Yes — a Farm Bureau whole life policy can be sold in a life settlement, because the contract is your property and a buyer purchases it from you; the insurer’s permission is not required. The company’s only role at closing is recording the new owner and beneficiary. What takes more thought is whether selling beats the guarantees you already hold.
Before anything else, look at your policy cover page and read the issuing company’s exact name. “Farm Bureau” is not one insurance company. Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company of West Des Moines, Iowa is a different legal entity from Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company in Jackson, Mississippi, from Tennessee Farm Bureau’s life affiliate, from Alfa in Alabama, and from several other state-affiliated life insurers that share the Farm Bureau name and none of the same balance sheet. Which one issued your contract determines who you call, whose forms you need, and whose financial strength rating applies.
This guide covers that identification step, how guaranteed cash value and dividends shape the math on a whole life policy, when reduced paid-up beats selling, and how a settlement actually closes. Pine Lake Life Solutions is independent and not affiliated with any Farm Bureau organization.
In This Article
- Step One: Which Farm Bureau Company Issued Your Policy?
- The Corporate Change Iowa Policyholders Should Know
- Guaranteed Cash Value Sets the Floor
- Dividends and Paid-Up Additions Change Your Real Numbers
- Reduced Paid-Up: Get This Quote Before Deciding
- Documents, Membership, and the Assignment Step
- Timing, Escrow, Taxes, and Red Flags
- Other Farm Bureau Policy Types
- Frequently Asked Questions
Step One: Which Farm Bureau Company Issued Your Policy?
This is the most useful five minutes you can spend. Farm Bureau life insurance is sold under a federation model: state and regional Farm Bureau organizations have their own affiliated insurance companies, and they are legally and financially separate from one another.
- Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company — West Des Moines, Iowa, operating under the Farm Bureau Financial Services brand across a group of mostly Midwestern and Western states.
- Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company — Jackson, Mississippi, serving a group of Southern state Farm Bureau federations.
- State-specific affiliates — several states, including Tennessee, Kentucky, and Alabama (Alfa), have their own life companies.
Your cover page and your annual statement name the issuer. Use the phone number on your most recent premium notice, not a number found through a search, and verify the company’s current A.M. Best financial strength rating at ambest.com as of 2026 rather than relying on a figure from an old brochure.
The Corporate Change Iowa Policyholders Should Know
If your policy was issued by Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company in Iowa, there is a specific ownership development worth understanding. Its parent, FBL Financial Group, was a publicly traded company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker FFG. In 2021, Farm Bureau Property & Casualty Insurance Company acquired the outstanding publicly held shares and took FBL Financial Group private, ending its run as a listed company.
That was a shareholder transaction, not a policyholder one. Unlike a demutualization, taking a stock company private does not generate shares or cash for policyholders, so there is no unclaimed windfall to hunt for the way there is with old MetLife or Prudential contracts. Your policy, its guarantees, and your right to sell it were unaffected.
Verify the present corporate structure and whether the company is still issuing new individual life coverage directly with the carrier as of 2026. Companies restructure, and blocks of in-force business are sometimes reinsured or transferred with little fanfare.
Guaranteed Cash Value Sets the Floor
Whole life gives you a contractual guarantee: a cash surrender value that grows on a fixed schedule regardless of markets. Find the current figure on your anniversary statement, because it is the number every other option gets measured against.
Surrendering pays you exactly that amount. A life settlement has to beat it net of all fees to be worth pursuing. Historically it often has — the GAO’s study of the market (GAO-10-775) found sellers typically received about 10% to 35% of face value, in the range of four to eight times what surrendering would have produced.
But there is a structural limit. The more cash value a whole life policy has relative to its death benefit, the less room a buyer has to earn a return. A $100,000 policy sitting on $55,000 of cash value may draw no offer at all, and surrender may genuinely be your best exit. Policies that price well tend to have a substantial death benefit, moderate cash value, and a premium the buyer can carry. Details are in how cash surrender value works.
Dividends and Paid-Up Additions Change Your Real Numbers
Many Farm Bureau whole life contracts are participating, meaning they may receive annual dividends. Dividends are never guaranteed, but how you elected to use them years ago has a large effect on what you own today.
- Paid-up additions buy small blocks of fully paid coverage each year. After decades, they can add meaningfully to both the death benefit and the surrender value — which means the face amount printed on your original schedule understates the policy.
- Premium offset reduces what you pay out of pocket, so your actual annual cost may be well below the contract premium.
- Accumulate at interest builds a side fund you can generally withdraw; confirm in writing how it is treated in any sale.
- Cash payout sends you a check annually and adds nothing to policy values.
Ask the carrier for a current values statement showing base death benefit, paid-up additions, accumulated dividends, surrender value, and any loan, all as of 2026. Evaluate offers only after you have that page in front of you.
| Option | Cash Now | Future Premiums | Coverage Left | Best When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keep the policy | None | Continue | Full death benefit plus additions | Beneficiaries still need it and payments are manageable |
| Reduced paid-up | None | None | Smaller fully paid benefit | The premium is the burden, not the coverage |
| Extended term | None | None | Full face for a limited number of years | You need full coverage briefly, not permanently |
| Surrender | Guaranteed cash surrender value | None | None | High cash value relative to face; no buyer interest |
| Life settlement | Lump sum, historically 10-35% of face (GAO-10-775) | None | None unless a portion is retained | Coverage no longer needed and cash is required now |
Reduced Paid-Up: Get This Quote Before Deciding
Whole life policies include nonforfeiture options, and reduced paid-up insurance is the one most people are never walked through. You stop paying premiums permanently and the accumulated cash value purchases a smaller death benefit that is fully paid for life. No sale, no more bills, and something still passes to your beneficiaries.
