A term life policy is a promise to pay a death benefit if the insured dies inside a stated window. That is all it is. There is no account value, no surrender value and nothing to borrow against, which means there is usually nothing to sell either. What term policies do have, and what most owners never use, is a conversion privilege written into the contract.
For a Global Atlantic term policy the conversion question has an added wrinkle, because the group stopped writing new individual life business in 2023. This page explains what that means for an in-force term owner, how to find your conversion deadline, and why the window closing is the part that is genuinely time-sensitive. Pine Lake Life Solutions does not purchase policies, is not affiliated with Global Atlantic or its subsidiaries, and provides education only.
In This Article
- Term Life Has No Cash Value, So the Exit Runs Through Conversion
- Who Services a Global Atlantic or Accordia Term Policy
- Why the 2023 Exit From New Life Sales Matters to a Term Owner
- Finding Your Conversion Deadline in the Contract
- What Happens After Conversion, and the Timing Nobody Plans For
- If the Conversion Window Has Already Closed
- Education Only: What a Pine Lake Review Involves
- Frequently Asked Questions
Term Life Has No Cash Value, So the Exit Runs Through Conversion
Owners are often surprised to be told that a large term policy has no market. The reason is that a life settlement buyer is purchasing a future death benefit and taking on the obligation to keep the policy alive until it pays. With level term, that obligation ends when the level period ends, and the renewal premiums after that point are typically priced so steeply that continuing coverage makes no economic sense to anyone.
Conversion changes the picture. A conversion privilege lets you exchange some or all of the term face amount for a permanent policy from the same carrier, without new medical underwriting. Once the coverage is permanent, it can in principle be kept for life, which is what makes it something a buyer could value.
So the sequence for a term owner is: read the conversion provision, confirm the deadline, confirm what the carrier will actually convert into today, and only then discuss whether the resulting permanent policy is worth keeping.
Who Services a Global Atlantic or Accordia Term Policy
Individual term policies under the Global Atlantic umbrella are commonly issued by Accordia Life and Annuity Company of Des Moines, Iowa. An Illinois Department of Insurance market conduct examination report on Accordia, NAIC number 62200, closed by the Department on August 3, 2021, lists term life among the traditional life products the company offers, alongside universal life and indexed universal life.
The corporate chain behind that name has moved repeatedly. Per the same Illinois report, Accordia was formerly Presidential Life Insurance Company – USA and was re-domesticated from Delaware to Iowa effective July 22, 2013, with Commonwealth Annuity and Life Insurance Company acquiring its stock from Athene Holding Ltd. on September 30, 2013; Global Atlantic’s finance company then acquired control of Forethought Financial Group on January 2, 2014. Global Atlantic’s own history page records KKR moving from majority owner in 2021 to full ownership in 2024.
None of this alters your conversion rights, which live in the contract. It does mean the letterhead may not match the name you remember buying from.
Why the 2023 Exit From New Life Sales Matters to a Term Owner
In 2023 Global Atlantic suspended new indexed universal life sales through Accordia. Distributor bulletins circulated at the time stated that the suspension took effect July 1, 2023, that all new business applications had to be received in good order on or before June 30, 2023, and that the affected products included Lifetime Builder ELITE IUL, Global Accumulator IUL and Lifetime Foundation ELITE IUL. The carrier’s message to distributors said the decision “does not impact our commitment to our existing life insurance policyholders,” and directed in-force service to its contact center.
Why does that matter to someone holding term coverage? Because a conversion privilege is generally a right to convert to a permanent product the carrier makes available for conversion. When a carrier stops selling permanent products, the practical menu can narrow. Some contracts name a specific conversion product; others leave it open to whatever the company offers at the time.
Do not guess at this. Ask the servicing company, in writing, exactly which permanent product your specific policy form can convert into as of today. That single question determines whether conversion is a real option for you.
| Where to look | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Policy schedule page | Issue date, level period, face amount, policy form number |
| Conversion provision | Duration limit and attained-age limit, whichever ends first |
| Rider list | Whether an accelerated benefit was exercised, which can end conversion |
| Annual premium notice | When the level period ends and renewal pricing begins |
| Written reply from the carrier | Which permanent product is available for conversion today |
Finding Your Conversion Deadline in the Contract
Conversion deadlines are almost never a single simple date. They are usually the earlier of two tests, and the one that bites first is often the age test rather than the duration test.
