UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

For the Quarterly Period Ended September 30, 2004

OR

For the transition period from                 to                

Commission File Number 1-5823

CNA FINANCIAL CORPORATION

(312) 822-5000
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

     Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

     Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an accelerated filer (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).

     Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date.

CNA FINANCIAL CORPORATION
INDEX

CNA FINANCIAL CORPORATION

The accompanying Notes are an integral part of these Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited).

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CNA FINANCIAL CORPORATION

The accompanying Notes are an integral part of these Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited).

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CNA FINANCIAL CORPORATION

The accompanying Notes are an integral part of these Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited).

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CNA FINANCIAL CORPORATION

Note A. Basis of Presentation

The Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited) include the accounts of CNA Financial Corporation (CNAF) and its controlled subsidiaries. Collectively, CNAF and its subsidiaries are referred to as CNA or the Company. CNA’s property and casualty and remaining life and group insurance operations are primarily conducted by Continental Casualty Company (CCC), The Continental Insurance Company (CIC), and Continental Assurance Company (CAC). Loews Corporation (Loews) owned approximately 91% of the outstanding common stock and 100% of the preferred stock of CNAF as of September 30, 2004.

The Company’s individual life insurance business, including its previously wholly owned subsidiary Valley Forge Life Insurance Company (VFL), was sold on April 30, 2004 to Swiss Re Life & Health America Inc. (Swiss Re). The results of the individual life insurance business sold through the date of sale are included in the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2004 and the three and nine months ended September 30, 2003. See Note N for further information.

CNA Group Life Assurance Company (CNAGLA) was sold to Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (Hartford) on December 31, 2003. The results of the group benefits business sold are included in the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2003. See Note N for further information.

The accompanying Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited) have been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP). Certain financial information that is normally included in annual financial statements, including certain financial statement footnotes, prepared in accordance with GAAP, is not required for interim reporting purposes and has been condensed or omitted. These statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in CNAF’s Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the year ended December 31, 2003.

The interim financial data as of September 30, 2004 and for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2004 and 2003 is unaudited. However, in the opinion of management, the interim data includes all adjustments, consisting of normal recurring accruals, necessary for a fair statement of the Company’s results for the interim periods. The results of operations for the interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year. All significant intercompany amounts have been eliminated.

In the second quarter of 2004, the expenses incurred related to uncollectible reinsurance receivables were reclassified from “Other operating expenses” to “Insurance claims and policyholders’ benefits” on the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations. Prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation. This reclassification had no impact on net income (loss) in any period.

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CNA FINANCIAL CORPORATION

Note B. Accounting Pronouncements

In January of 2003, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued FASB Interpretation No. 46, Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities, an interpretation of ARB No. 51 (FIN 46). In December of 2003, the FASB issued FIN 46 (revised December 2003), Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities, an interpretation of ARB No. 51 (FIN 46R) which replaces FIN 46 and clarifies the application of Accounting Research Bulletin No. 51 Consolidated Financial Statements (ARB 51). As per ARB 51, a general rule for preparation of consolidated financial statements of a parent and its subsidiary is ownership by the parent, either directly or indirectly, of over fifty percent of the outstanding voting shares of a subsidiary. However, application of the majority voting interest requirement of ARB 51 to certain types of entities may not identify the party with a controlling financial interest because the controlling financial interest may be achieved through arrangements that do not involve voting interest. FIN 46R clarifies applicability of ARB 51 to entities in which the equity investors do not have the characteristics of a controlling financial interest or do not have sufficient equity at risk for the entity to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial support. FIN 46R requires an entity to consolidate a variable interest entity even though the entity does not, either directly or indirectly, own over fifty percent of the outstanding voting shares.

FIN 46R is applicable for financial statements issued for reporting periods that end after March 15, 2004. The adoption of FIN 46R did not have a significant impact on the results of operations or equity of the Company.