Call the issuing company and ask what your policy would convert to. If a $200,000 policy becomes $78,000 of paid-up coverage and your actual problem was the premium rather than a need for cash today, that may be the end of the analysis. The alternative nonforfeiture option, extended term, holds the full face amount for a limited number of years instead.
A settlement is the better answer when the coverage is no longer needed and cash is — commonly for senior care costs or a Medicaid spend-down. Reduced paid-up is the better answer when you still want to leave a benefit but cannot keep funding it. Our overview of how the policy options work compares all of them.
Documents, Membership, and the Assignment Step
To learn whether the policy is a candidate, send only the cover page. The review is free and carries no obligation.
To price it, gather the current anniversary statement, an in-force illustration on guaranteed and current bases, and a loan payoff figure if you have borrowed against the policy — loans reduce proceeds dollar for dollar. See what a policy loan is. A HIPAA authorization comes later so life expectancy can be estimated; keep it specific and revocable.
One Farm Bureau-specific question to ask: coverage was typically sold to Farm Bureau members, and membership is generally a condition at the time of application rather than a restriction on later ownership. Do not assume that. Ask the issuing company directly whether membership status affects a change of ownership or an absolute assignment, and request its current change-of-owner and change-of-beneficiary forms along with notarization and trust requirements.
Timing, Escrow, Taxes, and Red Flags
Expect 60 to 120 days from first review to funded payment. Protect yourself with sequence: funds into independent escrow first, ownership transfer second, escrow release only after the carrier confirms the recorded change. Most states then provide a rescission period allowing you to unwind the sale by returning the money.
Taxes follow a tiered framework in general: return of premium up to cost basis, ordinary income on the portion above basis up to cash value, capital gain above that, with different treatment for a certified terminal or chronic illness. That is a description of the rules, not tax advice — have a CPA run your figures.
Red flags worth ending a conversation over: a verbal-only offer, no escrow agent, a same-day signature deadline, an open-ended medical release, or an intermediary who will not disclose compensation.
Other Farm Bureau Policy Types
If your Farm Bureau contract is not whole life, the decision looks different. Universal life turns on rising cost-of-insurance charges and what the in-force illustration projects; term generally has to be converted before it can be sold; guaranteed universal life is valued almost entirely off its no-lapse guarantee. See our guides to selling a Farm Bureau Life universal life policy, a Farm Bureau Life term policy, or a Farm Bureau Life GUL policy.
For a free, no-obligation review, send your policy cover page or call (305) 209-7183. Pine Lake Life Solutions is not affiliated with Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company, Southern Farm Bureau Life, or any state Farm Bureau organization.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Farm Bureau Life one company or many?
Many. Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company in West Des Moines, Iowa, Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company in Jackson, Mississippi, and several state affiliates are separate legal entities that share the Farm Bureau name. Check the exact issuing company printed on your cover page, because it determines who services your policy and whose forms you need.
Does the insurance company have to approve the sale?
No. You own the contract and can transfer ownership. The insurer records the change of owner and beneficiary once the assignment paperwork is submitted. Ask for the current forms early, since form and notarization requirements are the usual source of closing delays.
Did the FBL Financial Group going private in 2021 affect my policy?
No. Farm Bureau Property and Casualty Insurance Company acquired the publicly held shares of FBL Financial Group in 2021, taking the parent private. That was a shareholder transaction. Unlike a demutualization, it did not create stock or cash for policyholders and did not change policy guarantees or your right to sell.
Do I have to stay a Farm Bureau member to sell the policy?
Membership is generally a condition at the time of application rather than a restriction on later ownership, but do not assume it. Ask the issuing company directly whether membership status affects a change of ownership or absolute assignment, and get the answer in writing before you proceed.
How much more than surrender value could I receive?
The GAO’s market study found sellers historically received about 10% to 35% of face value, often several times what surrendering would have paid. That range is a market-wide average, not a quote. A whole life policy with very high cash value relative to its death benefit may attract no offer at all.
What happens to my paid-up additions and dividends?
Paid-up additions are part of the policy and transfer with it, which is why you should get a current values statement before evaluating any offer. Dividends left to accumulate at interest may be handled differently. Ask for written confirmation of how each element is treated in the purchase agreement.
I have a loan on the policy. Does that stop a sale?
Usually not, but it reduces what you receive. The outstanding balance plus accrued interest is either paid off at closing or comes off the offer. Request a current payoff figure from the carrier so you can evaluate offers on a net basis.
How long does the process take?
Plan on 60 to 120 days from the first review to a funded payment. Getting the in-force illustration and completing the medical records review take the longest. Your money should be held in independent escrow until the insurer confirms the recorded ownership change.
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
- Cash Surrender Value Life Insurance
- How It Works Policy Options
- What Is A Policy Loan
- Sell My Farm Bureau Life Universal Life Policy
- Sell My Farm Bureau Life Term Policy
- Sell My Farm Bureau Life 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.