Two answers, and the second one surprises people more than the first. The first: coverage in the $5,000 to $25,000 range that people call a burial or final expense policy is far below the size at which a life settlement market exists. Providers incur roughly the same fixed costs on every file — medical underwriting, an independent life expectancy report, escrow, legal review of the ownership transfer, and years of premium servicing — whatever the death benefit happens to be. Practically, most will not open a file below about $100,000 of face amount. A $10,000 policy does not receive a low offer; it receives no file.
The second answer: as of 2026 we could not confirm that Genworth ever marketed a dedicated final expense or burial product under its own name. Genworth’s individual life shelf was built around term insurance, universal life, indexed universal life, and linked-benefit contracts pairing life insurance with long-term care coverage. If you hold a small policy on Genworth paper, it is more likely to be a small term certificate, a small universal life contract, or a policy originally issued by one of the predecessor companies that were folded into the Genworth entities — and which of those it is changes your options completely.
Genworth also stopped writing new life insurance in 2016. The entire life block is in runoff, serviced but not sold. That does not weaken your contract; it changes how service works and, importantly, it can affect what a term policy is convertible into. Pine Lake Life Solutions does not purchase policies and is not licensed in every state; this page is education and the review is free.
In This Article
- What a small Genworth policy usually turns out to be
- The block is closed: what runoff means for you
- If it is small permanent coverage: the options that preserve value
- If it is small term coverage: the closed-block conversion problem
- Riders: what may already be attached and unclaimed
- When the right answer is to keep it exactly as it is
- Frequently Asked Questions
What a small Genworth policy usually turns out to be
Before deciding anything, identify the actual contract. Four possibilities dominate.
- A small term policy. No cash value, a level premium for a defined period, and an expiry date. Genworth and its predecessors wrote a great deal of term business, historically including products marketed under the Colony Term name. If this is what you hold, there is nothing to surrender and the only live question is conversion.
- A small universal life policy. Flexible premium, an account value, a monthly cost of insurance deduction. These can lapse from rising internal charges even when premiums are paid. The Genworth universal life page covers the mechanics.
- A traditional whole life policy from a predecessor company. Fixed premium, a guaranteed cash value table printed in the contract. See the Genworth whole life page.
- A policy issued by a predecessor entity and now serviced by Genworth. This is extremely common and it is why old policies are hard to trace.
The predecessor history matters enough to spell out. First Colony Life Insurance Company, founded in 1955 and based in Lynchburg, Virginia, was acquired in 1996 by GE Financial Assurance. American Mayflower Life Insurance Company had come under First Colony’s control in the 1970s. Federal Home Life Insurance Company was a Virginia life insurer in the same group. Effective January 1, 2007, Federal Home Life and First Colony merged into Genworth Life and Annuity Insurance Company in Richmond, Virginia, and American Mayflower Life merged into Genworth Life Insurance Company of New York.
So a policy that says First Colony, Federal Home Life, American Mayflower, or GE Capital Life on its cover is a Genworth-serviced policy today. If you are trying to locate coverage a parent may have held, that list of names is where to start. Our guide on how to find out if a policy still exists covers the search process.
The block is closed: what runoff means for you
On February 4, 2016 Genworth announced it would suspend sales of traditional life insurance and fixed annuity products, and the suspension took effect on March 7, 2016. The company said it would continue to service its existing retained and reinsured blocks, and it redirected its attention to stabilizing its long-term care insurance business.
What that means in practice for a policyholder:
- Your contract is unaffected. Guaranteed premiums, guaranteed cash values, riders, and conversion rights are all fixed by the policy form and the law of the state where the policy was delivered. A company ceasing new sales cannot rewrite an existing contract.
- Service is administrative rather than sales-driven. There is no agent with a commercial interest in retaining you, which cuts both ways: nobody will pressure you, and nobody will proactively tell you your policy is in trouble.
- Records requests can take longer. Runoff blocks are often administered by smaller teams or third-party administrators. Build that into your timeline and send one comprehensive request rather than several sequential ones.
- Conversion targets may be limited. This is the consequential one for term policyholders and it gets its own section below.
The regulators to know: Genworth Life and Annuity Insurance Company is domiciled in Virginia and supervised by the Bureau of Insurance of the Virginia State Corporation Commission. Genworth Life Insurance Company is domiciled in Delaware, supervised by the Delaware Department of Insurance. Genworth Life Insurance Company of New York is supervised by the New York State Department of Financial Services. Which entity issued your policy appears on the cover page, and it determines where a company-level complaint goes. For a service problem, filing with your own state’s insurance department is usually faster.
