Can You Sell a Farm Bureau Life Survivorship (Second-to-Die) Policy? (2026)

Farm Bureau Life, FBL Financial, and the Membership Question

Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company is headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa, and is the life insurance arm of the organization long known publicly as FBL Financial Group. FBL was a publicly traded company for years before being taken private in 2021 by Farm Bureau Property & Casualty Insurance Company, which acquired the shares it did not already own. The company distributes through exclusive agents serving Farm Bureau members across a set of largely Midwestern and Western states rather than nationally.

The membership structure raises a question worth answering early. Farm Bureau products are generally sold to members of a state Farm Bureau federation, and families sometimes assume that means the policy cannot leave the family or cannot be transferred to an outsider. That is a misunderstanding of what membership does. Membership governs eligibility to purchase; it does not convert an issued life insurance contract into something non-transferable. The contract itself is property. As of 2026, confirm with the carrier whether any specific provision in your contract addresses ownership transfer, rather than assuming either way — and read the exact issuing company name off the cover page, since some state federations have historically been served by affiliated but distinct insurers.

If you also hold single-life Farm Bureau coverage, see selling a Farm Bureau Life whole life policy or a Farm Bureau Life universal life policy.

Farm Succession: Why These Policies Were Bought

Agricultural estates have a structural problem that second-to-die insurance was invented to solve. Land is valuable and illiquid. When both parents die, an estate that is asset-rich and cash-poor may owe taxes or owe cash to non-farming siblings, and the only way to produce that cash is to sell ground — which destroys the operation the parents spent a lifetime building. A survivorship policy provides a lump sum at exactly the moment it is needed, funded by premiums that are cheaper than insuring two lives separately.

Several things retire that purpose. Federal estate-tax exemption levels have risen substantially since most of these policies were written, and there are also special valuation and installment-payment provisions available to qualifying farm estates that can reduce or spread the burden — those are questions for a farm-focused tax attorney, not for an insurance page. The land may have been sold. The non-farming siblings may have been bought out already, or the operation may have been converted to a cash-rent arrangement that changes the whole analysis. And sometimes the child who was going to farm simply did not. See exemption changes and an existing policy and what to do when the estate plan changes.

Two Insureds and the Joint-Mortality Discount

A survivorship contract pays one death benefit, after the second insured dies. Buyers price that directly: they estimate how long they must fund premiums before collecting, then discount the benefit to present value.

Estimating requires life expectancy reports on both insureds and then a joint-mortality model, since the payout waits on whichever insured lives longer. The healthier or younger spouse effectively sets the price. Every additional projected year adds premium the buyer must pay and another year of discounting applied to the benefit. That is why second-to-die offers come in below single-life offers on the same face amount, and why fewer buyers bid — some providers do not underwrite joint-life risk at all.

Broad market reference points bound the outer edges: sellers have historically received roughly 10% to 35% of face value, and the GAO’s market study (GAO-10-775) found average proceeds of about four to eight times cash surrender value. Survivorship cases cluster at the low end of that band and some draw no offer. See life expectancy underwriting and why some policies get no offers.

The First Death Changes the Answer

When one insured dies, the contract becomes, economically, a single-life policy on the survivor. The joint-mortality drag disappears, only one death separates the owner from the claim, and value often improves enough to change the decision entirely.

Sequence it properly. Notify the carrier of the death as the contract requires, then request a new in-force illustration built on a single remaining insured. Survivorship designs vary in how required premium and cost of insurance behave afterward, and evaluating anything against a pre-death illustration means working from the wrong number. See survivorship policies after the first death.

In farm households this often coincides with the hardest year — a surviving spouse deciding whether to keep operating, cash rent, or sell, while carrying a premium designed for a plan that no longer applies. Getting the policy priced correctly belongs on that list of decisions rather than after it.

Original Purpose	Still Applies If	May Have Expired If
Pay estate tax at second death	Estate still exceeds the exemption	Exemption now covers the estate
Equalize among heirs	Non-farming heirs still need cash	Buyout already completed
Keep the land intact	Operation continues in the family	Ground was sold or cash-rented out
Fund a buy-sell agreement	Agreement is still in force	Partnership dissolved or restructured
Retire farm debt at death	Debt remains outstanding	Debt has been paid off

Trust Ownership and Who Can Sign

Second-to-die policies are usually owned by an irrevocable life insurance trust, and farm estate plans frequently include one. Where the trust owns the policy, the trustee sells it — the insureds cannot — and the trustee acts under fiduciary duty to the beneficiaries, which in a farm family often means both the child who farms and the children who do not.

That mix can be delicate. Buyers will require the complete trust instrument with amendments, documentation of who is currently serving as trustee including successor appointments, and confirmation the trust authorizes disposing of trust property. Some instruments require beneficiary consent or notice. Where beneficiaries have divergent interests, get the decision documented before it is made rather than defending it afterward. See selling an ILIT-owned policy, consent requirements in an irrevocable trust, and when a beneficiary objects to a sale.

