Aon Corp.'s (AOC) third-quarter earnings rose 3% on prior-year losses from discontinued operations as the insurance brokerage posted results slightly below expectations.

The industry is grappling with how to price policies low enough to attract customers less worried about risk as catastrophes continue to run below long-term averages. That has led to price wars, which have weighed on the bottom line. In addition, Aon has been overhauling its operations for more than a year.

Tuesday, rival insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (AJG) posted profit growth but warned about continually soft insurance rates challenging continued growth.

Aon posted a profit of $120 million, or 41 cents a share, up from $117 million, or 40 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding items such as restructuring charges, earnings from continuing operations fell to 65 cents from 69 cents.

Revenue decreased 2.1% to $1.81 billion as investment income plunged 69% to $28 million.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters predicted earnings of 66 cents a share on $1.85 billion in revenue.

Organic revenue, a closely watched indicator that excludes recent acquisitions and divestitures as well as currency fluctuations, fell 3%.

Aon's largest segment, risk and insurance brokerage services, saw organic revenue fall 3% and pretax profit dropped 2%. The consulting unit's organic revenue decreased 5% as pretax profit fell 9% excluding charges.

Aon shares closed Thursday at $41.19 and weren't active premarket. The stock is down 10% so far this year.

-By Joan E. Solsman, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2291; joan.solsman@dowjones.com