In December of 2003, the FASB revised SFAS No.132, Employers’ Disclosures about Pensions and Other Postretirement Benefits (SFAS 132) to require additional disclosures related to pensions and post retirement benefits. While retaining the existing disclosure requirements for pensions and postretirement benefits, additional disclosures are required related to pension plan assets, obligations, contributions and net benefit costs, beginning with fiscal years ending after December 15, 2003. Additional disclosures pertaining to benefit payments are required for fiscal years ending after June 30, 2004. The SFAS 132 revisions also include additional disclosure requirements for interim financial reports beginning after December 15, 2003. CNA has implemented the revised interim disclosures in these financial statements and will implement the annual benefit payment disclosures in subsequent annual financial statements.

In July of 2003, the Accounting Standards Executive Committee of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants issued Statement of Position 03-01, Accounting and Reporting by Insurance Enterprises for Certain Nontraditional Long-Duration Contracts and for Separate Accounts (SOP 03-01). SOP 03-01 provides guidance on accounting and reporting by insurance enterprises for certain nontraditional long-duration contracts and for separate accounts. SOP 03-01 is effective for financial statements for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2003. SOP 03-01 may not be applied retroactively to prior years’ financial statements, and initial application should be as of the beginning of an entity’s fiscal year, therefore prior year amounts have not been conformed to the current year presentation.

CNA adopted SOP 03-01 as of January 1, 2004. The assets and liabilities of certain guaranteed investment contracts and indexed group annuity contracts that were previously segregated and reported as separate accounts no longer qualify for separate account presentation. Prior to the adoption of SOP 03-01, the asset and liability presentation of these affected contracts were categorized as separate account assets and liabilities in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet. The results of operations from separate account business were primarily classified as other revenue in the Condensed Consolidated

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CNA FINANCIAL CORPORATION

Statements of Operations. In accordance with the provisions of SOP 03-01, the classification and presentation of certain balance sheet and income statement items have been modified within these financial statements. Accordingly, the investment securities previously classified as separate account assets have now been reclassified to the general account and will be reported based on their investment classification whether available-for-sale or trading securities. The investment portfolio supporting indexed group annuity contracts is classified as held for trading purposes and is carried at fair value, with both the net realized and unrealized gains (losses) included within net investment income in the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations.

The following table provides the balance sheet presentation of assets and liabilities for certain guaranteed investment contracts and indexed group annuity contracts upon adoption of SOP 03-01, including the classification of the indexed group annuity contract investments as trading securities.

The Company continues to have contracts that meet the criteria for separate account presentation. The assets and liabilities of these contracts are legally segregated and reported as assets and liabilities of the separate account business. Substantially all assets of the separate account business are carried at fair value. Separate account liabilities are carried at contract values.

In May of 2004, the FASB revised FASB Staff Position (FSP) 106-1, Accounting and Disclosure Requirements Related to the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 and issued FSP 106-2, Accounting and Disclosure Requirements Related to the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 (FSP 106-2). The FSP provides accounting guidance

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CNA FINANCIAL CORPORATION

to employers who sponsor postretirement health care plans that provide prescription drug benefits and the prescription drug benefit provided by the employer is “actuarially equivalent” to Medicare Part D and hence qualifies for the subsidy under the Medicare amendment act. This FSP was effective for the Company as of July 1, 2004, and its adoption did not have a material impact on the Company’s results of operations and/or equity.

In March of 2004, the Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF) reached consensus on the guidance provided in EITF Issue No. 03-1, The Meaning of Other-Than-Temporary Impairment and its Application to Certain Investments (EITF 03-1), as applicable to debt and equity securities that are within the scope of SFAS No. 115, Accounting for Certain Investments in Debt and Equity Securities (SFAS 115) and equity securities that are accounted for using the cost method specified in Accounting Principles Board Opinion No. 18, The Equity Method of Accounting for Investments in Common Stock. Under EITF 03-1 an investment is impaired if the fair value of the investment is less than its cost including adjustments for amortization, accretion, foreign exchange, and hedging. An impairment would be considered other-than-temporary unless a) the investor has the ability and intent to hold an investment for a reasonable period of time sufficient for the recovery of the fair value up to (or beyond) the cost of the investment and b) evidence indicating that the cost of the investment is recoverable within a reasonable period of time outweighs evidence to the contrary. The investor should consider its cash or working capital needs to assess its intent and ability to hold an investment for a reasonable period of time for the recovery of fair value up to or beyond the cost of the investment. Although not presumptive, a pattern of selling investments prior to the forecasted recovery of fair value may call into question the investor’s intent. In addition, the severity and duration of the impairment should also be considered in determining whether the impairment is other-than-temporary.

