The U.S. Treasury Department plans to extend the Troubled Asset Relief Program to certain life insurers, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The Treasury is expected to announce within the next several days the inclusion of life insurers that are bank holding companies or own a thrift, the Journal reported on its website.

Several life insurers have applied, including Prudential Financial Inc, Hartford Financial Services Group Inc and Lincoln National Corp, the Journal reported.

No decisions have been made yet about which applications will be approved, sources told the Journal.

Sources told Reuters in February that the Treasury was likely to approve insurers for TARP funds.

In recent months, some insurance companies have received approval to acquire banks, paving the way for them to participate in the government's $250 billion capital injection program, which is part of the larger bailout fund.

In January, bank regulators approved applications from Hartford and Lincoln to become savings and loan holding companies, which is needed for them to be considered for federal funds.

Representatives from Hartford, Prudential and Lincoln were not immediately available for comment.

(Reporting by Anupreeta Das; Editing by Carol Bishopric)