new york (Bloomberg) — Bermuda-based insurer Arch Capital Group Ltd. said profit fell for the seventh straight quarter on investment losses and a decline in premium revenue amid the global recession.

Second-quarter net income dropped 20 percent to $158.6 million, or $2.43 a share, from $198.7 million, or $2.92, in the same period a year earlier, the company said yesterday in a statement distributed by Business Wire. Excluding investment losses, the insurer earned $2.60 a share, beating the $2.45 average estimate of 14 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

The price of property and casualty insurance is falling and consumers and commercial clients have pared back on the amount of coverage they purchase amid the worst economic decline since the Great Depression. US business insurance rates fell 4.9 percent in the second quarter, continuing a trend that began in 2004, according to the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers.

Arch Capital, headed by chief executive officer Constantine Iordanou, is attempting to capitalise on the losses and ratings downgrades affecting rivals including American International Group Inc., XL Capital Ltd. and Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. Arch hired an AIG executive to head its Canadian operations in November and said last month that it lured away the president of a Hartford unit.

Hartford filed suit over the defection July 2 in New York state Supreme Court, alleging that Arch "conducted an unlawful corporate raid" by hiring more than 60 managers, underwriters and employees from a unit that insures financial obligations and corporate boards.

Iordanou is taking over as chairman of the insurer's board in November, when Paul Ingrey retires. Iordanou will remain CEO.