One of the most common reasons people buy life insurance is for income replacement.  PacLife has a handy insurance calculator that you can use as a guide http://www.pacificlife.com/Channel/Educational+Information/Calculators/How+much+life+insurance+do+I+need.htm

Analysts and industry observers said it’s hard to predict whether the company will be sold, hold out long enough to slowly rebuild sales or just wind down its business and eventually disappear.  See the rest of Diane Levick’s article in The Hartford Courant here  http://www.courant.com/business/hc-phoenixtrouble.artmar11,0,5088052.story

It will be interesting to see which companies will still be in business a year from now.  I suspect there will be quite a few changes.  It is important to check an insurer’s ratings with Standard and Poor’s, Moody’s, AM Best, Comdex and Fitch.  You can email info@insuranceglobe.net for a free ratings report.