(Bloomberg) ? Chubb Corp., a commercial property and casualty insurer, said second-quarter profit rose 39 percent as premiums exceeded claims and expenses and the company benefited from good weather.

Second-quarter net income increased to $496 million, or $2.45 a share, from $356 million, or $1.85, a year earlier, the Warren, New Jersey-based insurer said today in a statement.

Profit excluding investment gains and losses was $2.28 a share, compared with a $2.03 average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial.

Chubb said catastrophe losses fell to $21 million from $46 million in the year-ago period. US insurance losses from storms and other catastrophes fell to the lowest level of any second quarter in the past ten years, estimated Insurance Services Office Inc., which surveys insurers about claims.

Shares of Chubb rose 25 cents to $87.25 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The stock has risen 36 percent in the past year compared with a 16 gain in the KBW Insurance Index.

The company released results after the close of regular trading.