For the three months ended June 30, net income at the health and employee benefits insurer rose to $190 million, or $1.59 per share. That compares with $166.3 million, or $1.36 per share, in the year-ago period. The latest quarter included a gain of $26.6 million from the sale of an inactive subsidiary and investment losses of $22.4 million.

Operating income, which insurers emphasize because they say it better represents the health of an underwriter's business, rose 10 percent to $185.8 million, or $1.55 per share, coming below the average analyst estimate of $1.63 per share, according to Thomson Financial. Operating income totaled $168.3 million, or $1.37 per share, in the year-earlier quarter.

Net premiums rose 11 percent to $2 billion, boosted by sales in the company's specialty property unit. That division saw net operating income rise 45 percent to $131 million in the second quarter.