-respected insurance and financial institutions in the United States.”

“Ramani was instrumental in helping the company navigate the extraordinarily challenging financial environment of the past two years, and we are confident that the company is well positioned to compete in the future,” Kirk said.

Ayer joined The Hartford out of Drexel University in 1973 and was named staff assistant to the CEO six years later. He served in a variety of senior executive level positions with the property-casualty arm of the company before being named president and COO of that unit in 1991. In 1997, he was named chairman and CEO.