CNA’s Specialty Arm Helped Carry Q2 Toward Solid Results

CNA Financial Corp. dealt with higher catastrophe losses in its 2016 second quarter. But the property/casualty insurer did well in its specialty and commercial divisions, and net income soared.

Also, while many carriers have seen their property/casualty combined ratio climb, CNA’s declined to 97.4 from 98.4 over the same period in 2015. (Excluding cat losses and prior-year reserve releases, CNA’s combined ratio for second-quarter 2016 was 98.3, compared to 95.3 in second-quarter 2015.)

The Chicago-based carrier booked $209 million in net income, or 77 cents per diluted share in the 2016 second quarter. In Q2 2015, net income came in at $138 million, or 51 cents per diluted share.

Here are some of CNA’s results in further detail:

• CNA’s property/casualty division reported $1.6 billion in net written premiums during the quarter, a number essentially flat with the 2015 second quarter. Net investment income dipped slightly to $310 million from $316 million in the 2015 second quarter.

• The specialty insurance division produced $691 million in net written premiums, up from $672 million in the 2015 second quarter. Net income for the division hit $166 million, compared to $137 million over the same period in 2015. CNA’s specialty combined ratio landed at 85.4, down substantially from 91.2 in the 2015 second quarter. Excluding catastrophes and prior-year reserve development, the combined ratio for the 2016 second quarter was 94, versus 92.6 over the same period in 2015.

• CNA’s commercial arm produced $740 million in net written premiums during the quarter, up from $717 million in the 2015 second quarter. Net income soared to $97 million, from $82 million in the 2015 second quarter. The combined ratio was at 103.5, a number that is not ideal, but an improvement over 107.2 over the same period in 2015. Excluding catastrophes and prior-year reserve development, the combined ratio was 97.7 during both the 2016 and 2015 second quarters.

• CNA’s international division produced $194 million in net written premiums, a big drop from $249 million in the 2015 second quarter. International lost $24 million, compared to $22 million in net income in the 2015 second quarter. The combined ratio soared to 118.6, compared to a much healthier 92.2 over the same, year-ago quarter. Without catastrophes and prior-year reserve development factored in, those two numbers were 115.3 and 95.8, respectively.

Source: CNA