Insurers taking TARP funds face same restrictions that drove away banks

The six insurance companies cleared by the Treasury Department last week to receive balance-sheet-bolstering capital injections from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) face a dilemma: The money could help them weather the investment losses sapping their strength but, as banks have found, it comes with strings attached.

"They may get the money, but there will be a lot of things coming with it," said Jerry Blanchard, a partner in the financial institutions practice at law firm Bryan Cave LLP. "The conditions coming down the road may be out of proportion with what they're getting."