(MONEY Magazine) – Your April Newsline report ''Putting the Large Insurers to the Test'' fails its own test -- that of accurate reporting. The report's centerpiece, a table, shows the New England as one of five insurers that ''flunk'' ratings criteria developed by Joseph Belth, which MONEY labels a ''safety test.'' Worse, the table's pass-fail structure lumps those that miss by a whisker with those that miss by a mile. The latter include Mutual Benefit Life, a company under state supervision. The text states the other four are healthy, but that's not enough to counteract the table, which clearly implies otherwise and overpowers the text. The reality is that the New England is among the country's strongest life insurance companies. Robert A. Shafto President and chief executive officer The New England

We stand by our story and the table that accompanied it, as printed.