Global insurer Ace Ltd generated record operating income for the third quarter and comfortably beat analysts’ estimates.

Net income was down by nearly a third, however, to $528 million in the July through September period, compared to $785 million, as the firm dealt with the effects of the strong US dollar.

The Switzerland-based company that started life in Bermuda in the mid-1980s maintained strong underwriting profitability with a property and casualty combined ratio of 85.9 per cent.

Operating income totalled $897 million, or $2.74 per share beating the $2.37 per share consensus forecast of analysts tracked by Yahoo Finance. Return on equity was 12.9 per cent.

Evan Greenberg, Ace’s chairman and chief executive officer, said Ace had “a great quarter” amid financial market turbulence.

Ace is on course to complete its $28 billion acquisition of US insurer Chubb in the first quarter of 2016, Mr Greenberg added.

Chubb last night reported third-quarter operating earnings of $601 million, or $2.60 per share, topping Wall Street expectations of $1.97 per share.

“Volatility in the credit, equity and foreign-exchange markets impacted our results but did not prevent us from producing record earnings, record underwriting results and good revenue growth in constant dollars,” Mr Greenberg said.

“Our earnings growth was driven by a world-class underwriting performance, highlighted by record underwriting income and a P&C combined ratio of 85.9 per cent.

“We benefited from very strong current underwriting year results, positive development in our reserves and relatively low catastrophe losses. Year to date, even with foreign exchange headwinds, we’ve produced over $2.4 billion in operating income, which is essentially flat with prior year.

“Book value declined 1.5 per cent due to the impact of foreign exchange and financial market volatility in our investment and variable annuity reinsurance portfolios. Foreign exchange also continued to impact our premium revenue.

“Global P&C net premiums, which exclude agriculture, were flat in the quarter but grew nearly 8 per cent in constant currency, with double-digit contributions from our US and Latin American operations.

“For the year, Global P&C premiums have grown about 2.5 per cent, or nearly 9 per cent in constant dollars.”

The merger with Chubb will make Ace into one of the world’s largest insurers. The combined company will operate under the Chubb name.

“We are on track to close our acquisition of Chubb in the first quarter of 2016 and expect a very positive response from both companies’ shareholders at Thursday’s shareholder meetings,” Mr Greenberg said.

“We are making good progress with integration planning and will be ready to hit the ground running when we close.”