Is CNA Legit? Licensing, Insurers and Reliability
CNA has no Carrier & MGA Reliability Score because the reviewed evidence is insufficient for a numerical assessment. Reliability Scores assess documented reliability within the reviewed scope; they do not predict claims payment.
CNA Carrier & MGA Reliability Score
This partial Carrier & MGA Reliability Score covers licensing and authority, claims and servicing, regulatory record and how clearly it explains its terms. It uses 65% of the rubric's factor weighting, normalized to a ten-point scale. Anything without enough evidence is left out, not scored as zero.
Assessment subject unavailable
What Our Research Found About CNA
Role: Carrier. Scope: CNA's U.S. commercial carriers, led by Continental Casualty Company and The Continental Insurance Company, plus the other CNA companies named with them in New York regulator orders. CNA Financial Corporation is parent context. A specific policy's issuer must be confirmed on its declarations page.
CNA Entity and assessment scope
CNA says its products and services are provided by one or more CNA companies and names Continental Casualty Company. It also says some coverages may come from a CNA surplus lines company. The disclaimer does not say which company issues which product.1
CNA says it works closely with independent agents and brokers in each of its locations. Buyers usually reach CNA through a broker, not directly.3
CNA Authority and domicile
California's Department of Insurance lists Continental Casualty (Illinois, authorized 1902) and The Continental Insurance Company (Pennsylvania, authorized 1978) as Property & Casualty companies with UNLIMITED-NORMAL status. Both belong to the CNA Insurance Group. Other states and the other CNA companies were not checked.4,5
CNA says its surplus lines companies do not generally take part in state guaranty funds. Buyers of surplus lines coverage are not protected by those funds.1
CNA Financial condition and external financial strength ratings
CNA's 2025 annual report shows A.M. Best rating its insurance subsidiaries A+ at December 31, 2025. The report says A.M. Best upgraded the rating and moved the outlook to stable from positive in December 2025. This is CNA reporting the rating, and AM Best's own page could not be opened here.6
The filing reports combined statutory capital and surplus for the Combined Continental Casualty Companies of $11,578 million at December 31, 2025, up from $11,165 million a year earlier. It marks the 2025 figure as derived from statements still to be filed with regulators. This is a group total, not the surplus of one issuing company.6
CNA Claims, servicing and responsibility
CNA publishes a claims line, (877) 574-0540, open weekdays 8 am to 8 pm Eastern, and an online form for auto, general liability, workers' compensation, marine, property, professional and other commercial claims. The page mentions a Special Investigations Unit. It gives no response-time commitments or staffing numbers.2
CNA Reinsurance and capacity
In 2010 Continental Casualty and other CNA companies ceded most of their old asbestos and environmental liabilities to National Indemnity Company, a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary, up to a $4 billion limit. $3.9 billion had been ceded by December 31, 2025. CNA warns it could take a charge if that limit is exceeded. This covers old claims, not the reinsurance behind new commercial policies.6
CNA Regulatory conduct search and findings
New York DFS approved a consent order on December 22, 2024 with six CNA companies, including Continental Casualty and Continental Insurance. DFS found they were late reporting vehicle registration information to the state DMV in 2018. The penalty was $148,000.7
New York DFS also approved a consent order on January 30, 2024 with the same six companies. It found they failed to charge approved rates and lacked procedures to prevent incorrect rates from January 2018 to December 2019. The fine was $50,000.8
On July 31, 2025, the Texas workers' compensation regulator fined Continental Casualty $1,500 after auditing 16 initial income-benefit payments made in July to September 2024. Four of the 16 (25%) were not paid on time.9
These are the matters found by searching New York and Texas regulator records. It was not a search of every state, so it does not show a clean record elsewhere.7,9
CNA Role, compensation and conflicts
CNA is an insurance company, not a broker. Its policies are placed mostly through independent agents and brokers, and this review did not find a CNA disclosure of the commissions it pays them.3
What We Couldn’t Confirm About CNA
- The A+ rating for Continental Casualty hasn't been confirmed with AM Best directly. It is taken from CNA's annual report.
- Licenses were checked in California only, for two companies. The other named CNA companies and other states were not checked.
- No company-by-company statutory surplus and no policy-to-issuer mapping were reviewed.
- Regulator checks covered New York and Texas actions, not every state. A separate 2024 New York filing-timeliness fine was reported but hasn't been confirmed, so it is not counted.
- CNA publishes no claims response-time commitments or staffing counts on the claims page.
Regulator Searches for CNA
| Jurisdiction | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|
 CaliforniaCalifornia Department of Insurance | Verified regulator result4,5 | California DOI profiles opened for Continental Casualty and The Continental Insurance Company; both UNLIMITED-NORMAL. |
 New YorkNew York State Department of Financial Services | Verified regulator result7,8 | Two DFS consent orders (2024) naming six CNA companies were opened and read. |
 Texas | Verified regulator result9 | A July 2025 Texas workers' compensation consent order against Continental Casualty was opened. The order is company-reported evidence of a certificate of authority. |
| USUnited States, Other States | Not researched | No other state regulator was searched for licenses or actions. |
CNA Licenses and Authority Records
These are reviewed authority records for the named legal entities and scope. A license record does not establish that a particular policy is available, bound, or suitable.
| Entity and jurisdiction | Identifier | License class and authority |
|---|---|---|
| Continental Casualty CompanyCalifornia | Insurer company ID: 0048-94 | California property and casualty company profile; California DOI profile shows NAIC 20443, Illinois domicile, License Status UNLIMITED-NORMAL, authorized May 14, 1902. |
| The Continental Insurance CompanyCalifornia | Insurer company ID: 2270-75 | California property and casualty company profile; California DOI profile shows NAIC 35289, Pennsylvania domicile, License Status UNLIMITED-NORMAL, authorized January 1, 1978. |
| Continental Casualty CompanyTexas | Certificate of authority: Not stated9 | Texas workers' compensation/employers' liability; The Texas DWC order says Continental Casualty holds a Texas certificate of authority and is licensed to write workers' compensation and employers' liability. The order does not print a license number. |
Which Coverage Lines Does CNA Offer?
Product pages for coverage lines documented for CNA.
Comparisons and Insurance Terms Related to CNA
Alliance Risk describes a broker-led technology E&O submission, while CNA directs small-business buyers to an agent and publishes agent-facing service details.
Amelia Risk describes a broker that shops and reviews insurer quotes; CNA directs small-business buyers to an agent and documents intermediary service tools.
At-Bay describes broker quoting with underwriting and security-service conditions; CNA directs small-business buyers to agents and publishes claims-entry options.
9 documents, numbered as cited. Open the sources