Usually not — and with Global Atlantic there is a specific reason that goes beyond the ordinary size problem. Two obstacles stack here. The first is universal to burial coverage: face amounts of $5,000 to $25,000 sit far below the level at which a life settlement market exists. Providers carry fixed per-file costs — medical records retrieval, one or two independent life expectancy reports, legal review, escrow — that run into the low thousands of dollars whether the death benefit is $10,000 or $2 million. Most will not open a file under $100,000, and many start at $250,000.
The second obstacle is particular to this carrier. Global Atlantic’s Forethought Life Insurance Company grew out of the preneed funeral funding business, and preneed remains one of the markets Global Atlantic serves. A large share of small Global Atlantic death benefits are not free-standing burial policies at all — they are insurance funding a prepaid funeral contract, with the benefit already assigned to a specific funeral home. An assigned benefit is not yours to transfer, and that is the first thing to establish.
None of which means there is nothing to do. There is usually something in the contract worth using. It just is not a sale.
In This Article
Which Global Atlantic company issued your policy?
“Global Atlantic” is a brand covering several separately domiciled insurers, and which one issued your contract determines who services it and which state regulator supervises it. As of 2026:
- Forethought Life Insurance Company — domiciled in Indiana, headquartered in Indianapolis, regulated by the Indiana Department of Insurance. This is the entity with preneed and final expense roots and the one that issues most Global Atlantic annuity contracts.
- Accordia Life and Annuity Company — domiciled in Iowa, headquartered in Des Moines, regulated by the Iowa Insurance Division. Accordia holds the individual life block.
- Commonwealth Annuity and Life Insurance Company — the intermediate parent of Forethought within the group.
The corporate history behind those names explains a lot of the confusion owners run into. Global Atlantic Financial Group was formed in 2013 through the combination of Forethought Financial Group, an Indiana preneed insurance business, with a Global Atlantic entity that had originated inside Goldman Sachs before being spun out. That same year the group acquired the individual life insurance block of Aviva USA and rebranded it Accordia Life and Annuity Company. KKR bought a majority stake in Global Atlantic and, on January 2, 2024, acquired all remaining equity interests, taking the group to 100% ownership.
The practical takeaway: a policy you think of as “Global Atlantic” may have been issued decades ago under an entirely different company name, and the service department, the claim address, and the applicable state regulator follow the issuing entity — not the brand on the letterhead. Your policy schedule page names the issuing company.
Preneed versus final expense — they are not the same thing
This distinction decides whether there is anything to discuss, so get it right.
A final expense policy is ordinary small-face life insurance. You own it, you name the beneficiary, the beneficiary receives cash and may spend it on anything — a funeral, a credit card balance, nothing in particular. It is transferable in principle, subject to the size problem above.
A preneed policy funds a specific funeral. You sit with a funeral director, select goods and services, sign an itemized statement, and the insurance is issued with the death benefit assigned to that funeral home. At death the funeral provider is paid; the family may receive a small excess if there is one. The benefit is committed before you ever consider selling.
How to tell which you have, without guessing:
- Look for an itemized statement of funeral goods and services or a general price list in your file. That is a preneed contract.
- Check whether the beneficiary is a funeral home, a funeral trust, or an individual person.
- Ask the carrier in writing whether an assignment of benefits is recorded against the policy, and to whom.
A preneed contract cannot be sold in the settlement market. What you can often do — and what people usually actually want — is transfer the arrangement to a different funeral home if you have moved or changed plans. Whether that is permitted, and whether any growth in the policy travels with it, depends on the contract and on the state’s prepaid funeral law, which in most states is administered outside the insurance department. Ask the funeral home first, and the state regulator if the answer is unsatisfactory.
| Question to answer | Where the answer is | If yes |
|---|---|---|
| Is a benefit assignment recorded to a funeral home? | Carrier service department, in writing | Preneed contract — not saleable; ask about transferring the arrangement |
| Which entity issued it — Forethought or Accordia? | Policy schedule page | Determines servicer and state regulator (Indiana vs. Iowa) |
| Is a graded or modified benefit period still running? | Policy provisions plus carrier confirmation | Real value is well below face; do not lapse it |
| Is there an accelerated death benefit rider? | Rider schedule | Possible cash while living, no buyer needed |
| Is there cash value? | Annual statement or carrier | Reduced paid-up or extended term become available |
| Is the face amount above $100,000? | Schedule page | A settlement review becomes worth doing |
| Is there a terminal prognosis? | Treating physician | Viatical economics apply; smaller faces sometimes trade |
Graded death benefits and simplified issue underwriting
Small-face coverage marketed to seniors is nearly always simplified issue: a short health questionnaire, no medical exam, and issuance within days. Carriers manage the anti-selection that speed invites by limiting early death benefits.
A graded benefit pays a stated percentage of face for non-accidental death in the early years — 30% in year one and 70% in year two is a common pattern, with full face from year three. A modified or return-of-premium design pays only premiums paid plus a stated interest rate, often around 10%, during the same window. Accidental death is generally paid in full from day one under either design.
