An insurance executive yesterday settled allegations that he traded on inside information about the leveraged buyout of the General Instrument Corporation.

It trails only the General Instrument Corporation.

He has been vice president for operations of Microchip, a privately held company that was spun off by the General Instrument Corporation in September 1987.

After his retirement, he became a full-time consultant for the General Instrument Corporation, helping in setting up a division on compound semiconductors.

Next Level, which supplies cable and satellite television equipment, is owned by the General Instrument Corporation.

He was chairman and chief executive of the General Instrument Corporation, which merged with Motorola in January 2000.

Before arriving at Monsanto, though, he was general counsel for the General Instrument Corporation, under his father, who was the chief executive.

"This is very positive," said Bob Rast, vice president of technical business development for the General Instrument Corporation.

The General Instrument Corporation said then that it could broadcast high-definition television entirely in the "ones" and "zeroes" of computer code.

The 1990 deal to buy the giant General Instrument Corporation, a maker of cable television equipment, was also lucrative.