If a life insurance policy in your family no longer has a job to do, price it as a sale before you cancel it — a qualifying policy often sells for several times its cash surrender value. A life settlement transfers the contract to an institutional buyer who takes over the premiums and later collects the death benefit; you receive cash now. Settlements commonly fall between roughly 10% and 35% of the face amount, and a 2010 U.S. Government Accountability Office review (GAO-10-775) found sellers received about four to eight times what surrendering would have paid.
Westmoreland County stretches east from Allegheny County through Murrysville and New Kensington to the county seat at Greensburg and out to Latrobe. It has one of the oldest median ages in Pennsylvania, the product of decades of population decline as young people left and the steel, coal and glass workforce stayed. A large share of households here include a retired industrial worker with a pension, retiree health coverage of some kind, and life insurance negotiated through a union contract.
That last item is where the useful questions are. This page explains what can and cannot be sold, how it interacts with Pennsylvania Medical Assistance, and what a free policy review actually involves. Pine Lake Life Solutions offers a free policy review — send the policy cover page or call (305) 209-7183.
In This Article
- An Old County with Old Contracts
- Union-Negotiated Life Benefits: What They Are and Are Not
- Pennsylvania Medical Assistance and Community HealthChoices
- Look-Back, Estate Recovery and Filial Support
- Care Costs in Western Pennsylvania (2026 Ballpark)
- Which Policies Are Worth Pricing
- The Review, the Timeline, and Vetting Whoever Calls You
- Frequently Asked Questions
An Old County with Old Contracts
Westmoreland County’s population has been shrinking for decades, and the people who stayed are, on average, considerably older than the state as a whole. In practice that means an unusually high number of households where both spouses are over 75, adult children live in another state, and the financial paperwork has not been reviewed since the 1990s.
In that paperwork there is often life insurance from three different eras: a small whole life policy bought young, a mid-career individual policy, and a union or employer group benefit. Only some of it is sellable. Sorting out which is which is the first hour of work, and it is worth doing before any decision about care funding.
Union-Negotiated Life Benefits: What They Are and Are Not
Retiree life insurance negotiated through a collective bargaining agreement is usually group coverage owned by the plan, not an individual policy owned by the retiree. Group term coverage generally cannot be sold on the secondary market. What sometimes can be sold is an individual permanent policy created by exercising the plan’s conversion privilege when coverage ends or is reduced — and those conversion windows are short, often just weeks.
Two practical steps for any Westmoreland County family relying on a negotiated benefit: request a current certificate of coverage in writing from the plan administrator, and confirm the actual benefit amount today. Retiree life benefits have been reduced or terminated by successor companies in a number of industries, and finding that out during a care crisis is the worst possible timing.
Pennsylvania Medical Assistance and Community HealthChoices
Pennsylvania’s Medicaid program is Medical Assistance, and long-term services and supports are delivered through Community HealthChoices, the statewide managed long-term care program covering nursing facility care and home- and community-based services. Applications go through the county assistance office.
For long-term care eligibility, a single applicant is generally limited to $2,000 in countable assets, with a separate higher resource limit applying to certain non-long-term-care categories. Verify both 2026 figures locally. Cash value in a life insurance policy is generally countable, so an unwanted policy does not shelter anything — and the premium continues to draw down income the program also counts.
One Westmoreland-specific note: a pension is income, not an asset, and a decent industrial pension can push a household above the income thresholds used in some pathways while still leaving nowhere near enough to pay privately for facility care. That gap is exactly where a lump sum from a policy sale sometimes does real work. Get the arithmetic done by someone licensed in Pennsylvania before assuming either way.
| Step | What happens | What it costs you |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Send the cover page | Initial read of carrier, face amount and policy type | Nothing |
| 2. Gather carrier documents | In-force illustration and current statement ordered | Nothing; carriers provide these |
| 3. Sign HIPAA authorization | Medical records requested and reviewed | Nothing; you can stop here |
| 4. Receive an offer | Written offer to compare against surrender value | Nothing; you may decline |
| 5. Close through escrow | Funds released after carrier records the transfer | Costs come out of the transaction |
Look-Back, Estate Recovery and Filial Support
Pennsylvania applies the federal 60-month look-back to transfers made for less than fair market value before a long-term care application, and a transfer inside that window can create a penalty period. Selling a policy at fair market value is a sale, not a gift. Signing a policy over to a son in Latrobe for a token amount is a gift, and it will be treated as one.
Pennsylvania pursues estate recovery against the probate estates of Medical Assistance recipients who were 55 or older when they received long-term care services. Pennsylvania also has a filial responsibility statute at 23 Pa.C.S. § 4603 that has been enforced against adult children for a parent’s unpaid care bills — a significant consideration in a county where the parents stayed and the children left. Ask a Pennsylvania attorney how it applies to you.
