WASHINGTON (Bloomberg) ? The Federal Bureau of Investigation has asked state insurance regulators for assistance in a probe of potential accounting fraud in the industry.

The FBI, which on Wednesday announced a broad investigation into insurance fraud, was set to meet today in New York with regulators including the New York Insurance Department and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, spokesmen for the regulators said.

The meeting underscores the increased scrutiny of the industry as American International Group Inc., the world's largest insurer, moves to correct improper accounting that overstated its net worth by $2.7 billion. At least 13 insurers have received subpoenas from New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and the Securities and Exchange Commission about non- traditional reinsurance that may be abused to hide losses.

"We understand the FBI is seeking to determine whether the accounting practices recently identified represent an industrywide concern," Diane Koken, president of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, said in a statement. The group unites individual state superintendents who have oversight of the industry. There is no federal regulator.

Scott Holeman, a spokesman for the association, and Michael Barry, a spokesman for the New York Insurance Department, declined to comment on today's meeting beyond confirming that representatives of their organisations were attending. Jim Margolin, a spokesman for FBI field office in NYC, said he couldn't immediately comment.