CNA Financial reports US$331 million Q3 hit

CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE: CNA) has reported a net loss of US$331 million for 2008 Q3, a drop from last year’s Q3 profit of US$174 million.The company’s consolidated combined operating ratio was 114.1% for the quarter, up from 2007 Q3’s 110.5%. Broken down by segments, its standard lines reported a combined ratio of 129.3% (compared to 2007 Q3’s 93.6%) and its specialty lines was 87.8% (compared to 2007 Q3’s 89.6%).CNA points to catastrophes for having caused a 15% spike in its combined operating ratio. CNA’s net written premium for the quarter was US$1.598 billion, compared to US$1.639 billion during the same period of last year.Its consolidated loss ratio for Q3 is 82.5%, an increase over last year’s 80.7%. In a statement, CNA said the impact of catastrophes and other-than-temporary-impairment (OTTI) losses accounted for its quarterly results. In the first nine months of the year, the company reported OTTI losses of US$546 million, primarily in the non-redeemable preferred equity securities, corporate and other taxable bonds and asset-backed bonds sector, the statement says. This compares to OTTI losses of US$293 million for the first nine months of 2007.