Life insurance firms in the US will soon benefit from the government’s $700 billion (£477bn) financial industry rescue programme, it has been reported.

The news, according to reports, has led to a surge in the shares of the companies although the government has made it clear that not all of them will be eligible for help.

Only life insurers that own banks or saving and loans qualify for the assistance and that new programmes for the industry were not being organized.

The country’s two largest life insurance firms, Hartford and Lincoln National Corp, as well as several others applied last fall to become holding companies.

Their applications were approved earlier this year.

In January Hartford reportedly said it was expecting to be eligible for between $1.1 billion (£750,207m) and $3.4 billion (£2.3bn) in bailout money.

Referred to as the Troubled Asset Relief Program or TARP, the bailout fund was approved last year by the Congress.

It was intended to help banks survive the credit crunch, though it has also been used to make loans to auto companies and insurance giant American International Group Inc.