HOUSTON (AP) -- With unexpectedly large numbers of women rejecting a $4.25 billion breast implant settlement, a federal judge has told the parties to negotiate a new deal or risk losing the current one.

And ACE Ltd., a Bermuda-based excess liability company facing possible exposure in the breast implant fall out, said yesterday that they would continue to keep an eye on the legal developments.

US District Judge Sam Pointer of Birmingham, Alabama, who approved the original deal last year involving a half-dozen major implant makers, set an August 30 deadline to develop at least an outline of a reworked plan.

If not, he said, he will decide whether to allow more women to leave the deal or "indeed if the settlement should go forward at all''.

Pointer's order was made privately to the parties before being made public on the claims office's recorded telephone hotline several days later.

The settlement is the largest single product liability agreement in US history, designed to compensate thousands of women who said they got a variety of diseases or other afflictions when their breast implants broke or became damaged.

Critics have said the $4.25 billion is woefully insufficient to pay all claims.

ACE Ltd. chairman, president and CEO, Mr. Brian Duperreault, said yesterday,"We feel that we are adequately reserved and we will continue to monitor developments.'' Meanwhile, the deal includes provisions for women to opt out and pursue separate lawsuits if their payments in the settlement are reduced because of a shortage of cash.

About 280,000 women worldwide registered to participate; more than 11,300 others have opted out. Large manufacturers, including Dow Corning and Bristol-Myers Squibb, said far more have opted out than they expected and they have set aside millions to pay for outside cases.

Despite the new deadline, implant manufacturers appeared no closer to increasing their own contributions to the fund, which could be in danger of collapsing without more money.

Dow Corning said it was committed to the $2 billion it already has pledged and no more. "It's a number that is workable with Dow Corning and we've said all along that is the maximum that we can contribute,'' said spokeswoman Barb Muessig.

Bristol-Myers Squibb also is standing by its promised $1.15 billion.

But Richard Rosenthal, executive director of the office of National Plaintiffs Liason Counsel in Birmingham, said yesterday he remained hopeful a reworked pact would "be to the satisfaction of the women.'' Some attorneys have said $24 billion would be needed to pay women what they were promised in a first round of payments that had been expected to cost just $1.2 billion.

That means women who were expecting net payments ranging from $105,000 to $1.4 million could receive as little as $5,250 to $70,000 ACE CEO -- Mr. Brian Dupperreault