"The strong profitability is the result of several years of rate increases combined with stricter underwriting standards," said Melissa Gannon, vice president of Weiss, in a statement.

"There is a sense that the industry is trying to level out the swings in the business cycle by maintaining tighter underwriting standards going forward, rather than returning to the lax standards of the soft market. If this continues, premium rates should level off or even decline," said Ms. Gannon.

Among some of the top performers, Weiss said, were Hartford Fire Insurance Co., based in Hartford, Conn., which saw a first-quarter gain of $1.05 billion; State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company in Bloomington, Ill., which gained $967 million; and Allstate Insurance Company of Northbrook, Ill, which gained $341 million.

The p-c industry also saw a 182 percent increase on net realized capital gain, earning $3.2 billion on the sale of investments in the quarter compared to $1.1 billion last year.

Weiss said the market performance, coupled with the underwriting results, meant earnings of $13.6 billion?a $6.5 billion, or 92 percent, jump over last year's $7.1 billion.