What Type of Life Insurance Policy Can I Sell? The Complete Guide for Seniors
One of the most common misconceptions in the life settlement space is that only certain types of life insurance policies qualify for sale on the secondary market. Seniors with term policies are frequently told their coverage has no value outside of surrendering it. Seniors with universal life policies are told their policy is ideal — without understanding what actually drives buyer interest. The reality is more nuanced and more favorable than most seniors realize. Universal life, whole life, and convertible term policies are consistently the strongest life settlement candidates. But non-convertible term policies — the type most commonly dismissed as unsellable — qualify far more often than the industry acknowledges. Backed by over 25 years of secondary market experience and an A+ Better Business Bureau rating Life Policy Solutions evaluates every policy type with the same commitment — honest accurate assessment based on real current market conditions.
The Policy Types Life Policy Solutions Works With
Understanding how different policy types are treated in the secondary market is the foundation of any accurate life settlement evaluation. Here is an honest assessment of each major policy type and what seniors can realistically expect.
Universal Life Insurance — The Strongest Life Settlement Candidate
Universal life insurance — including guaranteed universal life and indexed universal life — is consistently the most actively transacted policy type in the life settlement secondary market.
The reasons institutional buyers favor universal life policies are straightforward. Universal life policies are permanent — they do not expire at the end of a term period. The death benefit is guaranteed as long as premiums are maintained. And the flexible premium structure of most universal life policies allows buyers to model their ongoing cost of maintaining the policy with greater precision than other policy types.
Guaranteed universal life policies — which lock in both the death benefit and the premium cost for the life of the insured — are particularly attractive to institutional buyers because the cost certainty eliminates a major variable in their investment modeling.
For seniors with universal life policies the secondary market represents a genuine opportunity to convert decades of premium payments into immediate cash — often dramatically more than the policy’s cash surrender value through a competitive broker auction.
Whole Life Insurance — A Consistently Strong Candidate
Whole life insurance is the original permanent life insurance product — a policy that builds cash value over time while maintaining a guaranteed death benefit for the life of the insured.
Institutional buyers consistently show strong interest in whole life policies for the same reasons they favor universal life — permanence, guaranteed death benefit, and predictable ongoing costs. The guaranteed premium structure of most whole life policies makes cost modeling straightforward for buyers — which translates directly into more competitive bidding and stronger offers.
Seniors with whole life policies who are paying premiums they no longer need or can no longer comfortably afford are among the most natural life settlement candidates. The combination of guaranteed permanence and accumulated cash value makes these policies attractive to the secondary market — and Life Policy Solutions consistently produces offers that far exceed what a direct surrender to the insurance company would produce.
Convertible Term Life Insurance — A Strong Secondary Market Asset
Term life insurance policies that include a conversion option — the right to convert the term coverage to a permanent policy without evidence of insurability — occupy a uniquely valuable position in the secondary market.
The conversion option transforms a policy that would otherwise expire at the end of its term into a permanent asset that buyers can model as a long-term investment. When Life Policy Solutions brings a convertible term policy to the secondary market the conversion option significantly expands the pool of interested buyers and the competitiveness of the resulting auction.
Two important factors determine how much value a convertible term policy carries into the secondary market. First — how much of the conversion window remains. A policy with significant conversion time remaining is a stronger asset than one approaching the end of its conversion period. Second — the insured’s age and health. A convertible term policy held by a senior with meaningful health changes since the policy was originally issued is often one of the most attractive assets in the secondary market.
Seniors with convertible term policies who are approaching the end of their conversion window should contact Life Policy Solutions immediately. Once the conversion window closes the policy’s secondary market value changes significantly.
Non-Convertible Term Life Insurance — The Most Misunderstood Policy Type
Non-convertible term life insurance is the policy type most frequently and incorrectly dismissed as having no secondary market value. Insurance companies will tell seniors that a term policy with no cash value and no conversion option is worthless outside of its death benefit coverage. That assessment is often wrong.
Term life insurance policies are actually one of the most common policy types processed by Life Policy Solutions. The secondary market for non-convertible term policies exists — but it operates under more specific conditions than the market for permanent policies. Understanding those conditions is what separates a productive evaluation from an inaccurate self-disqualification.
A non-convertible term policy has secondary market value when the right combination of factors aligns:
- Sufficient remaining term: Buyers need enough time remaining on the policy to justify the premium investment required to maintain it. A policy with 15 or more years remaining on its term is a meaningfully different asset than one with 3 years remaining.
- Adequate death benefit: The death benefit must be large enough to justify buyer interest given the ongoing premium costs. Policies with $250,000 or more in death benefit consistently attract stronger buyer interest than smaller policies.
- Insured age and health: Older age and meaningful health changes since the policy was originally issued increase buyer interest significantly — because buyers factor life expectancy directly into their valuation models.
