Zurich Insurance, rocked by the suicide of itsfinance chief less than three months ago, said on Thursday itwould miss a year-end profitability target in its largest unitGeneral Insurance.

Zurich's targets were at the heart of a disagreement between theinsurer's ex-chairman Josef Ackermann and Chief Financial OfficerPierre Wauthier, who sources said wrote about the friction in anote before taking his life in August.

Zurich said the unit, which includes property, car and othernon-life areas, would miss its goal of improving its combinedratio, a measure of profitability, by 3 to 4 percentage pointscompared with competitors.

“We have made significant progress in our underlying performancein General Insurance, yet this goal, very ambitious, (of achieving)an improvement relative to our peers … will be missed,” ChiefExecutive Martin Senn said on a call with journalists.

The unit's combined ratio improved to 94.7 percent in the thirdquarter, while German rival Allianz SE reported the measureimproved during the same period to 94.8 percent for property andcasualty insurance. The German insurer was more upbeat on itsgoals, saying last week it expected to beat its 2013 operatingprofit target.

Analysts at banking group J.Safra Sarasin said Zurich's 2013profitability goal in General Insurance had been clearly toooptimistic, given damage claims following severe weather, and hopednew targets set to be announced at Zurich's investor day on Dec. 5would be more realistic.

Senn said the insurer would also miss growth targets in its U.S.business Farmers, but it remained on track to achieve thethree-year targets it set in 2010 for Global Life and expensemanagement.

The insurer had flagged the likelihood it would miss the targetswith its second-quarter results in August, saying low interestrates were weighing on investment income.

ROBUST RESULTS

Though Zurich failed to deliver on some targets, it posted a 64percent jump in third-quarter net profit. The robust results helpedlift its shares after months of turbulence marked by the suicide ofWauthier and the subsequent resignation of Ackermann, which hadsent the stock to a nine-month low.

Zurich's shares rose 2.5 percent to a six-month high onThursday. The stock also outpaced a 2.3 percent rise in theEuropean sector.

“Overall (it was) a very solid set of numbers which will givethe market confidence that the tragic events of August are not aguide to the group financial performance,” analysts at JPMorgansaid in a note.

The results of an investigation into Wauthier's suicide,overseen by financial watchdog FINMA, showed the CFO did not comeunder undue pressure before his death, the insurer said earlierthis month, effectively clearing Ackermann of any blame.

Ackermann had himself rejected blame for what he termed asurprise tragedy.

Net profit rose to $1.103 billion, above the $1.048 billionforecast in a Reuters poll of analysts.

The prior-year period had seen Zurich take a $550 million hit toprofit after a review showed its German arm had not set enoughmoney aside to cover claims made years after policies expired.

An improved underwriting result and expense management helpedbusiness operating profit in General Insurance, compensating forreduced investment income and losses from natural catastrophes,including floods and hail in Europe, the firm said.

“After several quarters of poor results, Zurich is finallydelivering solid results with very solid capital position,” saidanalyst Atanasio Pantarrotas at brokerage Kepler Cheuvreux.