increases in third-quarter earnings, while some property and casualty insurers were hurt by claims losses from Hurricane Fran.

Earnings for life insurers likely rose about ten percent during the quarter, analysts said. Hurricane Fran wreaked an estimated $1.6 billion in damage to insured property on the US East Coast earlier this month. "Hurricane Fran hurt home and auto insurers,'' said Nutmeg Securities Ltd. analyst Ira Zuckerman. "Annuities helped life insurance companies.'' Companies such as Baltimore-based USF&G Corp., State Auto Financial Corp. of Columbus, Ohio, and Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based Integon Corp. said their third-quarter earnings will be lowered by losses from the hurricane. Property and casualty insurers without heavy exposure to home insurance in the Mid-Atlantic region, including American International Group Inc. and Allstate Corp., are expected to show improved earnings from growing premiums.

Life insurers with brokerage subsidiaries, such as Equitable Cos. and Travelers Group Inc., were leaders in the third quarter, analysts said. Rising fees from bond and stock sales, mergers and acquisitions, and commissions helped boost Wall Street profits, companies said.

Life insurers also benefited from surging sales of annuities, tax-deferred savings plans that let life insurers compete with banks and mutual funds for the retirement savings of graying baby boomers.

Property and casualty insurers saw premiums rise about 2.6 percent to $65.1 billion in the second quarter from the year-earlier period, according to the most recent figures available to the Insurance Information Institute, a trade group. The group expects premiums to rise 3.8 percent for all of 1996 over last year.

USF&G expects third-quarter earnings to be lowered by 12 to 15 cents a share as a result of claims from Hurricane Fran, which the industry estimates will be the fourth-costliest US hurricane, causing at least $1.6 billion in insured damage.

State Auto said its earnings will be lowered by 22 cents a share, while Integon expects losses reduce its earnings by about ten cents a share.

Allstate Corp., based in Northbrook, Illinois, benefited from increased premiums, and its earnings are expected to rise 14 percent.

New York-based American International Group's earnings are expected to rise about 15 percent because of its practice of limiting each risk it insures and expanding into countries with growing middle classes. Philadelphia-based Cigna's third-quarter results rebounded because the insurer reorganised its property and casualty business late last year, analysts said.

Profit at Stamford, Connecticut-based General Re Corp., which avoids insuring insurers vulnerable to storm claims, is expected to rise 9.9 percent.

Life insurers have annuities to thank for profit growth because sales of policies declined, continuing a trend from the second quarter, analysts said.

New life insurance premiums collected by 100 key life insurers declined five percent to $1.56 billion in the second quarter from the same period of 1995, according to the Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association in Hartford, Connecticut. Annuity sales rose 23 percent to $26 billion in the second quarter, according to a survey of 56 companies by the association.

Meanwhile, Wall Street's profits remained robust in the third quarter, boosting earnings for New York-based insurers Equitable and Travelers Group, particularly in their brokerage subsidiaries. Equitable's earnings are expected rise about 17 percent, largely from its 80 percent stake in Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Inc.