HARTFORD (Bloomberg) ? Chubb Corp., an insurer of commercial property and high-end homes, said third-quarter profit more than doubled as calmer weather lowered claims.

Net income increased to $604 million, or $1.43 a share, from $246 million, or 60 cents, a year earlier, the Warren, New Jersey-based insurer said in a statement today.

Profit excluding investment gains was $1.37 a share, beating the $1.22 estimated by Jay Cohen, an analyst at Merrill Lynch & Co. in New York.

US insurers passed through the peak of the Atlantic Ocean hurricane season unscathed a year after record claims from Katrina, Rita and Wilma. Chubb now expects to earn $5.40 to $5.50 a share in 2006, up from an earlier forecast of $4.90 to $5.10. The estimate excludes investment gains and losses.

Chubb?s stock has risen 11 percent in the past two months, outperforming the 7.3 percent increase in the Standard & Poor?s 500 Insurance Index.

The shares rose 73 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $54.65 in regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange composite. The results were released after the close of regular trading.