Work through the contract in this order:
- Find the section headed Conversion, Conversion Privilege or Right to Convert.
- Note the duration limit, commonly expressed as a number of policy years or the end of the level premium period.
- Note the attained-age limit, commonly a policy anniversary following a stated birthday.
- Note whether conversion is available in full, in part, or only above a minimum face amount.
- Note whether any accelerated death benefit or terminal illness rider has been exercised, since exercising one commonly ends the conversion right.
Then confirm every one of those readings with the carrier. A contract page and a service center’s administrative record occasionally disagree, and on blocks that changed administrators the odds of a discrepancy are higher.
What Happens After Conversion, and the Timing Nobody Plans For
Conversion is not free money. The converted permanent policy carries permanent premiums, which at older ages can be several multiples of the term premium you are used to. The conversion is done at your original underwriting class, which is the valuable part, but the rate is based on your attained age.
That produces a familiar sequence. An owner in their late seventies converts a policy they can no longer afford, discovers the permanent premium is unaffordable within a year or two, and then has a policy with permanent structure and a funding problem. At that point the full menu of options exists: keep paying, reduce the face amount, use nonforfeiture provisions, surrender, or explore whether a settlement is possible.
What makes this genuinely time-critical is that the order cannot be reversed. Once the conversion window closes, the term policy is a term policy forever, and when the level period ends the coverage effectively goes away. There is no remedy after the fact and no carrier discretion to reopen it.
If the Conversion Window Has Already Closed
Sometimes the answer is that the window closed years ago. That is worth confirming rather than assuming, but if it is true, the realistic options are narrower and honest advice says so.
You can let the level period run out and accept that the coverage ends. You can look at what annual renewable term premiums after the level period actually cost, which is usually sobering but occasionally worth it for a short bridge. You can shop new coverage on your own health, which depends entirely on current insurability. Or, if there is another policy in the household, the review may be better spent on that one.
What you should not do is pay a fee to anyone promising to find a buyer for an unconvertible term policy. Term with no conversion right and no cash value is generally not a settlement candidate.
Education Only: What a Pine Lake Review Involves
Pine Lake Life Solutions does not purchase policies. We are not affiliated with Global Atlantic, Accordia, Forethought or KKR, and no carrier endorses us. Our only ask is a free, no-obligation policy review.
For a term owner that review is narrow and practical: read the conversion provision, identify the two deadlines, draft the written questions to send the servicing company, and explain what the answers mean. If conversion is not available, we will tell you that plainly rather than keep the conversation going. Nothing here is legal, tax or investment advice, and we make no guarantee of eligibility or value.
Financial strength context, for what it is worth to a term owner: AM Best announced on October 23, 2025 that it affirmed a Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of “a+” for Accordia Life and Annuity Company and Forethought Life Insurance Company, with a stable outlook, and a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “bbb+” for the Bermuda parent. Confirm current ratings with AM Best directly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I sell a term life policy that has no cash value?
Usually not in its term form. A buyer is acquiring a future death benefit, and level term coverage ends at the close of the level period, so there is typically nothing durable to buy. Where term is monetizable at all, it is because the contract contains a conversion privilege that can turn it into permanent coverage first. Whether that privilege is still open is a contract and carrier question.
Did Global Atlantic stop selling life insurance?
Global Atlantic suspended new indexed universal life sales through Accordia effective July 1, 2023, with applications required in good order by June 30, 2023, and the group’s public focus has since been on annuities and retirement products. The carrier told distributors the change did not affect its commitment to existing life policyholders. Ask the servicing company in writing what permanent products remain available for conversion today.
Does converting term to permanent require a medical exam?
A conversion privilege generally lets you convert without new evidence of insurability, keeping your original underwriting class, though the premium is based on your attained age. Underwriting typically reappears only if you ask to improve your rate class, increase the face amount or add certain riders. Confirm the specifics against your own policy form with the servicing company.
What is the single most time-sensitive thing for a term owner?
The conversion deadline, which is commonly the earlier of a duration limit and an attained-age limit. Once it passes there is no way to reopen it, and the policy will simply end when the level period does. Locating that date in the contract and confirming it in writing with the carrier should come before any other conversation about the policy.
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- Sell My Transamerica Term 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.