UPDATE 1-Insurer Lancashire's profit dented by Europe disaster claims

(Corrects third paragraph to remove reference to Lloyd's of London)

* Third-quarter profit falls 67 pct

* Claims more than triple to $75.6 mln

* Net (Berlin: NETK.BE - news) written premiums rise 11 percent to $121.6 million

* Shares fall 3 pct; biggest percentage loser on FTSE-250 index

Nov 6 (Reuters) - Lancashire Holdings Ltd posted a 67 percent decline in third-quarter profit as the British property and casualty insurer recorded lower investment returns and took hefty losses from the hailstorms and floods that devastated parts of Europe in recent months.

Shares in London-listed Lancashire fell 3 percent to 793 pence on Wednesday morning, making the stock the biggest percentage loser on the FTSE-250 index.

The insurer, which writes policies for heavy-duty assets such as oil rigs, ships and aircraft, said on Wednesday that pricing remained under pressure and that market conditions for 2014 looked stable.

Pretax profit fell to $25.7 million in the three months ended Sept. 30 from $78 million a year earlier.

Quarterly claims more than tripled to $75.6 million.

Severe floods that inundated parts of central Europe in June are set to cost insurers between $3.5 billion to $4.5 billion, the world's second biggest reinsurer Swiss Re (Other OTC: SSREF - news) forecast in July.

Analysis from the reinsurance arm of broker Willis estimated that insurers would face paying out a similar amount again after areas of Germany and France were repeatedly pounded by grapefruit-sized hail stones over the summer.

However, Numis analyst Nick Johnson reiterated his "hold" rating on the company's stock, saying that the underlying trading environment and potential benefits from Lancashire's acquisition of Cathedral are set to drive returns in the medium term.

Lancashire said in August that it would buy privately owned Lloyd's of London insurer Cathedral Capital for 266 million pounds ($426.80 million). ($1 = 0.6233 British pounds) (Reporting by Richa Naidu in Bangalore; Editing by Supriya Kurane)