CNA Financial Corp., Chicago, reported second-quarter net income declined by 1.7 percent, or $5 million, to $288 million compared with $293 million for the comparable 2004 period.
At the same time, the company's combined ratio deteriorated, increasing to 99.9 percent this quarter compared to 96.8 for the period last year.
Property-casualty net written premiums came in at $1.73 billion this quarter, down from $1.8 billion a year earlier.
Net realized investment gains fell to $16 million from $118 million a year earlier when the insurer sold its holding in a London-based real estate investment, Canary Wharf Group Plc.
CNA Chief Executive Officer Steve Lilienthal said the results showed "consistent progress across the enterprise."
"Even with the softening in the commercial lines marketplace, we continue to find profitable opportunities to grow the CNA franchise," he said.
CNA is primarily owned by the conglomerate Loews Corp., New York.
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.