Yes – a COUNTRY Financial variable universal life policy can be sold in a life settlement, because the contract belongs to you and the buyer purchases it directly from you. The carrier’s permission is not required, and COUNTRY is not a party to the decision. Any carrier’s policy can be sold if the policyholder and the policy qualify – generally an insured in their senior years and a death benefit of $100,000 or more.
VUL is the policy type that makes people feel like they are chasing a number. Cash value sits in separate-account subaccounts invested in stock and bond funds, so it moves every trading day, while mortality and expense charges, administrative fees, fund expenses, and monthly cost-of-insurance deductions come out on schedule regardless of what the market did. The surrender value quoted this month is simply not the surrender value next month.
COUNTRY Financial is an Illinois-based, farm-bureau-affiliated group headquartered in Bloomington with roots to 1925, selling through captive financial representatives concentrated in Midwestern and Western states. Variable products are securities and are issued and administered under separate registration, so confirm the issuing entity, the 2026 A.M. Best rating, and current product availability with the company. Pine Lake Life Solutions is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of COUNTRY Financial.
In This Article
- Five Questions That Tell You Where Your VUL Stands
- Charges That Never Take a Quarter Off
- What a Settlement Buyer Prices – and What They Ignore
- Timing the Decision When the Value Keeps Moving
- Documents to Assemble
- How the Transaction Runs
- Alternatives Worth Comparing
- Tax and Benefits: Get Professional Help
- Frequently Asked Questions
Five Questions That Tell You Where Your VUL Stands
Before deciding anything, get written answers to these from the servicing company:
- What is the current net cash surrender value, and is a surrender charge still in effect?
- How are the subaccounts allocated today, and when was the last time the allocation changed?
- What is the monthly cost-of-insurance deduction now, and what will it be in five and ten years?
- At a 0% assumed return, in what year does the policy lapse? This is the question that reveals the truth.
- What premium, starting today, carries the policy to age 100?
The 0% run is the one most owners have never seen and the one that matters most. If the answer is “lapses in nine years,” you are not managing an investment – you are managing a countdown. Our guide to in-force illustrations explains how to read the output.
Charges That Never Take a Quarter Off
A VUL layers several costs on top of the funds themselves:
- Mortality and expense risk charges (M&E), assessed against separate-account assets.
- Administrative and policy fees, usually flat monthly amounts.
- Fund-level expense ratios, charged inside each subaccount.
- Cost of insurance, deducted monthly per $1,000 of net amount at risk and rising every year with the insured’s age.
In a strong market these are absorbed and invisible. In a flat or falling market they compound the damage: the balance drops, the net amount at risk grows, the cost of insurance rises against a smaller balance, and the policy accelerates toward lapse. This is why a VUL that looked comfortable at 60 can be in trouble at 78 without the owner ever having done anything wrong.
What a Settlement Buyer Prices – and What They Ignore
Buyers largely set the subaccount balance aside. Once they own the contract they can reallocate it, spend it down, or restructure the funding entirely. What they underwrite is:
- The death benefit and its option. A level benefit (Option A) is straightforward; an increasing benefit (Option B) that adds account value on top prices differently.
- The projected premium load under conservative assumptions – not the optimistic sales illustration from decades ago.
- Life expectancy, estimated independently from medical records.
- Loans, liens, and riders, all of which affect net value.
That is why an underfunded VUL with a battered account value can still draw a serious offer. Your surrender outcome depends on the balance; the buyer’s valuation mostly does not. Compare the two paths in life settlement vs. surrender.
Timing the Decision When the Value Keeps Moving
Because a VUL’s surrender value fluctuates, people delay – waiting for a rebound that will make the decision feel better. Two cautions about that instinct.
First, waiting costs money. Charges continue every month, and cost of insurance rises every year. A policy that recovers 8% in the market may still be worse off after twelve months of deductions at an older attained age.
Second, a settlement offer is not indexed to the market the way surrender value is. Because buyers price the death benefit and the carrying cost, a market rally does not automatically raise your offer, and a market drop does not automatically lower it. Advancing age generally does move it – usually in the direction of a higher offer, though that comes at the cost of another year of premiums paid out of your pocket.
The practical answer is to get a current values quote and a written offer at the same time, so you are comparing two live numbers rather than one live number and one memory.
| Question to Ask the Carrier | Why It Matters | What a Bad Answer Looks Like |
|---|---|---|
| Net cash surrender value today? | Sets the number a settlement must beat | Far below what the account value suggests, due to surrender charges |
| Current monthly cost of insurance? | Shows the drain on the account | Rising steeply year over year |
| Lapse year at 0% assumed return? | Reveals the true fragility of the policy | Lapse inside ten years |
| Premium to carry the policy to age 100? | What keeping it really costs from here | Multiples of what you pay now |
| Any surrender charge still in force? | Reduces the surrender alternative | Several years remaining on the schedule |
| Outstanding loan payoff? | Reduces net cash to you at closing | A balance you did not know existed |
Documents to Assemble
For a free review, one page: the policy cover page with insurer, policy number, face amount, and issue date. Send it in or call (305) 209-7183.
