UPDATE 1-Sampo posts weaker-than-expected profit due to claims

(Adds analyst comment, share reaction, detail)

* Sampo Q3 pretax profit 368 mln euros vs 384 mln in poll

* Shares down 3.4 pct

By Jussi Rosendahl

HELSINKI, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Nordic insurer Sampo reported a smaller-than-expected rise in its quarterly profit, weighed down by higher claims at its property and casualty insurance business.

Sampo's July-September profit before taxes rose to 368 million euros ($468 million). That missed the market's forecast for 384 million in a Reuters poll, while more than doubling from a year earlier when it was hit by investment write-downs and weakness at Nordea, of which it owns a fifth.

The group's property and casualty insurance arm If, a market leader in the Nordic region, reported a quarterly combined ratio - a measure of profitability - of 89.3 percent, weaker than analysts expected.

Shares in the company fell 3.4 percent to 23.63 euros by 0911 GMT.

"When taking into account that rival P&C insurers beat forecasts with their results, the market expected more from Sampo," said analyst Antti Saari from Pohjola Markets.

If's biggest rival, Denmark's Tryg had a stronger combined ratio of 87.7 percent thanks to fewer considerable-sized claims than a year earlier.

Sampo said it expected If's combined ratio to be around 89-91 per cent for the full year, in line with analysts' expectations. ($1 = 0.7857 euros) (Reporting By Jussi Rosendahl; Editing by Ritsuko Ando)