If it is small permanent coverage: the options that preserve value
Assume the policy is permanent — whole life or universal life — with some accumulated cash value. If the premium has become uncomfortable, the worst response is to stop paying, because lapse forfeits the value entirely.
Reduced paid-up
Premiums stop permanently and the existing cash value is applied as a single premium to purchase a smaller, fully paid-up policy. A $20,000 policy might become $7,600 fully paid up — permanent, no further payments, and still accruing a small cash value. Compared to surrendering the same policy for perhaps $2,300, this leaves substantially more benefit for the family. See how reduced paid-up insurance works.
Extended term
The cash value instead buys term coverage at the full original face amount for a defined number of years. Better when the whole benefit is needed and needed soon; worse if the insured outlives the term, because coverage simply ends.
Reduce the face amount
On a universal life contract this is the most direct lever available. The monthly cost of insurance charge is calculated on the face amount minus the account value, so cutting the face amount cuts the largest deduction immediately. Ask for an in-force illustration at the reduced face before deciding.
Straight surrender
Take the net cash value in cash. On a small policy that is typically a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, and any amount above your cost basis is generally ordinary income.
Request all of these quoted together in one written request. Genworth will produce them; a runoff servicing operation will not volunteer them.
| Name on the policy cover | What happened to it | Who services it now |
|---|---|---|
| First Colony Life Insurance Company | Founded 1955; acquired by GE Financial Assurance in 1996 | Merged into Genworth Life and Annuity, effective 1/1/2007 |
| Federal Home Life Insurance Company | Virginia life insurer in the same group | Merged into Genworth Life and Annuity, effective 1/1/2007 |
| American Mayflower Life Insurance Company | Under First Colony control from the 1970s | Merged into Genworth Life of New York |
| GE Capital Life / GE Financial Assurance | GE exited its Genworth stake by March 2006 | Genworth entities |
| Genworth Life and Annuity Insurance Company | Virginia domiciled, Richmond | Virginia SCC Bureau of Insurance regulates |
| Genworth Life Insurance Company | Delaware domiciled | Delaware Department of Insurance regulates |
If it is small term coverage: the closed-block conversion problem
This is the Genworth-specific issue worth understanding carefully, because it is not intuitive.
A term policy’s conversion privilege lets you exchange it for permanent coverage at your original underwriting class, with no new medical questions and no new contestability period on the converted amount. It is the most valuable right in a term contract for anyone whose health has declined.
But conversion provisions typically permit conversion to permanent products the insurer makes available at the time of conversion. When a company has stopped selling new life insurance, the natural question is what remains available to convert into. Some carriers in runoff maintain a designated conversion product specifically to honor these obligations; others narrow the menu significantly. Genworth discontinued its individual life products effective March 7, 2016, including universal life and indexed universal life forms marketed under names such as Asset Builder Index Universal Life II and Foundation Builder Index Universal Life, along with its guaranteed universal life offering.
So the question to ask, in writing and in these words: What permanent policy or policies is this term contract convertible to today, at what premium, and what is the last date I may convert? Do not accept a general answer. Ask for the specific product name and a quote at 100%, 50%, and 25% of the face amount.
Two possible outcomes. If a conversion product exists and the deadline has not passed, you have a real right worth evaluating. If the practical answer is that nothing meaningful is available, that is important information about your coverage and it should be documented in writing. Read what a term conversion rider is, then see the Genworth term life page for the full analysis.
Riders: what may already be attached and unclaimed
Genworth built a substantial part of its individual life strategy around linked benefits — life insurance paired with long-term care or chronic illness features — which makes the rider schedule unusually worth reading on these policies.
- Accelerated death benefit rider. Pays part of the death benefit while the insured is living, on a qualifying terminal diagnosis and on some forms for chronic illness or nursing facility confinement. The payment reduces the death benefit dollar for dollar and typically carries a discount. On a $20,000 policy an acceleration might produce $10,000 to $15,000 — and since no settlement buyer will bid on coverage that size, this rider is often the only route to cash that exists. See how accelerated death benefit riders work.
- Long-term care or chronic illness rider on a linked-benefit contract. Genworth marketed products in this family, and the benefits can be significant relative to the face amount. If the policy is one of these, the rider may be the entire reason it is valuable and it should not be surrendered casually.
