Hartville Group Reports Record 1st Quarter Net Profits of $0.04 Per Share; Newly Written Policies Increase 43%.

Business Editors

NORTH CANTON, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 15, 2003

Hartville Group, Inc. (OTCBB:HTVL), one of the leading pet health insurance companies in the United States, announced today record financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2003. The company's net earnings after taxes and claim reserves (IBNR) were $132,569 or $0.04 per share. The earnings per share before the IBNR allowance was $0.05 per share. In addition, newly written policies grew by 43% to 1,991 compared to the 1,389 newly written policies for the same period last year.

Mr. Russell Smith III, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hartville Group, Inc., commented, "Due to the strengthening of our capital position, the company has been able to increase its underwriting risk retention to 40%. The more risk retention the company takes on the premiums it writes potentially increases the earnings power of the company. Our long-term strategy calls for the company to continue to increase the percentage of its risk retention by its underwriting subsidiary, Hartville Insurance Company, so that eventually we reinsure 100% of the premiums we write. In addition, our agency, Petsmarketing Insurance.com Agency, Inc., experienced strong growth in the number of newly written policies for the 1st quarter 2003 compared to the same period last year. This brings the number of written policies in force to 22,256."

Hartville Group, Inc. is a holding company specializing in niche insurance product lines with limited competition due to specialization, which afford sizeable underwriting returns in insurance lines such as pet health insurance, equine, farm/ranch and animal mortality. The Company, through its pet insurance marketing subsidiary and provider of the Petshealth Care Plans, is one of the leading pet health insurance companies in the United States.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Except for historical information, the forward looking matters discussed in this news release are subject to certain risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, the Company's liquidity and the ability to obtain financing, the timing of regulatory approvals, as well as other risks indicated from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's Form 8-K filed on September 12, 2002 and any subsequent amendments. The Company assumes no obligation to update or supplement forward-looking statements that become untrue because of subsequent events.

For more information on the Company's Petshealth Care Plans for pets, call 1-800-807-6724 or visit www.petshealthplan.com. The site provides educational topics, money saving tips and links to other informative pet web sites. For more information on the Company, visit our corporate web site: www.hartvillegroup.com