CLARKONOMICS: Worried about your life insurer? Unlike banks, life insurers are not regulated on the federal level. Rather, there are state guarantee associations that serve as the only line of defense if an insurer goes bust.

But waiting to get your money from a state guarantee association can be a very long process. Contrast that with the FDIC approach: If a bank goes bust today, you get your insured money tomorrow.

When you're vetting potential life insurers, be sure to check AMBest.com for an assessment of their financial ratings. (Free registration is required). Look for those insurers with A++ ratings; anything less than A+ is unacceptable.

If you're changing insurers, do not cancel your existing policy until you pass the medical underwriting for the new policy.

If you are in a whole life policy (sometimes referred to as "permanent insurance") with a substandard company, you can borrow out the cash value and use those proceeds to buy a term policy from a strong company.

One word about variable annuities: Even if the insurer goes bust, the individual contracts should be OK because each contract is a series of holdings of stocks or bonds. And in most states you are covered for about $100,000 in the event an insurer fails.

The biggest risk is fixed annuities where they promise to pay you a set amount of money for a set period of time. If your insurer goes insolvent, that promise won't be kept.

But don't just bail on your annuities unless your insurer is tragically on the ropes. Many annuities have massive fees for early surrender, which is usually considered before 7 or 10 years.