CNA FINANCIAL CORP

This report contains a number of forward-looking statements which relate to anticipated future events rather than actual present conditions or historical events. These statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and generally include words such as “believes,” “expects,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “estimates” and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements in this report include any and all statements regarding expected developments in our insurance business, including losses and loss reserves (note that loss reserves for long-term care, A&EP and other mass tort claims are more uncertain, and therefore more difficult to estimate than loss reserves respecting traditional property and casualty exposures); the impact of routine ongoing insurance reserve reviews we conduct; our expectations concerning our revenues, earnings, expenses and investment activities; volatility in investment returns; and our proposed actions in response to trends in our business. Forward-looking statements, by their nature, are subject to a variety of inherent risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results projected in the forward-looking statements. We cannot control many of these risks and uncertainties. Material risks and uncertainties are addressed in Part I, Item IA Risk Factors and include, but are not limited to, the following:

Company-Specific Factors

•the risks and uncertainties associated with our insurance reserves, as outlined in the Critical Accounting Estimates and the Reserves - Estimates and Uncertainties sections of this report, including the sufficiency of the reserves and the possibility of future increases, which would be reflected in the results of operations in the period that the need for such adjustment is determined;

•the risk that the other parties to the transactions in which, subject to certain limitations, we ceded our legacy A&EP and EWC liabilities, respectively, will not fully perform their respective obligations to CNA, the uncertainty in estimating loss reserves for A&EP and EWC liabilities and the possible continued exposure of CNA to liabilities for A&EP and EWC claims that are not covered under the terms of the respective transactions; and

•the performance of reinsurance companies under reinsurance contracts with us.

Industry and General Market Factors

•general economic and business conditions, including recessionary conditions that may decrease the size and number of our insurance customers and create losses in our lines of business, and inflationary pressures (including with respect to the imposition of significant tariffs and any related retaliatory tariffs) on medical care costs, construction costs and other economic sectors;

•the effects of social inflation, including frequency of nuclear verdicts and increased litigation activity, on the severity of claims;

•the effects on the frequency of claims of reviver statutes that extend, or eliminate, the statute of limitations for the reporting of claims, including statutes passed in certain states with respect to sexual molestation and sexual abuse;

•the impact of competitive products, policies and pricing and the competitive environment in which we operate, including changes in our book of business;

•product and policy availability and demand and market responses, including the level of ability to obtain rate increases;

•the COVID-19 pandemic, including new or emerging variants, other potential pandemics and related measures to mitigate the spread of the foregoing may continue to result in increased claims and related litigation risk across our enterprise;

•conditions in the capital and credit markets, including uncertainty and instability in these markets, as well as the overall economy (including with respect to the imposition of significant tariffs and any related retaliatory tariffs), and their impact on the returns, types, liquidity and valuation of our investments;

•conditions in the capital and credit markets that may limit our ability to raise significant amounts of capital on favorable terms or at all; and

•the possibility of changes in our 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.

Regulatory, Legal and Operational Factors

•regulatory and legal initiatives and compliance with governmental regulations and other legal requirements, which are increasing in complexity and number, change frequently, sometimes conflict, and could expose us to significant monetary damages, regulatory enforcement actions, fines and/or criminal prosecution in one or more jurisdictions, including regulations related to cybersecurity protocols (which continue to evolve in breadth, sophistication and maturity in response to an ever-evolving threat landscape), or utilization of artificial intelligence, legal inquiries by state authorities, judicial interpretations within the regulatory framework, including interpretation of policy provisions, decisions regarding coverage and theories of liability, legislative actions that increase claimant activity, including those revising applicability of statutes of limitations, trends in litigation and the outcome of any litigation involving us and rulings and changes in tax laws and regulations;

•regulatory limitations, impositions and restrictions upon us, including with respect to our ability to increase premium rates, and the effects of assessments and other surcharges for guaranty funds and second-injury funds, other mandatory pooling arrangements and future assessments levied on insurance companies;

•regulatory limitations and restrictions, including limitations upon our ability to receive dividends from our insurance subsidiaries, imposed by regulatory authorities, including regulatory capital adequacy standards;

•breaches of our or our vendors' data security infrastructure resulting in unauthorized access to systems and information, and/or interruption of operations; and

•regulatory and legal implications relating to the sophisticated cyber incident sustained by the Company in March 2021 that may arise.

Impact of Natural and Man-Made Disasters and Mass Tort Claims

•weather and other natural physical events, including the severity and frequency of storms, hail, snowfall and other winter conditions, natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornados and earthquakes, as well as climate change, including effects on global weather patterns, greenhouse gases, sea, land and air temperatures, sea levels, wildfires, rain, hail and snow;

•regulatory requirements imposed by coastal state regulators in the wake of hurricanes or other natural disasters, including limitations on the ability to exit markets or to non-renew, cancel or change terms and conditions in policies, as well as mandatory assessments to fund any shortfalls arising from the inability of quasi-governmental insurers to pay claims;

•man-made disasters, including the possible occurrence of terrorist attacks, the unpredictability of the nature, targets, severity or frequency of such events, and the effect of the absence or insufficiency of applicable terrorism legislation on coverages;

•the occurrence of epidemics and pandemics; and

•mass tort claims, including those related to exposure to potentially harmful products or substances such as glyphosate, lead paint, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and opioids, sexual abuse and molestation claims and claims arising from changes that repeal or weaken tort reforms.

Our forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of the filing of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and we do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of the filing of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, even if our expectations or any related events or circumstances change.