PEMBROKE, Bermuda—RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. reported Wednesday that it had $781.6 million in net income for the first nine months of 2009, up sharply from $63.3 million during the same period a year ago.

The Pembroke, Bermuda-based reinsurer also reported higher gross premiums written for the period of $1.65 billion compared with $1.57 billion during the same period a year ago.

RenaissanceRe said its combined ratio for the nine-month period fell to 47.6% from 92% a year earlier.

For the third quarter, RenaissanceRe posted net income of $306.8 million compared with a loss of $312.3 million in the third quarter of 2008.

Neill A. Currie, chief executive officer of RenaissanceRe, in a statement attributed the positive results to strong underwriting, better risk assessment, lack of insured catastrophes and improved investment markets.