UPDATE 1-Property & casualty insurers report strong Q4 profits

* SIGI Q4 oper. EPS $0.47 vs est $0.37

* SIGI investment income up 2-fold

* THG Q4 profit up 68 pct

Feb 3 (Reuters) - Property and casualty insurer Selective Insurance Group Inc (SIGI.O) reported quarterly profit above Wall Street estimates on increased net investment income.

Net income for the fourth quarter was $20.6 million, or 38 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $14.4 million, or 28 cents, a year ago.

Operating earnings, which excludes any investment gains and losses, was 47 cents a share.

Analysts expected the company to earn 37 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Net investment income earned rose more than two-fold to $39.8 million.

Separately, rival Hanover Insurance Group (THG.N) reported a 68 percent rise in quarterly profit, helped by investment gains.

The company's fourth-quarter net income came in at $57.3 million, or $1.14 a share, compared with $34.1 million, or 66 cents a share, in the year-ago period.

Shares of Selective Insurance closed at $15.15 on Nasdaq Wednesday, while those of Hanover closed at $42.05 on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Sweta Singh in Bangalore; Editing by Unnikrishnan Nair)