Universal life is the policy type most often sold on the secondary market, and the reason is structural rather than emotional. A universal life contract is a bucket. Premiums go in, interest is credited, and monthly deductions for cost of insurance and expenses come out. Those deductions rise with the insured’s age. On a policy issued decades ago, the deduction that was trivial at fifty-five can be several times the planned premium at eighty, and the account value quietly erodes toward zero while the annual bill looks unchanged.
If you own an Ameritas universal life policy, the question is not whether the policy has value. It is whether the value is best captured by continuing, by restructuring, or by selling. This page is education only and explains what to gather before that question can be answered.
In This Article
- Why Universal Life Is the Most-Settled Policy Type
- Cost of Insurance: The Number That Decides Everything
- The In-Force Illustration Is the Key Document
- Who Services Your Ameritas Universal Life Policy Now
- Ameritas Financial Strength and New-Business Status
- The Ownership Change a Settlement Actually Requires
- Education Only: What a Pine Lake Review Covers
- Frequently Asked Questions
Why Universal Life Is the Most-Settled Policy Type
Three features push universal life to the front of the secondary market. First, the death benefit is typically level and permanent, so a buyer is valuing a defined amount rather than guessing at a moving target. Second, the premium is flexible, which means the contract can be kept in force on a minimum funding schedule rather than the original planned premium, and that flexibility is precisely what a buyer is pricing. Third, the account value is usually small relative to the face amount, so the surrender alternative is weak and the gap a settlement can fill is wide.
The same features cut against the original owner. Because the premium is flexible, nothing in the contract forces you to fund it correctly, and no annual notice announces that the policy is now underfunded. Owners routinely learn there is a problem only when a lapse warning arrives, at which point the catch-up premium required can be large. Getting ahead of that notice is the entire point of a review.
Cost of Insurance: The Number That Decides Everything
Cost of insurance is the monthly charge Ameritas deducts from the account value for the pure insurance portion of the contract. It is calculated on the net amount at risk, which is roughly the death benefit minus the account value, multiplied by a per-thousand rate that increases as the insured ages. Two things follow from that formula, and both are counterintuitive.
- As the account value falls, the net amount at risk rises, so the charge rises faster than age alone would suggest. Depletion accelerates.
- Paying only the original planned premium is not the same as keeping the policy solvent. The planned premium was calculated under interest and charge assumptions from the year of issue.
Older universal life contracts also carry a guaranteed minimum credited interest rate, often meaningfully higher than what new policies offer today. That guarantee is a genuine asset and is one of the reasons an in-force illustration sometimes shows a policy in better shape than the owner feared. Do not assume the outcome in either direction until the illustration is in hand.
The In-Force Illustration Is the Key Document
An in-force illustration is a projection Ameritas runs on your actual policy, using its current values and charges, showing year by year how long the contract survives under a stated funding pattern. It is the single document that turns speculation into arithmetic, and it is the first thing any competent reviewer will ask for. Ameritas directs owners to contact its service office or their financial professional to request an illustration.
Request more than one version. A single illustration answers one question; a set of them maps the whole decision. The table below lists the scenarios worth ordering together, since asking for all of them in one call is far faster than four separate requests spaced a week apart.
| Illustration to request | What it answers |
|---|---|
| Current premium, current charges | How many years the policy lasts if nothing changes |
| Zero future premium | How long the existing account value alone keeps it in force |
| Minimum premium to endow at age 100 or maturity | The true cost of keeping full coverage for life |
| Guaranteed charges and guaranteed interest | The worst-case contractual outcome, not the projected one |
| Reduced face amount at an affordable premium | Whether keeping less coverage solves the affordability problem |
Who Services Your Ameritas Universal Life Policy Now
Ameritas sits under a mutual holding company structure that was assembled through a series of combinations. The company converted from a mutual insurer to a mutual insurance holding company structure effective January 1, 1998 under Nebraska law. A 1999 merger with Acacia Mutual Holding Corporation created Ameritas Acacia Mutual Holding Company; a further merger with Union Central Mutual Holding Company effective January 1, 2006 created UNIFI Mutual Holding Company, which was renamed Ameritas Mutual Holding Company effective May 2, 2012.