- Premium efficiency: The annual premium cost relative to the death benefit is one of the most important variables buyers consider. A policy with low premiums relative to a large death benefit is significantly more attractive than one with high premiums eating into the investment return.
No non-convertible term policy should be dismissed as unsellable without evaluation. Life Policy Solutions has successfully placed non-convertible term policies that other companies declined to bring to market — because the combination of factors aligned favorably when evaluated by an experienced broker with deep institutional buyer relationships.
Policy Types That Face Significant Challenges
Honesty requires acknowledging that not every policy type is a strong secondary market candidate. Life Policy Solutions will always tell seniors the truth — even when that truth is that their specific policy faces significant market challenges.
Group life insurance policies: Employer-provided group life insurance policies are owned by the group — not the individual policyholder. Because the individual does not own the policy it generally cannot be sold as a life settlement regardless of the insured’s age, health, or the policy’s face amount. However group policies frequently contain accelerated death benefit riders or terminal illness riders that may allow the insured to access a portion of the death benefit directly through the insurance company. Life Policy Solutions will always review group policies for these riders and guide seniors through the process of accessing any available benefits — even when a life settlement is not possible.
Thrivent policies: Thrivent Financial is a faith-based insurance organization whose policies contain specific ownership and transfer restrictions that frequently prevent life settlement transactions. Seniors with Thrivent policies should contact Life Policy Solutions for an honest evaluation of their specific situation — but should be aware that these policies face more structural challenges than standard carrier policies.
Very small policies: Policies with death benefits below $100,000 face significant market challenges in today’s secondary market. Buyer interest at that face amount is limited and competitive bidding is difficult to generate. Life Policy Solutions will always attempt to evaluate and place every policy — but will give seniors an honest assessment of the realistic market prospects for smaller policies rather than raising expectations that the market is unlikely to meet.
The Most Important Step Before Contacting Life Policy Solutions
Regardless of policy type the single most impactful step a senior can take before their first Life Policy Solutions conversation is to request a premium illustration showing premiums to maturity from their insurance company.
This document — which every insurance carrier is required to provide upon request — shows the exact premium obligations for the remaining life of the policy broken down year by year. It is one of the most critical tools Life Policy Solutions uses to evaluate any policy’s secondary market viability — because institutional buyers factor the ongoing premium cost directly into their offer calculations.
A senior who brings this document to their first Life Policy Solutions conversation enables a significantly more accurate initial evaluation and compresses the timeline to market considerably.
Frequently Asked Questions About Life Insurance Policy Types
Yes — in many cases. Term life insurance policies are one of the most common policy types processed by Life Policy Solutions. Convertible term policies — those with the option to convert to permanent coverage — are particularly strong secondary market candidates. Non-convertible term policies qualify when the right combination of remaining term length, death benefit size, insured age, health status, and premium efficiency aligns favorably. No term policy should be dismissed as unsellable without a full evaluation by Life Policy Solutions. Contact us at cashoutlifeinsurance.com or 1-844-440-7355 for a free no-obligation assessment of your specific term policy.
Yes. Universal life insurance — including guaranteed universal life and indexed universal life — is consistently the most actively transacted policy type in the life settlement secondary market. The permanent death benefit, flexible premium structure, and cost modeling precision that universal life policies provide make them highly attractive to institutional buyers. Seniors with universal life policies they no longer need or can no longer comfortably afford are among the strongest life settlement candidates. Contact Life Policy Solutions at 1-844-440-7355 for a free evaluation.
Generally no. Employer-provided group life insurance policies are owned by the group — not the individual — and generally cannot be sold as a life settlement. However many group policies contain accelerated death benefit riders or terminal illness riders that may allow the insured to access a portion of the death benefit directly through the insurance company. Life Policy Solutions will always review group policies for these riders and guide seniors through accessing any available benefits — even when a life settlement is not possible. Contact Life Policy Solutions at cashoutlifeinsurance.com to discuss your specific group policy situation.
Life Policy Solutions works with policies starting at $100,000 in death benefit — though policies at that level face more challenging market conditions in today's secondary market. The realistic sweet spot for strong buyer competition and meaningful offer percentages is $250,000 or more in death benefit. There is no upper ceiling — Life Policy Solutions works with policies of any size. Regardless of policy size every situation deserves evaluation before any decision is made. Contact Life Policy Solutions at cashoutlifeinsurance.com or 1-844-440-7355 for a free honest assessment of your specific policy.
Your insurance company will not offer you a life settlement. They will offer surrender value — typically a fraction of what the secondary market would competitively produce — or information about whether your policy has a conversion option. An insurance company has no financial incentive to direct you toward the secondary market where your policy could produce 4 to 8 times the surrender value. Life Policy Solutions is an independent broker whose sole obligation is to you — the seller. We will give you an honest assessment of your policy's secondary market potential and bring it to a competitive institutional auction if the evaluation supports it. Contact Life Policy Solutions first — before making any decision about your policy.