No. Burial coverage is normally written between $5,000 and $25,000, and that is well below the smallest face amount any life settlement buyer will review. The reason is fixed cost: medical records retrieval, one or two independent life expectancy reports, verification of coverage, legal review of the assignment, and escrow through the rescission period run into the thousands of dollars per file regardless of how large the policy is. Buyer minimums therefore start around $100,000 and frequently much higher.
Two things are worth doing instead, and one of them depends on why you are reading this. If the insured is living, read the contract for the elections it already contains, because small permanent policies routinely hold unclaimed value. If the insured has died and the family needs the funeral paid for now, there is a standard mechanism for that and it is not a sale. Either way, the first step is establishing which Farm Bureau company actually issued the policy, because there are many of them and they are unrelated.
In This Article
- Farm Bureau is not one insurance company
- Membership, agents, and getting the file in front of someone
- If the insured has already died: assignment, not sale
- Why the settlement market starts an order of magnitude higher
- Graded benefits, pre-need contracts, and the replacement trap
- The elections that produce value while the insured is living
- Frequently Asked Questions
Farm Bureau is not one insurance company
This causes more wasted phone calls than any other issue on this topic. State Farm Bureau federations organized their own insurance companies over the last century, and they are separate legal entities with separate ownership, separate service centers, and separate policies.
Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company is based in West Des Moines, Iowa, domiciled in Iowa, and regulated by the Iowa Insurance Division. It operates under the Farm Bureau Financial Services brand across a Midwestern and Western multi-state footprint. Its holding company, FBL Financial Group, traded publicly on the New York Stock Exchange until it was taken private in a 2021 transaction by Farm Bureau Property and Casualty Insurance Company at $56.00 per share.
Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company, headquartered in Jackson, Mississippi, is a different insurer entirely and serves a different group of states. Tennessee, Kentucky, Texas, Alabama, and others have their own Farm Bureau affiliated life companies as well. If your policy names one of those, Farm Bureau Life in Iowa cannot help you and vice versa.
EquiTrust Life Insurance Company is a further trap. It was an FBL subsidiary until FBL sold it to Guggenheim Partners in a transaction completing in 2011. An EquiTrust contract is not a Farm Bureau Life contract today.
Read the full company name off the face page before dialing anything. If you cannot locate the policy at all, our guide on confirming whether a policy still exists covers the free state and NAIC locator services, which search across carriers.
Membership, agents, and getting the file in front of someone
Coverage in this system is generally sold to Farm Bureau members through exclusive agents tied to a state federation. Two practical points follow.
A lapsed Farm Bureau membership does not void an in-force life insurance policy. The contract stands on its own terms and the insurer remains obligated. Membership status can complicate which office claims your file, so if you are being bounced between a county office and a service center, go straight to Farm Bureau Life’s home office policy service line with the policy number, the insured’s full legal name, date of birth, and Social Security number.
Agents in this system tend to have long tenures but they do retire, and rural agencies consolidate. A policy written in 1988 frequently has no active servicing agent, and nobody proactively reviews it. That matters less on a small whole life contract, which cannot fail from rising internal charges, than on a universal life contract, which can. Determine which one you hold: a table headed Guaranteed Cash Values with a level guaranteed premium means whole life, while an account value with monthly deductions means universal life and deserves an in-force illustration. Larger permanent contracts are covered on our Farm Bureau Life whole life page.
We are not going to assert current burial or final expense product names for this carrier. Names in this segment are retired and reissued often, and the name printed on your own contract is the only source worth trusting.
If the insured has already died: assignment, not sale
A large share of people searching this topic are not policy owners planning ahead. They are family members who have just lost someone, are holding a small policy, and are being asked for several thousand dollars by a funeral home before the claim can possibly pay out. Selling the policy is not the answer and would not be possible anyway. The standard mechanism is an assignment of benefits.
Funeral homes routinely accept an assignment of a portion of the death benefit as payment. The beneficiary signs an assignment form, the funeral home submits it with the claim, and the insurer pays the funeral home directly up to the assigned amount and the balance to the beneficiary. Many funeral directors handle this paperwork as a matter of routine and some work with third-party funding companies that advance the funds within a day or two for a fee. Our explainers on absolute assignment and collateral assignment cover the difference between transferring the whole benefit and pledging part of it.
Three cautions. Read what percentage or dollar amount is being assigned and confirm the balance goes to the beneficiary. Compare any advance funding fee against simply waiting, because a straightforward claim on a small policy often pays within two to four weeks. And do not assign more than the funeral actually costs.
To file, the carrier will generally want a certified death certificate, a completed claim form from each beneficiary, and the policy number. Ask what they require before gathering documents, because certified death certificates cost money per copy and families routinely order too few or too many.
| Name on the policy | Where it is based | Relationship to Farm Bureau Life of Iowa |
|---|---|---|
| Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company | West Des Moines, Iowa | This is the company; part of Farm Bureau Financial Services |
| Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company | Jackson, Mississippi | Separate insurer, separate states, unrelated servicing |
| State-affiliated Farm Bureau life companies | Various states | Separate legal entities organized by state federations |
| EquiTrust Life Insurance Company | Separate company | Former FBL subsidiary, sold to Guggenheim in 2011 |
| Farm Bureau Property and Casualty | West Des Moines, Iowa | Affiliated P&C insurer; took FBL Financial private in 2021 |
Why the settlement market starts an order of magnitude higher
A settlement buyer purchases a future death benefit and assumes responsibility for premiums until it is collected. Pricing that requires a full medical file, typically two independent life expectancy reports from firms such as ITM TwentyFirst or Fasano Associates, a verification of coverage from the insurer, counsel to review the change of ownership and beneficiary documents, and an escrow agent holding funds through the statutory rescission period.
