CNA Announces Release of Enhanced Business Account Package Policy.

Business Editors

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 17, 2004

Today, CNA announces the release of its enhanced Business Account Package Policy (BAPP). The product will offer more choice and flexibility in small business coverage and limits, support profitable growth in small business, and give its independent agents the ability to reach a broader small business market. The enhanced BAPP product gives agents three levels of coverage to offer their small business clients: BAPP Basic; BAPP Classic; and BAPP Choice.

"Our independent agents will have more choice and flexibility when it comes to small business offerings from CNA," said Henry J. Pippins, senior vice president of Small Business at CNA. "The enhanced BAPP will help agents reach a broader small business market while also helping them target profitable classes of business."

Since the early release of the enhanced BAPP in January, CNA independent agents have been able to quote and book BAPP Basic, BAPP Classic and the Choice Endorsements via the secure, agent-focused Web site www.cnacentral.com.

The BAPP family of products has three levels of coverage, starting with the industry competitive BAPP Basic, then moving to the enhanced package BAPP Classic, and finally the highest level of coverage and flexibility, BAPP Choice, featuring coverage and limits tailored to focus industries including -

 --  Architects, Engineers & Surveyors

 --  Business Services

 --  Communications

 --  Drug Stores

 --  Eating Establishments

 --  Financial Services

 --  Florists

 --  Food/Food Stores

 --  General Offices

 --  Lawyers

 --  Medical Facilities

 --  Printers

 --  Retail

 --  Technology

 --  Wholesale

 --  Universal (applies to all other industries)

 Class-specific endorsements will be launched soon for -

 --  Travel Agency E&O

 --  Food Contamination Coverage

 --  Dry Cleaners Bailee

 --  Storage Location Coverage

 --  Pet Shop and Groomers Bailee

 --  Spoilage of Property in Transit

 --  Tenants Liability

 --  Temperature Change

For more information contact Brian Jirak, director of Product Management for CNA Small Business, at [phone].

In 2003, CNA re-affirmed its commitment to agents in Small Business through products and services focused on "Main Street" businesses. The CNA Small Business cache of offerings includes CNA Central, the transaction-based web site that enables agents to quote and issue offerings online, the Small Business Service Center that services small business accounts on behalf of agents, the Small Business Sales Team that sells to prospective clients on behalf of the agent, and its Small Business Program unit that develops and supports partnerships with agents in profitable program segments.

CNA is the country's fourth largest commercial insurance writer and the 11th largest property and casualty company. CNA's insurance products include standard commercial lines, specialty lines, surety, marine and other property and casualty coverages. CNA services include risk management, information services, underwriting, risk control and claims administration. For more information, please visit CNA at www.cna.com. CNA is a registered service mark, trade name and domain name of CNA Financial Corporation.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT

The statements contained in this press release or made during the conference call referenced above, which are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements. When included in this press release or the conference call, the words "believes," "expects," "intends," "anticipates," "estimates," and analogous expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include expected developments in the insurance business of CNA (the "Company"), including losses for asbestos, environmental pollution and mass tort claims; the Company's expectations concerning its revenues, earnings, expenses and investment activities; expected cost savings and other results from the Company's expense reduction and restructuring activities; and the Company's proposed actions in response to trends in its business.

Such statements, and the financial condition and results of operations of the Company and the price of the Company's common stock, are subject to a variety of inherent risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others: general economic and business conditions, including inflationary pressures on medical care costs, construction costs and other economic sectors that increase the severity of claims; changes in financial markets such as fluctuations in interest rates, long-term periods of low interest rates, credit conditions and currency, commodity and stock prices; the effects of corporate bankruptcies, such as Enron and WorldCom, on surety bond claims, as well as on capital markets and on the markets for directors & officers and errors & omissions coverages; changes in foreign or domestic political, social and economic conditions; regulatory initiatives and compliance with governmental regulations; judicial decisions and rulings, including interpretation of policy provisions, decisions regarding coverage and theories of liability, trends in litigation and the outcome of any litigation involving the Company; changes in tax laws and regulations; regulatory limitations and restrictions upon the Company and its insurance subsidiaries; the impact of competitive products, policies and pricing and the competitive environment in which the Company operates, including changes in the Company's books of business; product and policy availability and demand and market responses, including the level of ability to obtain rate increases and decline or non-renew underpriced accounts, to achieve premium targets and profitability and to realize growth and retention estimates; development of claims and the impact on loss reserves, including changes in claim settlement practices; the effectiveness of current initiatives by claims management to reduce loss and expense ratio through more efficacious claims handling techniques; the performance of reinsurance companies under reinsurance contracts with the Company; results of financing efforts, including the availability of bank credit facilities; changes in the Company's composition of operating segments; weather and other natural physical events, including the severity and frequency of storms, hail, snowfall and other winter conditions, as well as of natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes; man-made disasters, including the possible occurrence of terrorist attacks and the effect of the absence of applicable terrorism legislation on coverages; the occurrence of epidemics; exposure to liabilities due to claims made by insureds and others relating to asbestos remediation and health-based asbestos impairments, and exposure to liabilities for environmental pollution and other mass tort claims; whether a national privately financed trust to replace litigation of asbestos claims with payments to claimants from the trust will be established or approved through federal legislation, or, if established and approved, whether it will contain funding requirements in excess of the Company's established loss reserves or carried loss reserves; the sufficiency of the Company's loss reserves and the possibility of future increases in reserves; the level of success in integrating acquired businesses and operations, and in consolidating existing ones; the possibility of changes in the Company's ratings by ratings agencies, including the inability to access certain markets or distribution channels and the required collateralization of future payment obligations as a result of such changes, and changes in rating agency policies and practices; the actual closing of contemplated transactions and agreements; and various other matters and risks (many of which are beyond the Company's control) detailed in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release or of the conference call. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained in this press release or made in the conference call to reflect any change in the Company's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based.

This press release may also contain and the conference call may reference financial measures that are not in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). For reconciliations of non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP measures, refer to the text of this press release and the financial supplement posted on the Company's website.