April 29 (Reuters) - Life and mortgage insurer Genworth Financial Inc is considering strategic options, including going private or selling its global life and annuity insurance unit (GLAIC), Chief Executive Tom McInerney said.

The company's shares rose 6.5 percent to $8.51 in early trading on Wednesday.

"We're in the early stages of talking to players who might be interested in the GLAIC entity," McInerney said on a conference call.

McInerney also said he expected a "significant loss" on the sale of the company's lifestyle protection business.

The company reported a quarterly profit on Tuesday after posting losses for the previous two quarters.

(Reporting By Sudarshan Varadhan; Editing by Simon Jennings)