CNA Financial reports higher profit, weaker combined ratio

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Chicago-based CNA Financial Corp. on Monday reported third-quarter profit of $343 million, almost double its profit from a year ago, as investment income surged.

Net investment income after taxes was $371 million, up 40% compared with the prior-year quarter, driven by limited partnerships, which returned 2.6%, compared with -3.2% a year ago, CNA said in a statement.

Property/casualty net written premiums totaled $1.62 billion, up 5.9% compared with the same period last year.
 
The insurer’s property/casualty operations’ combined ratio was 90.4%, a deterioration from 85.7% a year ago. Catastrophe losses were $11 million after tax compared with $10 million after tax a year ago, and resulted primarily from U.S. weather-related events.

In addition, “The loss ratio increased 3.3 points due to lower favorable net prior-year reserve development and a higher noncatastrophe current accident year loss ratio,” the CNA statement said.