CNA Financial (CNA) has closed the previously announced sale of its life and group insurance business Continental Assurance Company (CAC) to a subsidiary of Wilton Re Holdings.

CNA

Apart from divesting CAC, certain affiliates of each of CNA and Wilton Re have entered into a 100% reinsurance agreement and related transaction agreements.

As per the arrangements, a Wilton Re subsidiary will reinsure all of the run-off structured settlement annuities reinsured by a Bermuda-based subsidiary of CNA.

Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed at the time of completion of the sale; however, the deal was valued at nearly $615m when the agreement was signed in February 2014.

The disposal of the life and group insurance subsidiary will allow CNA to concentrate on property and casualty insurance business.

CNA chairman and CEO Thomas Motamed said: "This sale marks another important milestone for CNA, as we continue to simplify our operations and create a more focused P&C business capable of delivering consistent performance."

With the closure of the sale, CNA has effectively offloaded life and group non-core gross GAAP insurance reserves of $3.5bn, or 23%, representing the vast majority of its payout annuity business.

Morgan Stanley & Co has been hired to serve as the financial advisor and Hogan Lovells US will act as the legal counsel for CNA for this transaction.

CNA offers an array of insurance products and services, such as standard commercial lines, specialty lines, surety, marine and other property and casualty coverages.

CNA’s services include risk management, information services, underwriting, risk control and claims administration.


Image: CNA headquarter in Chicago. Photo: courtesy of Daniel Schwen.