American International Group (AIG) during the third quarter recorded a 264 percent increase in underwriting income within its General Insurance segment to $611 million as adjusted pretax income in the segment increased to about $1.37 billion compared to $750 million the prior year.

The New York-based insurer’s third-quarter overall net income attributable to common shareholders fell to about $2 billion compared to $2.7 billion for the same quarter last year. The decline was primarily driven by a decrease in net realized gains and lower ownership in multinational financial services company Corebridge.

However, Q3 total investment income increased 33 percent to $3.6 billion and the underlying business within General Insurance improved, especially for business in North America where underwriting income in Q3 was $235 million, led by a $292 million gain in commercial lines. In North America a year ago, General Insurance logged an underwriting loss of $493 million, with red ink in commercial and personal lines. Underwriting income in North America personal lines remained at a $57 million loss in Q3 compared to $65 million a year ago.

The combined ratio within the General Insurance segment was 90.5 in Q3 compared to 97.3 a year ago. The combined ratio for Q3 included $462 million of total catastrophe-related losses, adding 6.9 loss ratio points. North America commercial lines saw the largest swing in combined ratio — from 113 in Q3 2022 to 88.9 this year.

AIG also recorded Q3 favorable prior year reserve development, net of reinsurance and prior year premiums, of $210 million.

“Our continued attention to underwriting excellence and portfolio optimization has manifested in outstanding results for General Insurance,” said CEO Peter Zaffino in a statement. He called growth in AIG’s portfolio “impressive,” as Q3 net premiums written increased 9 percent on a comparable basis, with 16 percent growth in personal insurance and 6 percent growth in commercial lines. Zaffino said commercial pricing in North America, excluding workers compensation, increased 9 percent, and global commercial pricing increased 8 percent, also excluding workers comp.

On Nov. 1, AIG closed on the sale of Validus Re to RenaissanceRe. In July AIG closed the sale of Crop Risk Services (CRS) to American Financial Group for a pretax gain of $126 million. CRS results were not included in AIG’s Q3 earnings.