None of those costs shrink with the policy. On a $20,000 contract they would consume most of any plausible offer before the buyer paid a single premium. That is why the practical floor is around $100,000 of death benefit, why many funds start at $250,000, and why some will not review below $500,000. Our page on minimum policy size sets out what we actually see. Any company promising a meaningful payout on a burial-size policy is not describing the real market.
The one exception is aggregation. An insured who owns several small policies across carriers can occasionally reach a combined death benefit that a buyer will review as one packaged case. It is uncommon and depends entirely on the buyer, but it argues for inventorying everything the insured owns rather than dismissing policies individually.
Graded benefits, pre-need contracts, and the replacement trap
If the policy was simplified issue, meaning a short health questionnaire and no exam, it very likely carries a graded, modified, or limited benefit period covering the first two or three policy years. Death from natural causes inside that window pays a limited amount instead of the face, commonly premiums plus interest at around ten percent or a stepped share such as thirty percent in year one and seventy percent in year two. Accidental death is often paid in full immediately. Find the issue date and the graded language on the schedule page and count forward.
The live risk here is replacement rather than sale. A new simplified-issue policy restarts both the graded period and the two-year contestability period, which for an insured in their eighties trades a serious stretch of reduced coverage for a small monthly saving. Older contracts also frequently carry guaranteed cash value interest rates that are simply not available today. Compare guaranteed values and graded terms directly, not monthly premiums.
Separately, rule out a pre-need funeral contract. That is an agreement with a funeral establishment for named goods and services, usually funded by a small policy or annuity assigned to the funeral home, frequently irrevocably. The irrevocability is normally deliberate, because an irrevocable pre-need burial arrangement can be excluded from countable resources in a Medicaid eligibility determination. Attempting to unwind one can convert an excluded asset into a countable one. If a funeral home appears as assignee or beneficiary, speak with the attorney or planner who arranged it before doing anything.
The elections that produce value while the insured is living
Four items, worth requesting in one written message to the service center.
Nonforfeiture options. If cash value exists, the contract gives you a right to elect reduced paid-up insurance or extended term insurance instead of surrendering. Reduced paid-up preserves permanent coverage at a smaller face amount with no further premiums due, which is the correct answer for most families whose problem is that premiums have become unaffordable.
Riders. Ask whether an accelerated death benefit rider is attached, what percentage of the death benefit may be accelerated, and what discount or administrative charge applies. Many contracts include one at no extra premium and it goes unclaimed.
Total current death benefit and cash value. On a participating contract, dividends may have purchased paid-up additions that raised both figures above what the original schedule shows. Ask for the current totals including additions, and for any dividend accumulation balance on deposit.
Distance to paid-up status. Many older ordinary life contracts stop requiring premiums at a stated age. If only a few years remain, finishing is usually the cheapest route to a permanent benefit.
Pine Lake Life Solutions provides education and a free policy review. We do not purchase policies and are not licensed in every state. Whether a settlement is permitted where you live, and who must be licensed to arrange one, is set by your own state’s insurance law rather than Iowa’s, even though Iowa supervises Farm Bureau Life. Nothing here is legal, tax, or investment advice, and anything touching Medicaid eligibility or estate administration belongs with your own attorney. If the insured owns permanent coverage above roughly $100,000, send the policy cover page and a review is genuinely worth running.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know which Farm Bureau company holds my policy?
Read the full company name on the face page. Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company of West Des Moines, Iowa is distinct from Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company in Jackson, Mississippi and from the various state-affiliated Farm Bureau life insurers. They are separate legal entities with separate service centers, so a request sent to the wrong one simply comes back.
The insured died and the funeral home wants money now. What do I do?
Ask about an assignment of benefits. The beneficiary signs an assignment form, the funeral home submits it with the claim, and the insurer pays the funeral home directly up to the assigned amount with the balance going to the beneficiary. Many funeral directors handle this routinely. Confirm the assigned amount, and compare any advance funding fee against simply waiting for the claim.
Does my Farm Bureau membership have to be current for the policy to pay?
A lapsed membership does not void an in-force life insurance policy. The contract stands on its own terms and the insurer remains obligated to pay a valid claim. Membership status can affect which office handles servicing, so if you are being redirected between a county office and a service center, contact the home office policy service line directly.
Why is $100,000 the practical minimum for a life settlement?
Because the cost of underwriting and closing a settlement is essentially fixed regardless of policy size. Medical records retrieval, two independent life expectancy reports, verification of coverage, legal review, and escrow run into the thousands of dollars per case. Many institutional buyers set their floor at $250,000 and some at $500,000, well above any burial-size contract.
Could my policy be worth more than the original face amount?
Possibly, on a participating contract where dividends purchased paid-up additions. Each year’s dividend bought a small block of paid-up insurance that itself earns dividends, so after several decades both the total death benefit and the cash value can exceed the original schedule. Ask for the current totals including additions and any dividend accumulation on deposit.
Should I take a cheaper policy an agent is offering?
Compare carefully first. A new simplified-issue contract normally restarts a two or three year graded death benefit period and a fresh two-year contestability period, leaving reduced coverage during that window. Older contracts also often carry guaranteed cash value interest rates unavailable today. Put the guaranteed values and graded terms of both policies on one page before deciding.
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
- Can I Sell A Final Expense Policy
- Minimum Policy Size For A Life Settlement
- What Is An Absolute Assignment
- What Is A Collateral Assignment
- What Is Reduced Paid Up Insurance
- What Is An Accelerated Death Benefit Rider
- How To Find Out If A Policy Still Exists
- Sell My Farm Bureau Life Whole 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.