WASHINGTON, Jan 27 (Reuters) - A group of state insurance regulators voted on Tuesday to ask states to approve rule changes that advocates say would ease capital requirements for life insurers, giving the companies a boost at a time when credit is tight.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) voted to approve several measures first suggested by the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), a trade group, which would revamp life insurers' regulatory capital requirements to eliminate redundancies in reserve requirements.

A vote by the full NAIC is due to take place on Thursday.

The ACLI had wanted the changes to be implemented by the end of 2008. The changes could, based on ACLI's estimate, free up about $25 billion to $30 billion in capital, or up to 7 percent of life insurers total adjusted capital in 2007.

Pat Baird of the ACLI argued at an open meeting that without the changes, insurance companies would look weaker than they are because of tight credit.

"I can tell you that all companies are feeling the effects of this," he said. "The reality today is that capital market options have all be dried up."

Eric Dinallo, New York state's insurance superintendent, pushed Baird on which of the companies wanted the eased rules and worried aloud that it would look bad to approve the changes at a time when there is a push toward tighter financial regulation.

"Who's actually asking for this relief then? There's no company that is willing to sit ... and say, 'Yeah, it's me, I need the penicillin,'" he said.

"We're here for relief for all companies," responded Baird.

Dinallo also pressed Prudential Financial's (PRU.N) Maureen Emmert Adolf, asking her if her company needed the help.

"The need is to enable us to more effectively use capital that we have, that we currently can't use, that would be freed up," she responded.

U.S. insurance regulation is currently done on a state-by-state basis, although some insurers have been pressing for a federal charter and some experts think the U.S. government will at least monitor systemic risk among insurers in conjunction with risk at other financial services firms. (Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)