Nov 5 (Reuters) - Insurer Assurant reported a better-than-expected third-quarter profit on Tuesday, driven by growth in its global housing segment and higher investment returns.

The company's global housing unit, which offers lender-placed homeowners, manufactured housing and flood insurance, posted net earned premiums, fees and other income of $603.8 million, a 9% jump from the previous year.

The unit benefited from strong performance in its homeowners' business, thanks to growth in policies in-force and higher average premiums, the company said.

Assurant's net investment income jumped to $129.7 million in the quarter ended Sept. 30 — from $125.5 million a year earlier.

Risk-averse insurers allocate a major chunk of their investment portfolio to bonds, which return better yields in a high interest rate environment.

The New York-based insurer now expects annual adjusted earnings per share, excluding reportable catastrophes, to increase in the mid- to high-teens range.

The insurance sector at large has benefited from growing hopes of a soft landing for the economy and a strong labor market, which has revived spending on insurance policies.

On an adjusted basis, Assurant earned $3.00 per share, beating Wall Street expectations of $2.52 per share, according to estimates compiled by LSEG.

Shares of the company have risen 14.6% so far this year, underperforming a 21.2% gain in the benchmark S&P 500 index.

(Reporting by Atharva Singh; editing by Alan Barona)

((mailto:Atharva.Singh@thomsonreuters.com))