Your Insurance Costs Dropping? CNA $1B Profit Tell

CNA Financial just posted a 42% jump in net income—$1.07 billion for Q3 2025. The reason? Catastrophe losses dropped, and underwriting discipline held strong. For you, this isn’t just corporate earnings news. It’s a signal that your property insurance costs might finally stabilize after years of relentless hikes. When insurers aren’t hemorrhaging cash from hurricanes and wildfires, they stop jacking up your premiums every renewal cycle.

Insurance Journal reported CNA’s Q3 results on November 17, 2025. The numbers tell a story most consumers never see: lower disaster payouts equal better financial health for insurers, which eventually translates to more predictable pricing for you. Here’s what CNA’s profit surge means for your wallet—and why this quarter might mark a turning point for property insurance affordability.

$1.07B Profit: What Lower Catastrophe Losses Mean for Your Rates

CNA’s net income hit $1.07 billion in Q3 2025, up from $760 million the same period last year. That’s a 42% increase driven almost entirely by one factor: fewer catastrophic weather events. When insurers don’t pay out billions in wildfire, hurricane, and flood claims, profits soar. The company’s property/casualty operations delivered a $194 million underwriting gain—proof that careful risk selection and pricing discipline work when nature cooperates.

Why this matters to you:

• Rate stabilization potential. Insurers raise premiums to cover expected losses. When actual losses fall below projections, the justification for steep rate hikes weakens. CNA’s combined ratio of 92.6% means they’re paying out 92.6 cents for every dollar collected in premiums—a healthy margin that reduces pressure for future increases.
• Improved market capacity. Profitable quarters give insurers confidence to write more policies without hiking rates. CNA’s commercial lines premiums grew 2.5%, and personal lines grew 1.8%—modest but steady expansion that suggests they’re not pulling back from the market.
• Competitive pricing advantage. When one major insurer performs well, others follow. If CNA can maintain profitability without aggressive rate increases, competitors face pressure to match or risk losing market share.

The catch? This is a Q3 snapshot. Catastrophe seasons vary wildly year to year. One bad hurricane season in 2026 could erase these gains overnight.

Why CNA’s 92.6% Combined Ratio Actually Matters to Policyholders

Most consumers glaze over when insurers talk about “combined ratios.” Big mistake. This number directly predicts whether your next renewal notice will be bearable or brutal. CNA’s 92.6% combined ratio for property/casualty operations means they’re running a disciplined, profitable book of business. Anything below 100% indicates underwriting profit—the holy grail for insurers.

Here’s the breakdown:

Metric	Q3 2025 Result	What It Means
Combined Ratio	92.6%	For every $100 in premiums, CNA pays $92.60 in claims and expenses
Underwriting Gain	$194M	Pure profit before investment income
Net Income	$1.07B	Total profit including investments

Compare this to 2023, when many property insurers posted combined ratios above 105%—meaning they lost money on underwriting and relied solely on investment income to stay afloat. Those losses triggered the premium spikes you’ve endured the past two years. CNA’s current performance suggests those pain points are easing, at least temporarily.

The real test: Can they maintain this ratio through 2026? If catastrophe losses stay low and underwriting discipline holds, you might see renewal increases slow to single digits instead of the 15-30% hikes common in recent years.

Commercial vs. Personal Lines: Where CNA Is Growing (and What It Signals)

CNA’s premium growth tells an interesting story about where insurers see opportunity:

• Commercial lines written premiums: Up 2.5%—steady growth in business insurance, driven by strong demand from mid-sized companies needing property and liability coverage.
• Personal lines written premiums: Up 1.8%—slower growth reflects a tougher market for homeowners and auto insurance, where rate adequacy remains a challenge in high-risk states.

The commercial lines growth is significant. Businesses are expanding operations and need insurance, creating natural demand. CNA’s ability to grow this segment without sacrificing underwriting discipline (remember that 92.6% combined ratio) shows they’re not just chasing premiums—they’re selecting risks carefully.

Personal lines growth at 1.8% looks modest, but it’s actually encouraging. Many insurers have been shrinking their personal lines books in catastrophe-prone states. The fact that CNA is still growing here, even slowly, suggests they believe they’ve priced policies correctly and can handle the risk. For consumers, this means one less insurer abandoning high-risk markets.

What History Says About Post-Catastrophe Profit Surges

CNA’s Q3 2025 results mirror a familiar pattern: calm weather = insurer profits = eventual consumer relief. Look back at 2018-2019, when a relatively mild hurricane season allowed property insurers to rebuild capital and slow rate increases. Consumers saw premium growth decelerate from double digits to mid-single digits within 12-18 months.

Then 2020 hit—record wildfire losses in California, multiple Gulf Coast hurricanes, and the pandemic disruption. Insurers bled cash, and rates skyrocketed again. The cycle repeated in 2023-2024 with severe storms and climate-driven losses pushing premiums up 20-30% in many markets.

