Commissioner Linda Kaiser, to task for her handling of the restructuring of a Cigna Corp. unit.

Jim Corcoran, himself a former New York State Superintendant of Insurance, led the reshaping of the state's legislative and administrative response to changing financial markets and the commercial liability and medical malpractice insurance crisis during his term.

Considered one of the foremost insurance law practitioners in the US, practising as a New York partner at Cadwalader, Wickersham and Taft, Mr.

Corcoran was speaking at the International Reinsurance Congress at the Princess Hotel yesterday.

He complained that insurance regulators can confuse their role when dealing with some of the issues of the day.

His discussion of Cigna revolves around the controversial restructuring of its subsidiary, Insurance Company of the North America (INA), which split into two insurance corporations, one an active company, the other an inactive company.

Commissioner Kaiser approved the restructuring over the objections of CIGNA competitors. A Commonwealth of Pennsylvania court was due to decide the appeal.

Mr. Corcoran expressed reservations about the development of the Cigna restructuring before noting: "The Commissioner stated, and I've never seen this in any other decision by any other regulator, that there was enough assets to pay all the liabilities.

"It is not necessary for a commissioner to say that, but just to say the company is solvent and meets the (statutory) requirements.

"To make the bold statement that this entity can fit all the liabilities is unprecedented.'' He said that the commissioner making a finding of fact that any entity can meet all of its obligations is unprecedented. And his concern about the issue of policyholder rights, he said, could lead to difficulties for the future.

DAVID FOX