NEW YORK—Regulators and industry officials trying to revive the New York Insurance Exchange may seek a lower federal corporate tax to enhance its appeal, Insurance Superintendent James J. Wrynn said Thursday.

Speaking at a membership meeting of the Assn. of Insurance & Reinsurance Run-Off Cos. in Manhattan, Mr. Wrynn said he does not want the proposed exchange to be tax-driven.

“I want it to provide a real benefit to the industry from a business point of view,” Mr. Wrynn said. “With that said, (competitive tax treatment) is something we're definitely exploring.”

The department has established working groups composed primarily of industry officials to discuss how a revived exchange would operate. The working group on taxes held its first meeting Thursday.

If the working group on taxes recommends it, the department would consider seeking a federal corporate tax rate as low as 20%. If the New York Insurance Exchange re-opened today, members would pay a corporate tax rate of about 35%, depending on income, deductions and other factors. London's corporate tax rate is 28% but could decrease to 20% depending on the results of elections this spring, said Mr. Wrynn, who added that Ireland's rate is 12.5% and Bermuda's is zero.

Mr. Wrynn said the department wants competitive tax treatment for the exchange, rather than tax advantages over other jurisdictions.

“We're not looking to try to get some tax relief at the federal level that will make it less attractive to go other places,” Mr. Wrynn said. “We're not looking to bring other jurisdictions down to build ourselves up.”

He reiterated his belief that a revived exchange in New York would not compete with Lloyd's of London and he said he hoped Lloyd's members would participate in the New York Insurance Exchange.

“I'd love Lloyd's to be able to use this, again to complement what they're doing—not compete with what they're doing,” Mr. Wrynn said. “I do get a sense from the industry there that they would be interested in a platform” in New York.

Mr. Wrynn also said that if the exchange lacks sufficient industry support, the department would drop the idea.

“As much as I'd like to see something come about as a result of all of our efforts, if in the end it turns out that there is no real need in the industry for this type of facility at this time, we're ready to fold up our tent and move on,” Mr. Wrynn said. “There are many, many other issues we have to deal with.”