MUNICH (Bloomberg) - Allianz SE, Europe's biggest insurer, said third-quarter profit from continuing operations more than doubled as investment income recovered from year-ago writedowns.

Net income rose to 1.32 billion euros ($1.98 billion), from 545 million euros a year earlier, excluding the January sale of Dresdner Bank to Commerzbank AG, the insurer said yesterday. That beat the 1.25 billion-euro median analyst estimate. Allianz did not set a profit target.

The Munich-based insurer, led by CEO Michael Diekmann, returned to profit in the first half after investment writedowns and the sale of unprofitable Dresdner Bank contributed to a 2.4 billion-euro loss for 2008. European insurers are struggling to return to their 2007 record profit as the recession weighs on premium income and low interest rates and smaller equity holdings weaken investment returns.