Crummey Notices and Old Trust Records

ILITs funded by annual exclusion gifts depend on Crummey withdrawal notices — the trustee’s written notice to each beneficiary of a temporary right to withdraw the contribution. Those notices are supposed to live in the trust file alongside accountings and gift-tax returns.

On a family-administered trust running back twenty or thirty years, they are frequently missing. Buyer’s counsel will ask for the history. Gaps rarely stop a transaction, but they slow diligence and raise gift-tax questions that belong to your own attorney rather than to anyone whose compensation depends on closing. Reconstruct what you can from bank records and old returns before the review begins. See missing Crummey notices.

Contestability, Documents, and Timing

Every life policy carries a two-year contestability period from issue, during which the insurer may investigate and rescind for material misstatement in the application. Buyers will not take that risk, so a recently issued survivorship policy has to season past the window. The clock runs from the issue date for both insureds and does not restart when one dies.

The document ladder starts with the cover page alone, which is enough to open a free review. If the case advances, add a current in-force illustration from the carrier, HIPAA authorizations for both insureds, medical records, and the trust package where applicable. Plan on roughly 60 to 120 days from application to funded payment, with two sets of medical records the usual bottleneck, and insist that funds be held by an independent escrow agent until the ownership change is confirmed. See what an in-force illustration is and how escrow works.

Ranking the Options Honestly

Keep the policy if the death benefit still funds a real obligation — an estate-tax exposure a tax attorney has confirmed, a buyout of non-farming heirs, a mortgage on the ground — and the premium is sustainable. That is frequently the right answer in farm households, where the alternative to liquidity is selling land.

Stop premiums without a sale if the contract has cash value supporting reduced paid-up or extended-term nonforfeiture options; you end the outflow and keep some coverage. Surrender if the policy is small, heavily loaned, or of no interest to buyers — it pays the cash surrender value, which is the floor any offer must beat. Sell only when a written offer clears that floor by a margin that justifies the process.

Whatever you decide, take the estate-tax question to a farm-focused tax attorney before assuming the coverage is unnecessary. Agricultural estates have valuation and payment provisions that general advice misses. A free policy review costs nothing and answers only the insurance question — send the cover page or call (305) 209-7183. See also when keeping the policy is right.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Does Farm Bureau have to approve the sale?

No. A life insurance policy is transferable property and its owner may sell it without the insurer’s consent. The company records the change of owner and beneficiary after the transaction closes. Pine Lake is not affiliated with Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company or any state Farm Bureau federation.

Does Farm Bureau membership prevent transferring the policy?

Membership generally governs eligibility to purchase, not the transferability of a contract already issued. The policy is property. As of 2026, confirm with the carrier whether any specific provision in your contract addresses transfer of ownership, and have your own attorney review anything unclear.

Why do second-to-die policies get lower offers?

Because nothing is paid until both insureds have died. Buyers underwrite two life expectancies and model joint mortality, with the payout following whichever insured lives longer. That lengthens the expected holding period and the premium a buyer must fund, lowering present value and reducing the number of bidding buyers.

We sold the farm. Do we still need the policy?

Possibly not, but confirm the estate-tax picture with a farm-focused tax attorney before deciding. Agricultural estates have special valuation and installment-payment provisions, and proceeds from a land sale change the balance sheet in ways general guidance misses. The insurance question is separate from the tax question.

One insured has died. Should we have the policy re-reviewed?

Yes. The contract then prices like a single-life policy on the survivor, which typically improves its value. Notify the carrier of the death first, then request a fresh in-force illustration reflecting one remaining insured before evaluating anything.

Our trust owns the policy and the heirs disagree. What then?

The trustee decides, subject to the trust instrument and fiduciary duty, and some trusts require beneficiary consent or notice. Where heirs’ interests diverge, document the analysis before acting rather than defending it later. Involve the attorney who drafted the trust early in the process.

How long does a survivorship settlement take?

Plan on roughly 60 to 120 days from application to funded payment. Two sets of medical records and trust documentation are the usual sources of delay. Payment should be held by an independent escrow agent until the carrier confirms the ownership change.

What is the first step?

Send the policy cover page for a free, no-obligation review. It shows the issuing company, policy number, face amount, issue date, owner, and both insured names, which is enough to give a realistic direction quickly. You can also call (305) 209-7183.

Related Reading

• Can I Sell A Survivorship Life Policy
• Sell My Farm Bureau Life Whole Life Policy
• Sell My Farm Bureau Life Universal Life Policy
• Estate Tax Exemption Change Policy
• Survivorship Policy First Death
• Sell Ilit Trust Owned Policy
• Beneficiary Objects To Sale
• Crummey Notices Missing
• What Is An In Force Illustration
• Keeping The Policy Is The Right Answer

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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.