For an actual offer, add:
- The most recent statement of values, including subaccount allocations and any surrender charge.
- In-force illustrations at multiple assumed rates, including 0%, each showing the projected lapse year.
- A loan and withdrawal history with a dated payoff figure.
- The prospectus or product summary, if you still have it, which spells out the charge structure.
- A HIPAA authorization for life-expectancy underwriting – read it first; it should be specific and revocable.
How the Transaction Runs
Expect 60 to 120 days. Screening takes days. Carrier documentation and medical records take two to six weeks and usually set the pace. Offers and negotiation follow, then contracts, then closing through an independent escrow agent that holds the funds until the ownership change is recorded by the carrier.
Three rules protect you. Never transfer ownership against a promise of later payment – escrow exists for exactly this reason. Insist that any broker commission be disclosed as a separate line so you are comparing net proceeds, not headline numbers. And keep paying premiums until the transfer is complete, because a lapse mid-transaction leaves you with nothing.
Most states also provide a rescission window after funding. Ask what applies before you sign.
Alternatives Worth Comparing
Settlement is one option among several:
- Reduce the face amount to cut the cost-of-insurance drain and stabilize the policy.
- Reallocate subaccounts more conservatively – this does not fix underfunding, but it stops volatility from compounding it.
- 1035 exchange the cash value into another policy or an annuity without triggering immediate income tax, though no cash reaches your pocket.
- Surrender for the net value after any surrender charge – simple, and usually the smallest number.
- Retained death benefit settlement, ending premiums while keeping part of the coverage.
If you want the general decision framework first, read is a life settlement worth it.
Tax and Benefits: Get Professional Help
A VUL can hold meaningful gain, so the tax analysis matters. The general framework, clarified in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, treats proceeds up to basis as a return of premium, the portion between basis and cash surrender value as ordinary income, and the remainder as capital gain. Outstanding loans complicate it, because loan relief can itself be taxable.
A lump sum may also count as a resource for means-tested programs such as Medicaid, and timing within a calendar year can matter. This page is educational only and is not legal, tax, or investment advice. Take your actual statements to a CPA, and to an elder law attorney if benefits eligibility is in play.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I sell a VUL policy after the market has fallen?
Often yes. Settlement buyers price the death benefit and the projected cost of keeping the policy in force rather than the subaccount balance, so a market decline hurts your surrender value far more than it hurts an offer. That is one reason underfunded VUL policies are common in the secondary market.
Does COUNTRY Financial have to consent?
No. The policy is your property and the sale is a private transaction between you and the buyer. The carrier simply records the new owner and beneficiary once the deal closes. It is not a party to the decision and cannot stop it.
Why does my cash value keep changing?
VUL cash value is invested in separate-account subaccounts holding stock and bond funds, so it moves with the markets while mortality and expense charges, administrative fees, fund expenses, and cost-of-insurance deductions come out monthly. Any quoted value is a snapshot in time.
What is the 0% illustration and why request it?
It projects what happens to the policy if the subaccounts earn nothing going forward, showing the year the policy would lapse under that assumption. It strips out optimistic return assumptions and reveals how much margin the contract actually has. Most owners have never seen this run, and it is often the most informative document in the file.
Should I wait for the market to recover before deciding?
Waiting has a cost. Charges continue every month and cost of insurance rises every year with the insured’s age, so a recovery in the subaccounts can be offset by another year of deductions. Because settlement offers are not indexed to market performance, waiting for a rebound does not reliably improve an offer.
How much could my policy sell for?
Federal research on the market (GAO-10-775) found sellers typically received roughly 10% to 35% of face value, and on average several times cash surrender value. Those are market-wide ranges rather than a quote. Your outcome depends on age, health, death benefit size, the premium required to carry the policy, and any outstanding loan.
Do I keep paying premiums during the process?
Yes. A lapse ends the policy and the transaction along with it, leaving you with nothing. Keep paying on schedule until the carrier records the ownership change and escrow releases your funds.
What do I need to send for a free review?
Only the policy cover page showing the insurer, policy number, face amount, and issue date. Send that or call (305) 209-7183. The review is free, carries no obligation, and gives you a straight answer before medical records enter the picture.
Find out what your policy is worth — free, confidential, no obligation.
A 15-minute educational review covers your eligibility, every alternative, and a realistic view of what each path would net you.
Related Reading
- What Is An In Force Illustration
- Life Settlement Vs Surrender
- Is A Life Settlement Worth It
- Cash Surrender Value Life Insurance
- Sell My Country Financial Universal Life Policy
- Sell My Country Financial Guaranteed Universal 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.