This new guidance for determining whether impairment is other-than-temporary was to be effective for reporting periods beginning after June 15, 2004. In September of 2004, the FASB issued FSP EITF Issue 03-1-1, which delayed the effective date for the measurement and recognition guidance included in EITF Issue 03-1 related to other-than-temporary impairment until additional implementation guidance is provided. As a result of the delay, during the three month period ended September 30, 2004, the Company continued to apply existing accounting literature for determining when a decline in fair value is other-than-temporary.

The Company continues to evaluate the impact of this new accounting standard on its process for determining other-than-temporary impairment of equity and fixed maturity securities, including the potential impacts from any revisions to the original guidance issued. Adoption of this standard as originally issued may cause the Company to recognize impairment losses in the Consolidated Statements of Operations which would not have been recognized under the current guidance or to recognize such losses in earlier periods, especially those due to increases in interest rates, and would likely also impact the recognition of investment income on impaired securities. Such an impact would likely increase earnings volatility in future periods. However, since fluctuations in the fair value for available-for-sale securities are already recorded in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income, adoption of this standard is not expected to have a significant impact on equity. Further information on the Company’s investments is provided in the Investments section below.

Note C. Earnings (Loss) Per Share

Earnings (loss) per share available to common stockholders is based on weighted-average outstanding shares. Basic and diluted earnings per share is computed by dividing income available to common stockholders by the weighted-average number of shares of common stock or common stock equivalents outstanding for the period. The weighted average number of shares outstanding for computing basic and

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CNA FINANCIAL CORPORATION

diluted earnings per share was 256.0 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2004 and 223.6 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2003. Included in the outstanding shares in 2004 is the effect of 32.3 million shares of CNAF common stock issued on April 20, 2004 in conjunction with the conversion of the $750 million Series I convertible preferred stock issued during the fourth quarter of 2003.

The Series H Cumulative Preferred Issue (Series H Issue) is held by Loews and accrues cumulative dividends at an initial rate of 8% per year, compounded annually. As of September 30, 2004, the Company has $110 million of undeclared but accumulated dividends. The Series H Issue dividend amounts for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2004 and 2003 have been subtracted from Net Income (Loss) to determine income (loss) available to common stockholders.

Diluted earnings (loss) per share reflect the potential dilution that could occur if securities or other contracts to issue common stock were exercised or converted into common stock. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2004 and 2003, approximately one million shares attributable to the exercise of outstanding options were excluded from the calculation of diluted earnings (loss) per share because the exercise price of these options was greater than the average market price of CNA common stock.

The computation of earnings (loss) per share was as follows.

Earnings (Loss) Per Share

The Company applies the intrinsic value method under Accounting Principles Board Opinion No. 25, Accounting for Stock Issued to Employees (APB 25), and related interpretations, in accounting for its stock-based compensation plan. Under the recognition and measurement principles of APB 25, no stock-based compensation cost has been recognized, as the exercise price of the granted options equaled the market price of the underlying stock at the grant date.

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CNA FINANCIAL CORPORATION

The following table illustrates the pro forma effect on net income (loss) and earnings per share, had the Company applied the fair value recognition provisions of SFAS 123 to stock-based employee compensation under the Company’s stock-based compensation plans.

Pro Forma Effect of SFAS 123 on Net Income (Loss) and Earnings (Loss) Per Share

Note D. Investments

The significant components of net investment income are presented in the following table.

Net Investment Income