UPDATE 1-Assurant Q2 profit beats Wall Street view

* Q2 EPS $1.35 vs est $1.17

* Specialty property segment boosts Q2

July 28 (Reuters) - U.S. specialty insurer Assurant Inc (AIZ.N) reported quarterly profit above Wall Street estimates, helped by strong performance at its specialty property segment.

For the second quarter, net income was $164.7 million, or $1.46 a share, compared with $193.3 million, or $1.63 a share, in the year ago period.

Operating profit -- a key measure of profitability for insurance companies -- was $1.35 a share.

Analysts were looking at earnings of $1.17 a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Assurant Specialty Property reported net operating income of $103.7 million, an increase of 14 percent from the year-ago period.

Shares of the New York-based company closed at $36.48 in regular session on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Sweta Singh in Bangalore; Editing by Aradhana Aravindan)