Insurance broker Aon quarterly profit rises on gains in investment income

(Reuters) - Aon reported a rise in its second-quarter adjusted profit on Friday, helped by gains in interest earned from investments as well as growth in its commercial risk solutions business.

Interest income rose more than six times to $31 million in the second quarter ended June 30, primarily driven by interest earned on the investment of $5 billion of term debt proceeds, which were used to fund the acquisition of middle-market insurance broker NFP, the company said.

The U.S. Federal Reserve's higher-for-longer interest rate environment has helped insurance companies rake in higher income on funds and investments. The resilient economy and growing optimism for a rate cut have also helped keep the demand for insurance services intact.

Aon, which generates revenue through insurance, risk management services, consulting and advisory, reported adjusted net income attributable to shareholders of $624 million, or $2.93 a share, compared with $570 million, or $2.76 a share, a year ago.

Revenue from the commercial risk solutions unit rose about 14% to $2.02 billion, helping its total revenue to rise 18% to $3.76 billion.

(Reporting by Jaiveer Singh Shekhawat in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)