Care Costs in Western Pennsylvania (2026 Ballpark)
Western Pennsylvania care costs generally run at or somewhat below the statewide average, and below what families see in the Philadelphia suburbs. As a rough 2026 ballpark, assisted living in this region commonly lands in the mid four figures per month, with semi-private nursing facility care meaningfully higher. Verify against the most recent CareScout (formerly Genworth) Cost of Care survey and against written quotes gathered locally.
Home- and community-based services through Community HealthChoices are worth asking about specifically. For an older couple in a paid-off house in Greensburg, keeping one spouse at home with support is often both the preferred outcome and the cheaper one.
Which Policies Are Worth Pricing
Buyers generally want a death benefit of $100,000 or more and an insured in their senior years or with a documented decline in health. Whole life, universal life, variable universal life, survivorship contracts and convertible term all get reviewed. Small burial or final-expense policies with face amounts in the low thousands generally have no secondary market, and that is an honest answer worth giving early.
Health history usually raises the offer rather than lowering it, because it shortens the period the buyer expects to pay premiums. An insured in strong health at 68 is the most likely to be declined outright.
The Review, the Timeline, and Vetting Whoever Calls You
Start with the policy cover page. If the review advances, add an in-force illustration from the carrier, a current statement showing cash value and any loan, and a signed HIPAA authorization so records can be ordered. Plan on 60 to 120 days from submission to funding. Closing funds sit with an independent third-party escrow agent and release after the carrier confirms the ownership change.
Older homeowners in this county get a lot of unsolicited calls and mail about their finances. Before sending documents to anyone, look the company up in the Pennsylvania Insurance Department’s licensee search. Ask whether they are a broker or a provider, how they are paid, whether anything is owed up front (it should not be), and how many days you have to rescind after closing. Put an adult child or an attorney on the call. Legitimate firms expect that.
This page is educational only and is not legal, tax, medical or investment advice. Confirm current 2026 Pennsylvania Medical Assistance rules with a Pennsylvania elder law attorney or the Westmoreland County Assistance Office before acting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can retiree life insurance from a union contract be sold?
Group coverage owned by the plan generally cannot be sold as-is. An individual permanent policy created through the plan’s conversion privilege can sometimes be reviewed. Request a current certificate of coverage and check the conversion deadline right away, because those windows are short.
My mother has a $10,000 burial policy. Is that sellable?
Almost certainly not. The secondary market generally starts around a $100,000 death benefit because the transaction costs do not make sense below that. Small final-expense policies are usually best kept in place for their intended purpose.
Does a pension affect Medical Assistance eligibility?
A pension is treated as income rather than an asset, and income rules are separate from the asset limit. A moderate pension can complicate eligibility while still falling far short of private-pay facility costs. Have the numbers run by a Pennsylvania elder law attorney or the county assistance office.
Is selling a policy a gift under the look-back rules?
A sale at fair market value is generally not a transfer for less than fair value, unlike a gift to a relative. Keep the offer letter, closing statement and escrow confirmation as documentation. If prior gifts have already been made, disclose them to an attorney before applying.
How long does a settlement take?
Plan on 60 to 120 days from submission to funding. Ordering medical records and getting the carrier’s in-force illustration are the slow steps. Escrow release follows quickly once the carrier records the ownership change.
Someone called offering to buy my policy. How do I check them out?
Search the Pennsylvania Insurance Department’s licensee records for the company name and license number, and ask whether they act as a broker or a provider. Require compensation, escrow arrangements and the rescission period in writing. Do not send documents or sign anything on a first call.
What if my spouse still needs the coverage?
Then keeping the policy may be the right answer, and a good review will say so. Ask the carrier for the reduced paid-up figure, which can preserve a smaller death benefit with no further premiums. Compare that against a settlement offer and the cash surrender value before deciding.
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Related Reading
- Is A Life Settlement Worth It
- Life Settlement Vs Surrender
- Pennsylvania Medicaid Asset Income Limits
- Filial Responsibility Law Pennsylvania
- Life Settlement Licensing Pennsylvania
- Sell Life Insurance Policy Luzerne County Pa
Pine Lake Life Solutions does not purchase life insurance policies and does not provide legal, tax, or investment advice. Information provided is for educational purposes only. Eligibility for any option, including life settlements, is not guaranteed and depends on individual circumstances, policy terms, underwriting, and market conditions. Consult independent legal, tax, or financial professionals before making decisions regarding a life insurance policy.