EXHIBIT 99.1
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Dawn M. Jaffray, 312/822-7757
CNA PROVIDES INFORMATION ON REINSURANCE
RECEIVABLES FROM THE GERLING GROUP
CHICAGO, MARCH 12, 2003 --- CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE: CNA) today
announced that as of December 31, 2002, its property and casualty
insurance subsidiaries have approximately $600 million of reinsurance
receivables due from Gerling-Konzern Allgemeine Versicherungs AG and
its property and casualty insurance subsidiaries (collectively, the
Gerling Group). Of this amount, all but approximately $170 million is
supported by collateral in the form of letters of credit, trust
agreements, funds withheld balances and other payable offsets. The
uncollateralized amount is primarily due from the Gerling Group's New
York-domiciled insurance subsidiaries. CNA continues to bill reinsured
losses and collect payments from the Gerling Group in the normal
course. At December 31, 2002, CNA's GAAP equity was $9.4 billion.
ABOUT THE COMPANY
CNA is the country's fourth largest commercial insurance writer, the
ninth 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; 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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