Hi Jill,
What I understand about the chances of dying from bronchiectasis from various comments here is that we are generally much, much more likely to die "with" the condition than die "of" the condition. Of course as we age we are likely to have other conditions too so the picture can be complicated. And BE needs to be well controlled by our daily airway clearance to minimize the risk of infection and the risk of progressive damage to the lungs. We don't have a statistical study of ourselves on this support group, but from what I can tell from those who post, there are some whose quality of life is severely impacted and many more who are leading a close -to- normal life by careful routine.
That's a long answer to a short question and I hope it can give you some ease of mind.