CNA Financial Corporation CNA reported second-quarter 2019 core earnings of $1.08 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.01. Also, the bottom line increased 9.1% year over year. The improvement stemmed from better underlying loss ratio, increase in new business and higher rate increases.Behind Second-Quarter HeadlinesNet written premiums at Property & Casualty Operations improved 6% year over year to $1.9 billion driven by rate increase and higher new business.Net investment income inched up 1% year over year to $420 million driven by fixed income securities.Combined ratio deteriorated 190 basis points year over year to 95.7%.Book value as of Jun 30, 2019 was $44.08 per share, down 1.1% from Dec 31, 2018.Core return on equity was 9.9%, up 80 basis points (bps).CNA Financial Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise CNA Financial Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | CNA Financial Corporation QuoteSegment ResultsSpecialty’s net written premiums rose nearly 4% year over year to $713 million, driven by higher new business, strong retention and favorable rate. Combined ratio deteriorated 390 bps to 90.7%.Commercial’s net written premiums increased 13% year over year to $912 million, driven by higher new business and favorable rate. Combined ratio deteriorated 310 bps to 99.7%.International’s net written premiums dropped 8% year over year to $249 million attributable to strategic exit from certain Hardy business classes in the fourth quarter of 2018. Combined ratio improved 720 bps to 97.5%.Life & Group’s total operating revenues were $335 million, up 1.8% year over year. Core income of $7 million rebounded from the year-ago loss of $10 million.Corporate & Other’s core loss of $11 million was substantially narrower than a loss of $39 million in the prior-year period. Dividend UpdateCNA Financial’s board of directors approved a quarterly dividend of 35 cents to be paid out on Sep 5, 2019 to stockholders of record as of Aug 19.Zacks Rank CNA Financial currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Performance of Other P&C InsurersSecond-quarter earnings of The Progressive Corporation PGR and RLI Corp. RLI beat the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate while that of The Travelers Companies, Inc. TRV missed expectations.Today's Best Stocks from Zacks Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2018, while the S&P 500 gained +15.8%, five of our screens returned +38.0%, +61.3%, +61.6%, +68.1%, and +98.3%.This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. From 2000 – 2018, while the S&P averaged +4.8% per year, our top strategies averaged up to +56.2% per year.See their latest picks free >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report The Progressive Corporation (PGR): Free Stock Analysis Report The Travelers Companies, Inc. (TRV): Free Stock Analysis Report RLI Corp. (RLI): Free Stock Analysis Report CNA Financial Corporation (CNA): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research