The Treasury Department recently announced that it has decided to extend federal bailout eligibility to struggling life insurance companies. Treasury officials are reviewing applications from about a dozen large insurance companies seeking a share of what is left of the Trouble Asset Relief Program (TARP) after the financial and auto industry bailouts. The insurance companies play an important part in US finance and their collapse poses a huge risk to the financial system. The life insurance industry is one of the largest investors in the corporate bond market, holding approximately 18 percent of all US corporate bonds. They also have large stakes in commercial real estate and government bonds. Some of the companies expected to benefit from this bailout include Hartford Financial Services Group (HIG), Lincoln National Corporation (LNC), Prudential Financial (PRU) and MetLife (MET). Hartford Financial Services Group (HIG) is one of the largest investment and insurance companies in...