- Waiver of premium. Pays the premium if the insured becomes disabled under the rider definition. Frequently unclaimed because nobody remembers it exists.
Two cautions on timing. Accelerating a death benefit produces a lump sum, and Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income are means-tested on countable resources, so an unplanned payment can create an eligibility problem in the month received. And on a linked-benefit contract, using the long-term care feature may have interactions with other coverage. Get advice before triggering either, not afterward.
When the right answer is to keep it exactly as it is
Worth stating clearly, because most articles on this subject are written by people who benefit from a transaction.
An 84-year-old in declining health holding a $15,000 permanent policy at $59 a month is holding a good asset. The expected remaining premium outlay is small, the full face amount is payable, and the claim is not distant. Surrendering it for $1,900 destroys most of its value. No buyer in the secondary market will pay what it is worth — not because the policy is worth little, but because the market’s cost structure cannot reach coverage that size. Those are different statements.
The mirror case: a healthy 62-year-old paying $88 a month for $10,000 of coverage unlikely to be claimed for twenty-five years is paying a poor price. Reduced paid-up or surrender may genuinely beat continuing.
The test is not whether the policy can be sold. It is whether the premium you will pay from today forward is more or less than the benefit, adjusted for how many years you will pay it and what else the money is needed for. Our pages on minimum policy size for a life settlement and selling a final expense policy cover the market floor and the narrow exceptions to it.
To move forward: send one written request to Genworth asking for a certified copy of the policy with all riders and endorsements, the current net cash surrender value as of a stated date, reduced paid-up and extended term quotes, the conversion answer if it is term coverage, and confirmation of which Genworth entity issued the contract. Allow three to four weeks for a runoff block. If nothing substantive arrives in 30 days, file with your own state’s insurance department. Send us the cover page and latest statement if you want a second reader — the review is free, we do not purchase policies, and on burial-sized coverage the answer is almost always that nothing should be sold. Call (305) 209-7183.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Genworth ever sell a burial or final expense policy?
As of 2026 we could not confirm a dedicated Genworth final expense or burial product. The individual life shelf was built around term insurance, universal life, indexed universal life, and linked-benefit contracts combining life insurance with long-term care features. A small policy on Genworth paper is more likely small term or universal life coverage, or a contract originally issued by a predecessor company now serviced by Genworth.
My policy says First Colony Life. Is that the same as Genworth?
Effectively yes. First Colony Life Insurance Company, founded in 1955 and based in Lynchburg, Virginia, was acquired by GE Financial Assurance in 1996 and merged into Genworth Life and Annuity Insurance Company effective January 1, 2007. Federal Home Life merged in at the same time, and American Mayflower Life merged into Genworth Life of New York. All are Genworth-serviced today.
Genworth stopped selling life insurance. Is my policy still valid?
Yes. Genworth announced the suspension of traditional life and fixed annuity sales on February 4, 2016 and stopped selling on March 7, 2016, while continuing to service existing blocks. Your guaranteed premiums, cash values, riders, and conversion rights are fixed by the policy form and the law of the state where it was delivered. Ceasing new sales does not change an existing contract.
Can I still convert my Genworth term policy?
Ask in writing and insist on specifics. Conversion provisions generally permit exchange for permanent products the insurer makes available at the time of conversion, and Genworth discontinued its individual life products effective March 7, 2016. Ask which permanent policy the contract is convertible to today, at what premium, and what the last conversion date is. Get the product name, not a general assurance.
Should I surrender my small Genworth policy or take reduced paid-up?
Get both quotes in writing before choosing. Surrender on a small policy typically produces a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. Reduced paid-up converts that same cash value into permanent coverage at a smaller face amount with no further premiums due, which in benefit terms is often two or three times the surrender figure. The better choice depends on whether coverage is still needed.
Does Pine Lake buy small Genworth policies?
No. Pine Lake Life Solutions does not purchase policies at all and is not licensed in every state. On burial-sized coverage we will tell you directly that no settlement market exists at that face amount. What we offer is a free review of the documents so you can compare nonforfeiture options, riders, conversion rights, and simply keeping the coverage. Call (305) 209-7183.
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 Reduced Paid Up Insurance
- What Is An Accelerated Death Benefit Rider
- How To Find Out If A Policy Still Exists
- What Is A Term Conversion Rider
- Sell My Genworth Term Life Policy
- Sell My Genworth Universal Life Policy
- Sell My Genworth 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.