EXHIBIT 99.1

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:

Dawn M. Jaffray, 312/822-7757


                    CNA PROVIDES INFORMATION ON REINSURANCE
                       RECEIVABLES FROM THE GERLING GROUP

         CHICAGO, MARCH 12, 2003 --- CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE: CNA) today
         announced that as of December 31, 2002, its property and casualty
         insurance subsidiaries have approximately $600 million of reinsurance
         receivables due from Gerling-Konzern Allgemeine Versicherungs AG and
         its property and casualty insurance subsidiaries (collectively, the
         Gerling Group). Of this amount, all but approximately $170 million is
         supported by collateral in the form of letters of credit, trust
         agreements, funds withheld balances and other payable offsets. The
         uncollateralized amount is primarily due from the Gerling Group's New
         York-domiciled insurance subsidiaries. CNA continues to bill reinsured
         losses and collect payments from the Gerling Group in the normal
         course. At December 31, 2002, CNA's GAAP equity was $9.4 billion.

         ABOUT THE COMPANY

         CNA is the country's fourth largest commercial insurance writer, the
         ninth largest property and casualty company and the 51st largest life
         insurance company. CNA's insurance products include standard commercial
         lines, specialty lines, surety, reinsurance, marine and other property
         and casualty coverages; life and accident insurance; group long term
         care, disability and life insurance; and pension products. 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.




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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT

         The statements contained in this press release, which are not
         historical facts, are forward-looking statements. When included in this
         press release, 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 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; 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 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. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or
         undertaking to release any updates or revisions to any forward-looking
         statement contained in this press release 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.

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