the most important thing about the company that you are buying life insurance from is its financial stability -- if the company goes bankrupt, you will not receive the benefit that you (or your family) expected.
fortunately, life insurance companies are very heavily regulated to ensure that consumers are protected against this.
All life insurance companies will be rated; I forget the exact ratings, but it'd be like "triple A" or something. I'd seek out this rating system. Ask the life insurance company rep; they will know, if they don't, that's a great indicator that your rep is not knowledgeable. Probably all of the best known companies will be highly rated, but you may find some companies that you've never heard of, that seem to offer good prices, that may be very highly rated too. Suggest you check your state's department of insurance -- every state has one and they'll have good info on your in-state companies.
Depending on the amount of the policy, you will likely need to have blood/urine sample done fyi -- for "have you ever smoked", they'll do a cheek swab and can detect any tobacco use in the past 3 months or so -- no cigars for this time period!