Can I Sell My Genworth Whole Life Policy? (2026 Guide)

Your Policy May Say Life of Virginia, First Colony, or Federal Home Life

The Virginia State Corporation Commission Bureau of Insurance published an examination report of Genworth Life and Annuity Insurance Company as of December 31, 2023, certified by the Commissioner of Insurance on June 3, 2025. Its history section lays the genealogy out precisely.

• The company was chartered as a stock life insurance company by a Special Act of the General Assembly of Virginia on March 31, 1871, and commenced business in April 1871 as The Life Insurance Company of Virginia.
• In 1996 it came under the control of the General Electric Company when GE acquired The Life Insurance Company of Virginia through downstream affiliates.
• Effective January 1, 1999, The Harvest Life Insurance Company merged into it and the surviving company was renamed GE Life and Annuity Assurance Company.
• On January 1, 2006 the company was renamed Genworth Life and Annuity Insurance Company.
• On January 1, 2007, Federal Home Life Insurance Company and First Colony Life Insurance Company, both Virginia-chartered affiliates, were merged with and into the company, with Genworth Life and Annuity Insurance Company surviving.

That last entry is the one that resolves the most confusion. If a household is holding a First Colony or Federal Home Life whole life policy, the obligation did not disappear when the name did. It became an obligation of Genworth Life and Annuity Insurance Company, a Richmond, Virginia insurer, by operation of a merger approved by the Bureau.

From GE to Genworth: the Ownership Chain Behind the Name

The same Virginia examination report documents how the company left General Electric. In May 2004, in connection with the initial public offering of Genworth common stock, GE Financial Assurance Holdings transferred substantially all of its assets to Genworth, including the capital stock of GNA Corporation, now Genworth North America Corporation. At December 31, 2004, about 30 percent of Genworth’s common stock was held by public shareholders and about 70 percent by GE Financial Assurance Holdings. Secondary offerings in March, September, and December 2005 shifted that to roughly 82 percent public and 18 percent GE by year end 2005. In March 2006, GE disposed of its remaining ownership interest through a secondary offering of 71 million shares alongside a Genworth repurchase of 15 million shares.

As of December 31, 2023, the report states the ownership chain as follows: Genworth Life and Annuity Insurance Company is owned by Genworth Life Insurance Company, which is owned by Genworth North America Corporation, which in turn is owned by Genworth Financial, Inc. The practical translation is short. GE has not been an owner since 2006, Genworth Financial is the public parent, and the contract itself was never touched by any of it, because a corporate reorganization does not alter the terms of an in-force policy.

Genworth Stopped Selling New Life Insurance in 2016

The Virginia examination report is explicit about this, and the date is precise. On March 7, 2016, the company suspended sales of its Traditional Life insurance and Fixed Annuity products but continues to service its existing blocks of business. The report lists the affected products as Term Life Insurance, Whole Life Insurance, Universal Life Insurance, Term Universal Life Insurance, Immediate (Fixed) annuities, Fixed Indexed Annuities, Deferred Annuities, and Structured Settlements. It separately notes that Variable Annuities, Guaranteed Investment Contracts, Funding Agreements, Variable Life Insurance, and Medicare Supplemental Insurance had not been sold since 2011.

A block in runoff is not an abandoned block. Contracts remain binding, claims remain payable, and servicing continues. Genworth’s own customer support pages list a dedicated Life Insurance service line at 888.325.5433, with fax 888.325.3299 and email LifeCustomerService@genworth.com, alongside a general line of 888.436.9678, described on the site as 888 GENWORTH. Published hours are Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern, and Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern. What runoff does change is tempo: forms, illustrations, and quotes can take longer than an owner expects, so make requests in writing, early, and keep copies.

Whole Life: the Three-Way Comparison Before Any Sale

Whole life is the one policy type where the owner already has guaranteed alternatives inside the contract, so a settlement is never the first question. It is the last one. Price all of these before comparing anything.

• Keep paying. Guaranteed cash value continues to build on the contractual schedule and the full death benefit remains for the beneficiary.
• Surrender. The company pays the guaranteed cash surrender value, net of any outstanding loan. Coverage ends.
• Reduced paid-up. A nonforfeiture option converting existing cash value into a smaller death benefit with no further premiums. Coverage continues at a lower face amount and the premium stops.
• Extended term. A nonforfeiture option keeping the full face amount in force for a limited period with no further premiums.
• Life settlement. A sale to a licensed third-party institutional buyer for more than the surrender value and less than the death benefit, relevant only if an offer exists and the coverage is genuinely no longer needed.

Ask the Genworth life service line for five figures in writing: current guaranteed cash value, total cash surrender value, current death benefit, outstanding loan balance with its interest rate, and the reduced paid-up and extended term quotes. Those numbers turn an abstract decision into an arithmetic one. Eligibility and value in the secondary market are never guaranteed and many policies attract no offer.

