Health insurance is also a problem
I have had no problems with life insurance but the big gotcha with this is health insurance whilst abroad in a country such as the USA which has no universal health service. Bear in mind the single biggest cause of bankruptcies in the US (may be different now in view of the banking crisis but this used to be true) is affording health care. When I went to the USA as many people do to enjoy cheap flying, I was totally unable to find anyone to insure me - private flying counts as an extremely dangerous activity even though many more folk are killed and injured skiing than aviating. I took a chance on the insurance (OK, the gamble paid off as I am still here) but in retrospect this was extremely foolish, and if I had had even a minor accident resulting in injury I would still be paying off the costs of treatment.
There was also an article recently in one of the flying magazines that claimed many flying schools/rental outfits insurance excludes foreign nationals from benefit. So read the small print carefully.