Department of Insurance for making "unsubstantiated allegations'' about his firm's business practices in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew.

Mr. M. R. Greenberg is furious that the state's insurance commissioner froze AIG's rates and premiums for 60 days because the firm allegedly used Andrew as an opportunity to raise rates.

The commissioner had been handed an internal AIG memorandum quoting an officer as saying: "Begin calling you underwriters together. This is an opportunity to get price increases now.'' AIG, which used to be based in Bermuda and still employs over 100 people on the Island, denied it acted wrongly.

Mr. Greenberg said: "The order and accompanying statement issued by the Florida Department of Insurance make a number of allegations against AIG that are not in accordance with the facts and are damaging to our company.

He said the order was based on a "misunderstanding of AIG's intentions'' and painted a "grossly distorted picture''.

"At this time, we will not undertake a point-by-point rebuttal of the charges and allegations contained in the order. The proper place for this will be the hearing.

"It bears repeating, however, that commercial and industrial insurance rates have been inadequate for some time. This is not a new phenomenon, and is not related to any specific disaster such as Hurricane Andrew.

"It is unfortunate and unfair that an internal memorandum, taken completely out of context, should form the basis for such a legal order or otherwise be used to imply that AIG intends to take certain actions to take advantage of Hurricane Andrew. This is pure speculation.'' Mr. Greenberg said AIG, with the rest of the insurance industry, had responded promptly to Hurricane Andrew and were paying claims as quickly as possible.

He ended his statement by saying: "We at AIG are as appalled and shocked by the devastation of Andrew's aftermath as are all Americans. The enormous extent of the suffering in Florida and Louisiana is hard to comprehend.''