CNA FINANCIAL CORP

The following discusses the results of operations for our business segments.

Our property and casualty commercial insurance operations are managed and reported in three business segments: Specialty, Commercial and International, which we refer to collectively as Property & Casualty Operations. Specialty provides management and professional liability and other coverages through property and casualty products and services using a network of brokers, independent agencies and managing general underwriters. Commercial works with a network of brokers and independent agents to market a broad range of property and casualty insurance products to all types of insureds targeting small business, construction, middle markets and other commercial customers. The International segment underwrites property and casualty coverages on a global basis through a branch operation in Canada, a European business consisting of insurance companies based in the U.K. and Luxembourg and Hardy, our Lloyd's syndicate.

Our operations outside of Property & Casualty Operations are managed and reported in two segments: Life & Group and Corporate & Other. Life & Group primarily includes the results of our long-term care business that is in run-off. Corporate & Other primarily includes certain corporate expenses, including interest on corporate debt, and the results of certain property and casualty businesses in run-off, including CNA Re, A&EP, a legacy portfolio of excess workers' compensation (EWC) policies and certain legacy mass tort reserves. Intersegment eliminations are also included in this segment.

We utilize the core income (loss) financial measure to monitor our operations. Core income (loss) is calculated by excluding from net income (loss) the after-tax effects of net investment gains or losses and gains or losses resulting from pension settlement transactions. Net investment gains or losses are excluded from the calculation of core income (loss) because they are generally driven by economic factors that are not necessarily reflective of our primary operations. The calculation of core income (loss) excludes gains or losses resulting from pension settlement transactions as they result from decisions regarding our defined benefit pension plans which are unrelated to our primary operations. Presentation of consolidated core income (loss) is deemed to be a non-GAAP financial measure and management believes some investors may find this measure useful to evaluate our primary operations. See further discussion regarding how we manage our business in Note P to the Consolidated Financial Statements included under Item 8. For reconciliations of non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP measures and other information, please see below and Note P to the Consolidated Financial Statements included under Item 8.

In evaluating the results of our Specialty, Commercial and International segments, we utilize the loss ratio, the underlying loss ratio, the expense ratio, the dividend ratio, the combined ratio and the underlying combined ratio. These ratios are calculated using GAAP financial results. The loss ratio is the percentage of net incurred claim and claim adjustment expenses to net earned premiums. The underlying loss ratio excludes the impact of catastrophe losses and development-related items from the loss ratio. Development-related items represents net prior year loss reserve and premium development, and includes the effects of interest accretion and change in allowance for uncollectible reinsurance and deductible amounts. The expense ratio is the percentage of insurance underwriting and acquisition expenses, including the amortization of deferred acquisition costs, to net earned premiums. The dividend ratio is the ratio of policyholders' dividends incurred to net earned premiums. The combined ratio is the sum of the loss ratio, the expense ratio and the dividend ratio. The underlying combined ratio is the sum of the underlying loss ratio, the expense ratio and the dividend ratio. The underlying loss ratio and the underlying combined ratio are deemed to be non-GAAP financial measures, and management believes some investors may find these ratios useful to evaluate our underwriting performance since they remove the impact of catastrophe losses which are unpredictable as to timing and amount, and development-related items as they are not indicative of our current year underwriting performance.

Changes in estimates of claim and claim adjustment expense reserves, net of reinsurance, for prior years are defined as net prior year loss reserve development within this MD&A. These changes can be favorable or unfavorable. Net prior year loss reserve development does not include the effect of any related acquisition expenses. Further information on our reserves is provided in Note E and Note F to the Consolidated Financial Statements included under Item 8.

In addition, we also utilize renewal premium change, rate, retention and new business in evaluating operating trends. Renewal premium change represents the estimated change in average premium on policies that renew, including rate and exposure changes. Rate represents the average change in price on policies that renew excluding exposure change. Exposure represents the measure of risk used in the pricing of the insurance product. The change in exposure represents the change in premium dollars on policies that renew as a result of the change in risk of the policy. Retention represents the percentage of premium dollars renewed, excluding rate and exposure changes, in comparison to the expiring premium dollars from policies available to renew. New business represents premiums from policies written with new customers and additional policies written with existing customers. Gross written premiums, excluding third-party captives, excludes business which is ceded to third-party captives, including business related to large warranty programs.

We use underwriting gain (loss) and underlying underwriting gain (loss), calculated using GAAP financial results, to monitor our insurance operations. Underwriting gain (loss) is deemed to be a non-GAAP financial measure and is calculated pretax as net earned premiums less total insurance expenses, which includes insurance claims and policyholders' benefits, amortization of deferred acquisition costs and insurance related administrative expenses. Net income (loss) is the most directly comparable GAAP measure. Management believes some investors may find this measure useful to evaluate the profitability, before tax, derived from our underwriting activities, which are managed separately from our investing activities. Underlying underwriting gain (loss) is also deemed to be a non-GAAP financial measure, and represents pretax underwriting gain (loss) excluding catastrophe losses and development-related items. Management believes some investors may find this measure useful to evaluate the profitability, before tax, derived from our underwriting activities, excluding the impact of catastrophe losses, which are unpredictable as to timing and amount, and development-related items as they are not indicative of our current year underwriting performance.

The following tables present a reconciliation of net income to underwriting gain (loss) and underlying underwriting gain (loss):