American International Group Inc. extended by almost three years a plan designed to protect the value of deferred tax assets that limit payments to the government that bailed out the insurer.

The amended plan expires in January of 2017, New York-based AIG said today in a statement distributed by Business Wire. The plan was initiated in 2011 ahead of share sales by the U.S. Treasury Department and was designed to limit the chance of an investor becoming a 5 percent shareholder. Such a stake could help trigger a so-called “ownership change” threatening the use of the tax assets, according to the statement.

“There is no guarantee, however, that the plan will prevent AIG from experiencing an ownership change,” AIG said.

The insurer has been working to bolster profit after repaying the rescue in 2012. Chief Financial Officer David Herzog said Nov. 1 that “we are not paying U.S. taxes,” given benefits tied to operating losses in prior periods.

Editor: Dan Kraut