CNA Financial Selling Subsidiary to Wilton Re for $615M

Chicago-based insurer CNA Financial Corp. plans to sell a wholly owned life insurance subsidiary to Wilton Re Holdings Ltd. for about $615 million as it continues to focus more on its property/casualty business.

CNA said that the subsidiary it plans to sell consists mainly of structured settlement and group annuities. It also will enter into a reinsurance agreement with Wilton Re regarding some runoff structured settlement annuities.

CNA Chairman and CEO Thomas F. Motamed said in a statement that the deal was “another step in the execution of our strategy to create a more focused P&C business capable of delivering consistent performance.”

CNA expects to record an after-tax charge of about $220 million in the first quarter from the deal.

The insurer also said it earned $221 million, or 82 cents per share, in the fourth quarter. That compares to a loss of $9 million, or 3 cents per share, in the final quarter of 2012. Results from the most recent quarter included a $123 million after-tax charge related to some retroactive reinsurance accounting.

Improved underwriting results, including lower catastrophe losses, helped net operating income for CNA’s property and casualty operations jump to $340 million in the quarter from $60 million. Premiums from its property and casualty operations climbed nearly 5 percent to $1.68 billion in the quarter.