CNA doubles profit in Q3 despite higher nat cat losses

US commercial property and casualty (P&C) insurer CNA Financial Corporation increased its net profit in the third quarter of 2020 despite recording higher net catastrophe losses.

The company's net profit for Q3 was $213 million, significantly up from the $107 million net profit it made in the prior year quarter.

The results were largely offset by higher net catastrophe losses driven by severe weather related events, primarily Hurricanes Laura, Isaias and Sally, and the Midwest derecho. The third quarter net catastrophe losses came in at $160 million pre-tax.

The property and casualty segments (P&C), excluding third party captives, generated gross written premium growth of 9 percent in Q3, but the combined ratio jumped to 100.9 percent from 97.6 percent in the same period of 2019.

CNA's chairman and chief executive Dino Robusto, said: "CNA continued to execute effectively during these unprecedented times as evidenced by the ongoing acceleration in our P&C rate achievement, higher overall premium growth and a significantly improved underlying loss ratio and expense ratio in the third quarter.

"And, with our annual reserve review of our runoff Long Term Care business, we took significant actions on our discount rate assumptions intended to further protect our capital and earnings in the face of what can very well be a protracted low interest rate environment."