S&P: CNA Financial Corp. Units Ratings Withdrawn After Mergers

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said it withdrew its ‘A-‘ counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on 13 insurance subsidiaries of CNA Financial Corp. (NYSE:CNA). This action follows the merger of these companies into other insurance subsidiaries of CNA effective Dec. 31, 2006. These mergers are part of CNA’s ongoing initiative to streamline its legal structure by reducing the number of legal entities and states of domicile in the insurance group. Twelve of the 13 companies were merged, either directly or indirectly, into Continental Insurance Co. One company, CNA Casualty of California, was merged into Continental Casualty Co.

CNA is an insurance holding company headquartered in Chicago, Ill. Its primary insurance subsidiary is Continental Casualty Co., which in turn owns several other primary property/casualty insurance companies and one life insurer. CNA has divested most of its life insurance operations and its reinsurance business and is now focused primarily on the commercial lines market. In the U.S., the group is the seventh-largest commercial lines writer and the 13th-largest property/casualty insurer based on 2005 statutory net premiums written.

Source: Standard & Poor’s