These provisions are distinct from the contestability period, which under most state law runs two years from issue and permits the carrier to rescind for material misrepresentation on the application. A policy can be past contestability and still inside a graded period, or the reverse.
Two consequences worth acting on. If your policy is still inside a graded window, its real economic value today is far below the printed face amount, and dropping it wipes out the waiting time already served — usually the worst available outcome. And if you cleared the graded period years ago on a contract issued when your health was better, that policy is worth more to you than anything you could buy today at your current age and health. Keeping it is often the correct decision, not a default one.
What is actually available on a policy this size
Work through these in order.
Accelerated death benefit riders. Many contracts include terminal illness acceleration at no additional premium, and some add chronic or critical illness acceleration. These pay a discounted portion of the face amount while the insured is living, with no buyer and no market required. On burial-sized coverage this is frequently the only route to cash. See how acceleration riders work.
Nonforfeiture options. If the policy is permanent and has accumulated cash value, you are not choosing between paying and losing it. Reduced paid-up insurance converts existing cash value into a smaller, fully paid-up death benefit with no further premiums due. Extended term insurance keeps the full face amount for a limited number of years and then ends. For coverage that exists to pay for a funeral, reduced paid-up is usually the better fit — the need does not expire on a schedule.
Cash surrender value. Knowable in one phone call. Ends the coverage; any gain above cost basis is ordinary income.
Stacked policies. People who bought burial coverage from a direct-mail solicitation frequently bought it more than once. Two or three small policies from different carriers may add up to more coverage than the family needs, at a combined premium that is doing real damage to a fixed income. Consolidating that is a genuine win even though it is not a sale.
Health. If a physician has given a terminal prognosis, the analysis moves to viatical settlement economics, where some buyers will consider face amounts below the standard settlement floor. That is worth one call before concluding there is no option.
What to request, and what a straight answer sounds like
Contact the service department for the issuing company named on your schedule page — Forethought or Accordia, not “Global Atlantic” generally — and ask in writing for: the current face amount and issuing entity; whether any assignment of benefits is recorded and to whom; the beneficiary of record; whether a graded or modified benefit period is still running and its end date; current net cash surrender value; the reduced paid-up and extended term figures; and a full list of riders attached.
That single request answers nearly every question anyone could ask about a policy this size, and it costs nothing.
Then be skeptical of anyone who reacts to a $10,000 burial policy by starting a document collection process. The settlement market does not transact at that size outside narrow viatical circumstances, and a firm that will not tell you so is not being straight with you. Our page on life settlement red flags covers what that behavior looks like, and minimum policy size explains where the real floor sits.
Pine Lake Life Solutions does not purchase policies and is not licensed in every state. We provide education and a free policy review — read the cover page, tell you whether the size and the assignment status leave anything worth pursuing, and say plainly when they do not. Send the policy cover page or call (305) 209-7183.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I sell a prepaid funeral policy?
No. In a preneed arrangement the death benefit is assigned to a specific funeral home to fund a specific list of goods and services, so there is nothing left for a buyer to acquire. If your plans have changed, ask the funeral home about transferring the arrangement to another provider, which many state prepaid funeral laws permit.
Who services my Global Atlantic policy now?
It depends on the issuing entity named on your schedule page. Forethought Life Insurance Company is Indiana-domiciled and regulated by the Indiana Department of Insurance; Accordia Life and Annuity Company is Iowa-domiciled and regulated by the Iowa Insurance Division. The group has been wholly owned by KKR since January 2, 2024.
What is the minimum policy size for a life settlement?
Most institutional providers set a floor around $100,000 of death benefit and several require $250,000 or more. Fixed per-file costs — records retrieval, independent life expectancy reports, legal review and escrow — do not shrink with the policy, so a $10,000 burial policy cannot support the process economically.
What is a graded death benefit?
A limitation on what the policy pays for non-accidental death in the early years, typically 30 percent of face in year one and 70 percent in year two before stepping to full face in year three. It exists because simplified issue underwriting skips the medical exam. Accidental death is usually paid in full from the start.
Does Global Atlantic still sell individual life insurance?
Global Atlantic stepped back from new individual life sales in 2023 and its current markets center on annuities, preneed life, reinsurance, pension risk transfer and funding agreements. Existing individual life policies continue to be serviced. Confirm the status of your specific contract with the issuing company shown on your schedule page.
Should I surrender a small burial policy to stop the premiums?
Ask for the reduced paid-up figure first. That option converts existing cash value into a smaller permanent death benefit with no further premiums, which keeps some coverage in place for a need that never expires. Surrender ends coverage entirely, and any gain above your cost basis is taxed as ordinary income.
Find out what your policy is worth — free, confidential, no obligation.
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Related Reading
- Can I Sell A Final Expense Policy
- Minimum Policy Size For A Life Settlement
- What Is An Accelerated Death Benefit Rider
- What Is Reduced Paid Up Insurance
- What Is Extended Term Insurance
- What Is A Viatical Settlement
- Life Settlement Scams Red Flags
- Sell My Global Atlantic Term 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.