The step that matters most to universal life owners came later. Effective July 1, 2014, Acacia Life Insurance Company and The Union Central Life Insurance Company were merged into Ameritas Life Insurance Corp., with Ameritas Life surviving and assuming all outstanding liabilities of both companies as approved by Nebraska. A large share of the older universal life contracts now serviced by Ameritas were originally issued on Acacia or Union Central paper. If that is your policy, you are not chasing a defunct company; you are calling Ameritas.
Ameritas Financial Strength and New-Business Status
Ameritas is not a runoff carrier. It continues to write new individual life insurance in 2026, including universal life and indexed universal life products, which means active service teams and current forms rather than a third-party administrator working an inherited block.
On its own financial strength page, Ameritas lists an A.M. Best rating of A (Excellent) dated June 25, 2026, and a Standard & Poor’s rating of A+ (Strong) dated April 8, 2026. A.M. Best affirmed the A (Excellent) Financial Strength Rating and the a+ Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of Ameritas Life Insurance Corp., Lincoln, Nebraska, and its New York subsidiary on June 4, 2026, with stable outlooks. As of December 31, 2025 the company reported $32.4 billion in assets and $2.2 billion in capital and surplus. Confirm the current figures with the carrier, since ratings are periodically revised.
The Ownership Change a Settlement Actually Requires
The transaction step in a settlement is a recorded change of ownership. Ameritas states that a form is required to complete an ownership change and that the form is the Policyowner’s Change and Service Request form, downloaded from Ameritas Accounts under View Account and the Forms tab, signed, and uploaded back for processing. Contact details can be changed online; ownership cannot. Expect the carrier to require signatures that match its records and to issue written confirmation once the change is recorded. Until that confirmation exists, the change has not happened, whatever anyone has told you.
Ameritas lists a policy owner service line of 800-745-1112 outside New York and 877-280-6110 for New York, Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central. Verify the number on the carrier’s current contact page before calling.
Education Only: What a Pine Lake Review Covers
A free, no-obligation policy review reads your in-force illustration and annual statement and explains, in plain numbers, how long the policy survives on your current funding, what a reduced-face restructuring would cost, and whether the secondary market is even a realistic option for a contract of that size and age. There is no charge and no obligation, and the review is just as likely to conclude that keeping the policy is the right answer.
Pine Lake Life Solutions is an independent education and referral resource. Pine Lake is not affiliated with, endorsed by, appointed by or connected to Ameritas Life Insurance Corp. or any Ameritas company, and Pine Lake does not purchase policies. Nothing here is legal, tax or investment advice, and no eligibility or dollar value is promised. The only thing offered is a free, no-obligation policy review at (305) 209-7183.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my Ameritas universal life premium seem to buy less every year?
Because the monthly cost of insurance deduction rises with the insured’s age and is charged on the net amount at risk, which grows as the account value falls. The premium on your bill may be unchanged while the internal charges consuming it have multiplied since issue.
What document should I ask Ameritas for first?
A current in-force illustration on your actual policy. It projects year by year how long the contract survives under a stated funding pattern using current values and charges. Ameritas directs owners to contact its service office or their financial professional to request one.
Is Ameritas still selling new universal life insurance?
Yes. As of 2026 Ameritas continues to write new individual life insurance including universal life and indexed universal life. It is not a runoff carrier, which generally means active service staff and current forms for ownership changes.
What does Ameritas require to record a change of ownership?
Ameritas states that a signed form is required and identifies it as the Policyowner’s Change and Service Request form, available through Ameritas Accounts under the Forms tab and returned by upload. Ownership changes cannot be completed online the way a contact detail change can.
Will a review tell me to sell?
Not necessarily. Many universal life policies are better kept, restructured to a lower face amount, or funded differently. The review lays out the arithmetic. Pine Lake does not purchase policies and has no role in whether an offer is made.
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Related Reading
- Sell My Ameritas Indexed Universal Policy
- Sell My Ameritas Guaranteed Universal Policy
- How To Read In Force Illustration
- How Long Policy Survive Without Premiums
- How Life Settlement Value Is Calculated
- Carrier Change Of Ownership Requirements
- Sell My Lincoln Financial Universal Life Policy
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.