CNA Insurance Off CreditWatch

S&P removed from CreditWatch and affirmed its “A-” counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings on U.K.-based CNA Insurance Co. (Europe) Ltd. (CIE) and CNA Insurance Co. Ltd. (CI) following the approval by the appropriate U.S. regulator of a guarantee provided to the companies by U.S.- based Continental Casualty Co. All companies are operating subsidiaries of CNA Financial Corp., which is headquartered in the U.S. The outlook is stable.

The ratings on CIE and CI were placed on CreditWatch on Aug. 2, 2001, and Aug. 10, 2001, respectively, as a consequence of the ratings on CNA, the parent company, being placed on CreditWatch. On Jan. 31, 2002, S&P said that the ratings on CIE and CI would be lowered if additional parental support in the form of a guarantee were not forthcoming. On Feb. 1, 2002, the ratings on CNA and related entities, with the exception of CIE and CI, were removed from CreditWatch and affirmed. At that time, the ratings on CIE and CI remained on CreditWatch pending the U.S. regulator’s approval of the proposed guarantee. An S&P spokesperson said with the guarantee, the ratings on CIE and CI will be “driven by the financial strength of the guarantor, Continental Casualty, rather than by the stand-alone characteristics of the companies themselves.”