Dividends on Participating Whole Life

If the contract is participating, the company may credit an annual dividend. Dividends are not guaranteed and the scale is set annually. What matters for a valuation is the dividend election on file, because it determines where decades of dividends actually went.

• Paid-up additions. Dividends purchased small increments of additional paid-up coverage, so both cash value and death benefit are above the guaranteed schedule.
• Premium reduction. Dividends offset the bill, so the out-of-pocket premium is lower than the contract premium.
• Accumulate at interest. Dividends sit in a side fund earning interest, payable to the owner.
• Cash payment. Dividends were paid out each year and never built inside the policy.

An owner comparing a settlement offer to a surrender value needs the current in-force figures for whichever election is actually in place. An estimate from an old illustration is not a substitute, particularly on a block that has been in runoff for a decade.

Financial Strength Ratings Differ by Genworth Entity

This is where the entity question stops being paperwork and starts mattering. Genworth’s U.S. life companies are not rated the same, and which one issued a given policy determines which rating applies. In a release dated September 17, 2025, AM Best took the following actions.

• Genworth Life Insurance Company and Genworth Life Insurance Company of New York: Financial Strength Rating of C++ (Marginal) and Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “b+”, with outlooks revised to positive from stable.
• Genworth Life and Annuity Insurance Company, Richmond, Virginia: Financial Strength Rating of B- (Fair) and Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “bb-“, affirmed with a stable outlook.
• Genworth Financial, Inc.: Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “bb-“, affirmed with a stable outlook.

Ratings change. Confirm the current one at ambest.com before relying on it. Two practical notes for owners: the first page of the policy names the issuing company, which is the one whose rating applies; and Genworth Life and Annuity Insurance Company was licensed in the District of Columbia and every state except New York as of December 31, 2023, per the Virginia examination report, which is why New York policies sit in a separate entity.

How Genworth Handles a Change of Ownership

A completed life settlement ends with the carrier recording a new owner and a new beneficiary. Genworth’s customer support materials list an Ownership and Beneficiary Designation Request form among the life insurance forms available to policyholders, alongside address and name change forms, beneficiary change forms, duplicate policy requests, third-party designee election, and electronic funds transfer forms. Questions about that form go to the Life Insurance service line at 888.325.5433.

Three cautions. The existing owner or owners must sign. A change of ownership can carry federal income, gift, and estate tax consequences as well as state and local ones that depend on the particular owner’s circumstances, which is a matter for a licensed tax professional. And any outstanding loan travels with the contract and affects both the net economics and the tax picture, so obtain an exact payoff figure first. Eligibility and value in the secondary market are never guaranteed, and many policies attract no offer at all.

Frequently Asked Questions

My policy says First Colony Life. Is that a Genworth policy?

Yes. The Virginia Bureau of Insurance examination report of Genworth Life and Annuity Insurance Company records that on January 1, 2007, Federal Home Life Insurance Company and First Colony Life Insurance Company, both Virginia-chartered affiliates, were merged with and into the company, with Genworth Life and Annuity Insurance Company surviving. The obligations under those policies became obligations of the surviving company. Service questions go to the Genworth life line at 888.325.5433.

Does Genworth still sell life insurance?

The Virginia examination report states that on March 7, 2016 the company suspended sales of its Traditional Life insurance and Fixed Annuity products but continues to service its existing blocks of business. The suspended products included whole life, term life, universal life, and term universal life. Existing contracts remain binding and claims remain payable; the block is administered rather than grown.

Are all Genworth life companies rated the same?

No, and the difference is significant. In a September 17, 2025 release, AM Best assigned Genworth Life Insurance Company and Genworth Life Insurance Company of New York a Financial Strength Rating of C++ (Marginal) with outlooks revised to positive, while Genworth Life and Annuity Insurance Company was affirmed at B- (Fair) with a stable outlook. Check the first page of your policy to see which entity issued it, and verify current ratings at ambest.com.

Should I surrender my Genworth whole life policy or look at selling it?

That depends on figures only the carrier can supply. Request the guaranteed cash value, total cash surrender value, current death benefit, any loan balance and rate, and quotes for reduced paid-up and extended term. Compare those against any settlement offer, remembering that a settlement pays more than surrender value and less than the death benefit, and that no offer is ever guaranteed. This page is not financial advice; involve your own licensed advisors.

What form does Genworth use to change policy ownership?

Genworth’s customer support materials list an Ownership and Beneficiary Designation Request form among the forms available to life insurance policyholders. The existing owner or owners must sign it. A change of ownership can carry federal income, gift, and estate tax consequences plus state and local ones, so have a licensed tax professional review the transaction before signing. Questions go to 888.325.5433.

Related Reading

• Sell My Genworth Universal Life Policy
• Sell My Genworth Term Policy
• Sell My Genworth Guaranteed Universal Policy
• Sell My Transamerica Whole Life Policy
• Cash Value Loan Vs Surrender
• Extended Term Nonforfeiture Option
• Change Of Ownership Life Insurance
• Is A Life Settlement Right For You

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.