Insurer Beazley's first half boosted by investment returns

July 22 (Reuters) - Lloyd's of London insurer Beazley Plc (Other OTC: BEAZF - news) posted a 61 percent rise in first-half profit, thanks to a surge in investment income and a drop in catastrophe payouts.

Beazley, which writes marine, casualty and property cover, reported a pretax profit of $132.9 million for the first-half ended June 30, up from $82.3 million a year earlier.

Investment returns rose to $46.8 million, from just $300,000 a year earlier. (Reporting by Richa Naidu in Bangalore; Editing by Ted Kerr)