Exhibit 99.1
CNA
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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CONTACT:
MEDIA: ANALYSTS:
Charles M. Boesel, 312/822-2592 Dawn M. Jaffray, 312/822-7757
Katrina W. Parker, 312/822-5167
CNA FINANCIAL ANNOUNCES SECOND QUARTER CHARGE
RELATING TO 1995 PROPERTY LOSS
CHICAGO, May 30, 2003 --- CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE: CNA) today
announced that its Specialty Lines segment expects to record an after-tax
charge of approximately $49 million in the second quarter of 2003 in
connection with a recent adverse arbitration decision involving a single large
property and business interruption loss. The decision was rendered against an
insurance pool in which CNA was a former participant. The loss was caused by a
fire which occurred in 1995. Further details will be provided when they are
publicly available.
"We are disappointed and surprised by the arbitration decision," said Stephen
W. Lilienthal, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the CNA insurance
companies. "In our experience it is highly unusual for a property loss of this
nature to have such adverse development so long after the loss event."
About the Company
CNA is the country's fourth largest commercial insurance writer, the 11th
largest property and casualty company and the 51st largest life insurance
company. CNA's insurance products include standard commercial lines, specialty
lines, surety, reinsurance, marine and other property and casualty coverages;
life and accident insurance; group long term care, disability and life
insurance; and pension products. CNA services include risk management,
information services, underwriting, risk control and claims administration.
For more information, please visit CNA at www.cna.com. CNA is a registered
service mark, trade name and domain name of CNA Financial Corporation.
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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT
The statements contained in this press release, which are not historical
facts, are forward-looking statements. When included in this press release,
the words "believes," "expects," "intends," "anticipates," "estimates," and
analogous expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements include expected developments in the insurance
business of CNA (the "Company"), including losses for asbestos, environmental
pollution and mass tort claims; the Company's expectations concerning its
revenues, earnings, expenses and investment activities; expected cost savings
and other results from the Company's restructuring activities; and the
Company's proposed actions in response to trends in its business.
Such statements, and the financial condition and results of operations of the
Company and the price of the Company's common stock, are subject to a variety
of inherent risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties could cause
actual results to differ materially from those projected. Such risks and
uncertainties include, among others: general economic and business conditions,
including inflationary pressures on medical care costs, construction costs and
other economic sectors that increase the severity of claims; changes in
financial markets such as fluctuations in interest rates, long-term periods of
low interest rates, credit conditions and currency, commodity and stock
prices; the effects of corporate bankruptcies, such as Enron and WorldCom, on
surety bond claims, as well as on capital markets and on the markets for
directors & officers and errors & omissions coverages; changes in foreign or
domestic political, social and economic conditions; regulatory initiatives and
compliance with governmental regulations; judicial decisions and rulings,
including interpretation of policy provisions, decisions regarding coverage
and theories of liability, trends in litigation and the outcome of any
litigation involving the Company; changes in tax laws and regulations;
regulatory limitations and restrictions upon the Company and its insurance
subsidiaries; the impact of competitive products, policies and pricing and the
competitive environment in which the Company operates, including changes in
the Company's books of business; product and policy availability and demand
and market responses, including the level of ability to obtain rate increases
and decline or non-renew underpriced accounts, to achieve premium targets and
profitability and to realize growth and retention estimates; development of
claims and the impact on loss reserves, including changes in claim settlement
practices; the effectiveness of current initiatives by claims management to
reduce loss and expense ratio through more efficacious claims handling
techniques; the performance of reinsurance companies under reinsurance
contracts with the Company; results of financing efforts, including the
availability of bank credit facilities; changes in the Company's composition
of operating segments; weather and other natural physical events, including
the severity and frequency of storms, hail, snowfall and other winter
conditions, as well as of natural disasters such as hurricanes and
earthquakes; man-made disasters, including the possible occurrence of
terrorist attacks and the effect of the absence of applicable terrorism
legislation on coverages; the occurrence of epidemics; exposure to liabilities
due to claims made by insureds and others relating to asbestos remediation and
health-based asbestos impairments, and exposure to liabilities for
environmental pollution and other mass tort claims; a national privately
financed trust to replace litigation of asbestos claims with payments to
claimants from the trust is not established or is not approved through federal
legislation, or, if established and approved, contains funding requirements in
excess of the Company's established loss reserves or carried loss reserves;
the sufficiency of the Company's loss reserves and the possibility of future
increases in reserves; the level of success in integrating acquired businesses
and operations, and in consolidating existing ones; the possibility of changes
in the Company's ratings by ratings agencies and changes in rating agency
policies and practices; the actual closing of contemplated transactions and
agreements; and various other matters and risks (many of which are beyond the
Company's control) detailed in the Company's Securities and Exchange
Commission filings.
These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press
release. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to
release any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained in
this press release to reflect any change in the Company's expectations with
regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which
any statement is based.
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