Now we’re seeing another calm patch. Q3 2025 was relatively quiet for major catastrophes. If this trend holds through Q4 2025 and into 2026, CNA and its competitors should have enough breathing room to stabilize rates. But—and this is critical—one bad hurricane season could reverse everything.

The insurance industry operates on thin margins. A single catastrophic event costing $50-100 billion industry-wide (think Hurricane Katrina or a major California earthquake) would wipe out years of these quarterly gains. That’s why consumers shouldn’t expect rate cuts—just stabilization and slower increases.

Should You Stick with Your Current Insurer or Shop Around?

CNA’s strong performance raises a practical question: Does staying loyal to a profitable insurer pay off, or should you shop aggressively every renewal?

Three factors to consider in 2025-2026:

1. Financially stable insurers are less likely to exit markets suddenly. CNA’s $1.07 billion profit and healthy combined ratio mean they’re not pulling out of states or dropping policyholders en masse. Stability matters—especially if you’ve already dealt with non-renewals from struggling carriers.
2. Profitable insurers might offer better claims service. When cash flow is healthy, companies invest in adjusters, technology, and customer service. CNA’s underwriting gain gives them room to improve claim handling without squeezing margins.
3. But shopping still pays. Even profitable insurers don’t uniformly lower rates. If you haven’t shopped your property coverage in 2+ years, get quotes. CNA’s competitors are also enjoying lower catastrophe losses, creating a more competitive market than 2023-2024.

Best strategy for 2026 renewals:

• Get 3-5 quotes from financially strong carriers (check A.M. Best ratings on the Insurance Information Institute site).
• Compare not just price but coverage breadth—profitable insurers sometimes offer better replacement cost provisions.
• Ask about multi-policy discounts. Carriers like CNA often bundle commercial and personal lines for small business owners.

Don’t assume CNA’s profit surge automatically means cheaper rates. Insurers use profits to strengthen balance sheets first, then compete on price. You need to force that competition by shopping.

The Underwriting Discipline Factor: Why Some Insurers Thrive While Others Fail

CNA’s $194 million underwriting gain didn’t happen by accident. It’s the result of ruthless risk selection—saying “no” to policies that don’t meet profitability targets. While consumers hate when insurers decline coverage or non-renew policies, that discipline is exactly what keeps premiums from spiraling out of control long-term.

Contrast this with insurers that chased market share in 2020-2022, writing policies in high-risk areas without adequate pricing. Many of those companies are now insolvent or posting massive losses. State guaranty funds have had to step in to cover claims, costing taxpayers millions.

Underwriting discipline means:

• Stricter property inspections before binding coverage—checking roof age, fire mitigation, flood risk.
• Higher deductibles in catastrophe-prone zones to share risk with policyholders.
• Rate adequacy enforcement, even if it means losing customers to competitors willing to underprice risk temporarily.

You might not love getting declined or facing a $5,000 wind/hail deductible. But that’s what allows CNA to stay in the market long-term. Insurers that underwrite recklessly eventually exit markets entirely, leaving consumers scrambling for last-resort options like state pools or Citizens Property Insurance in Florida.

Will 2026 Bring More Calm—or Another Catastrophe Storm?

CNA’s Q3 2025 success depends entirely on weather trends continuing favorably. Climate models for 2026 are mixed. NOAA predicts near-normal Atlantic hurricane activity for the coming season, but “normal” now includes Category 4-5 storms regularly hitting the Gulf Coast. Western wildfire risk remains elevated due to persistent drought conditions in parts of California, Oregon, and Washington.

If 2026 plays out like 2025 Q3—manageable losses, no mega-catastrophes—expect:

• Continued insurer profitability and capital rebuilding
• Rate increase moderation (5-10% instead of 20-30%)
• More carriers willing to write property coverage in previously “red-listed” states

If 2026 brings another 2023-style catastrophe season—multiple billion-dollar events—CNA’s gains evaporate, and consumers face another round of brutal rate hikes. The insurance industry can absorb one bad year if the previous year was profitable. Two consecutive bad years? That’s when carriers exit markets and consumers get stuck in high-risk pools.

Bottom line: Enjoy the stabilization while it lasts, but don’t assume it’s permanent. The property insurance market remains vulnerable to climate volatility.

Bottom Line: Cautious Optimism for 2026 Rates

CNA’s $1.07 billion Q3 profit and 92.6% combined ratio signal that property insurance might finally be stabilizing after years of brutal rate hikes. Lower catastrophe losses allowed the company to post strong underwriting gains while modestly growing both commercial and personal lines premiums. For you, this means rate increases should moderate in 2026—assuming weather patterns cooperate.

But stay realistic. One major hurricane or wildfire season erases these gains instantly. The insurance industry remains vulnerable to climate volatility, and no single profitable quarter guarantees long-term affordability. Your best move: shop aggressively every renewal, focus on financially stable carriers with strong combined ratios, and don’t assume loyalty gets rewarded with better pricing.

The window for rate relief is open—but it could close fast if 2026 brings another catastrophe-heavy year.