Until Tuesday, American International Group Inc. had been among companies at the top of their list.

But as word spread that the federal government was committing $85 billion to bail out the New York insurance giant, the Einhorns and others who sell insurance found themselves tending to worries about the very products they had sold to ease them.

In the last two days, 14 clients have called the Einhorns about AIG.

One called to say he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and wondered whether his AIG long-term-care policy would still pay for any nursing care he might need. Another had just bought a $1.5 million AIG life insurance policy and wanted to know whether he should pay his premium.

For now, the Einhorns, who work in the Langhorne office of Arbor Associates, are answering with a cautious "Yes" to these and other questions.

"In the long run, we're not concerned," Jules Einhorn said, "but in the short run, we are doing everything we can to get answers for our clients."

For one, problems at AIG have so far been identified only at its parent company. It has said its insurance operations have enough capital and will be able to meet obligations to policyholders.

For another, individual states provide some backup when an insurer fails. In Pennsylvania, the state guarantees up to $300,000 worth of life insurance claims after any deductible. In New Jersey, it's $500,000.

"So far, everyone is willing to sit tight, and at some point, we'll evaluate whether it makes sense to make any changes," Carol Einhorn said.

Some clients have asked whether they should switch insurers. The Einhorns say that's not a simple decision.

An example: A 60-year-old man bought an AIG life insurance policy nine years ago. His current premium is about $200 a month. The same policy for that client would cost $550 to $700 a month now, Einhorn said. Rates have risen, and the client is older.

The price could climb higher if the medical exam required for a new policy discovered health problems. An exam could determine that a customer was not insurable at all.

"One thing I don't want to do is leave a customer in the lurch," Jules Einhorn said. "The last thing I want to see happen is, if their death were to occur, that they'd be insured with no one."

Olivia Mitchell, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, said she believed that problems such as AIG's were unlikely to hit other insurers, because the industry has been profitable and other companies don't seem to have gotten into the type of business that toppled AIG.

Even if the Einhorns could find new insurance at a similar price, they have been re-evaluating how to judge insurance companies. They had always relied on ratings agencies such as Moody's, A.M. Best and Fitch to identify which insurers were financially sound. "We're brokers," Jules Einhorn said, "and our reputation is to try to do the right thing and be honest. We always told clients not to go with an A- or a B company, go with the best."

But the AIG policies the Einhorns sold came with A ratings or higher, and now the couple has doubts about the quality and reliability of the ratings agencies.

"This is very disturbing to us as well," Carol Einhorn said. "Now, when people ask me, 'What company should I go with?' I have to say to them that I don't know, because how can you trust the ratings anymore?"

Ratings agencies have come under broad attack for awarding high ratings to packages of home loans sold as securities that experienced high defaults and led to the current meltdown. Many critics say the ratings system doesn't work because agencies such as Moody's are paid by the company seeking the rating, creating a conflict of interest.

So the Einhorns, who met as teenagers at camp and have a combined 58 years' experience in the insurance industry, are scrambling to find answers. Their calls to AIG have at times resulted in long waits on the phone.

On Wednesday, Carol Einhorn sent a letter to clients offering reassurance and urging them to contact her with concerns.

One customer, at least, had an easy question: Should I be concerned about my AIG annuity? The answer was no. His annuity, it turned out, was through ING.