If you own a whole life policy with Global Atlantic, Forethought or Accordia on the paperwork, the first honest answer is that the company name on your statement may not be the company that originally sold you the coverage. Global Atlantic is a group of insurance companies, and its individual life business has moved through several owners and administrators since 2013. Understanding which entity actually holds your contract is the starting point for any decision about keeping it, changing it, surrendering it or exploring a life settlement.
This page is education only. Pine Lake Life Solutions does not purchase policies, is not affiliated with Global Atlantic, Forethought, Accordia or KKR, and nothing here should be read as a statement that any carrier endorses or works with us. Facts below are stamped to the sources and dates shown so you can verify them yourself before you act.
In This Article
- Who Actually Holds Your Global Atlantic Whole Life Policy Today
- Two Very Different Whole Life Blocks Sit Under the Same Brand
- Guaranteed Cash Value, Reduced Paid-Up and What Any Offer Would Have to Beat
- How Dividends Change the Math on a Participating Policy
- The Documents to Pull Before You Compare Anything
- Change of Ownership Is the Step a Settlement Actually Requires
- What Pine Lake Does, and What It Does Not Do
- Frequently Asked Questions
Who Actually Holds Your Global Atlantic Whole Life Policy Today
Global Atlantic describes itself as having begun in 2004 as Goldman Sachs Reinsurance Group and separating as an independent company in 2013. KKR became the majority owner in 2021 and, according to Global Atlantic’s own company history, increased its stake to 100 percent in 2024, making Global Atlantic a wholly owned KKR subsidiary.
Underneath that parent sit several separate insurance companies. The two names most likely to appear on a life contract are Accordia Life and Annuity Company of Des Moines, Iowa, and Forethought Life Insurance Company of Indianapolis, Indiana. An Illinois Department of Insurance market conduct examination report on Accordia (NAIC number 62200), closed by the Department on August 3, 2021, records that Accordia was formerly known as Presidential Life Insurance Company – USA, that it was re-domesticated from Delaware to Iowa effective July 22, 2013, and that Commonwealth Annuity and Life Insurance Company acquired all of Accordia’s common stock from Athene Holding Ltd. on September 30, 2013. The same report notes that Global Atlantic’s finance company acquired control of Forethought Financial Group on January 2, 2014.
None of that changes your contract terms. It does change who you call and which service center holds your file.
Two Very Different Whole Life Blocks Sit Under the Same Brand
Whole life under the Global Atlantic umbrella generally falls into one of two categories, and they behave very differently.
The first is traditional individual whole life, much of it inherited from the Aviva USA life insurance business. Athene Holding acquired Aviva USA in 2013 and sold most of the United States life insurance business on to Global Atlantic’s Accordia; per Athene’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Athene continued to administer that life business through a transition period, with the final affected policies transferred to Accordia in early 2016.
The second is preneed. Forethought has funded funeral and memorial planning through funeral homes and cemeteries for nearly four decades, beginning as a Hillenbrand Industries subsidiary in 1985. Global Atlantic describes preneed life insurance as a whole life policy linked to a specific funeral provider, with the death benefit assigned to that provider and paid to them at death in fulfillment of the preneed contract. If your policy is a preneed certificate, the death benefit is generally already assigned, the face amounts are small, and a settlement is almost never on the table.
Guaranteed Cash Value, Reduced Paid-Up and What Any Offer Would Have to Beat
Whole life is the one policy type where you are not comparing an offer against nothing. There is a guaranteed cash surrender value in the contract, and there are nonforfeiture options you can elect without selling anything at all.
- Cash surrender. You take the guaranteed value, less any loans and surrender charges, and the coverage ends.
- Reduced paid-up. You stop paying premiums and keep a smaller permanent death benefit for life, using the existing cash value as a single premium.
- Extended term. You keep the full death benefit for a limited number of years with no further premiums.
- Policy loan. You borrow against the value and keep the policy in force, with interest accruing against the death benefit.
A life settlement, where it is available at all, is only worth discussing if it would exceed the guaranteed surrender value by a meaningful margin after costs. No one can promise that outcome in advance. Price the guaranteed options first, then see whether anything else clears that bar.
| Exit route | What you receive | What you give up |
|---|---|---|
| Cash surrender | Guaranteed cash value less loans and charges | All death benefit; possible taxable gain |
| Reduced paid-up | Smaller permanent death benefit, no further premiums | Part of the face amount |
| Extended term | Full face amount for a limited number of years | Coverage after that period ends |
| Policy loan | Cash now, policy stays in force | Death benefit reduced by loan plus interest |
| Life settlement | A lump sum, if an offer is made | Ownership and all future death benefit |
How Dividends Change the Math on a Participating Policy
Some whole life contracts are participating, meaning the carrier may credit an annual dividend. Dividends are not guaranteed, and the way you have historically elected to use them changes the numbers on your statement more than most owners realize.
If dividends have been buying paid-up additions, your death benefit and cash value are both larger than the base contract. If they have been reducing premium, a dividend cut can quietly raise your bill. If they have been accumulating at interest, there is a side fund that may be taxed differently from the base policy.
Before you compare anything, ask the service center in writing for the current dividend option on file, the current cash value with and without paid-up additions, any outstanding loan balance with accrued interest, and the cost basis the carrier has recorded. That last figure matters for taxes and is frequently wrong on older transferred blocks.
The Documents to Pull Before You Compare Anything
Every decision below runs on the same small stack of paper, and requesting it costs nothing. Ask in writing and keep the request. On blocks that changed administrators, written requests are easier to trace than phone calls. Global Atlantic’s own contact page lists a Traditional Life Insurance line at (877) 462-8992, an Annuities line at (866) 645-2449, and a Preneed and Final Expense line at (800) 331-8853. Confirm the current number on the carrier’s site before you call.
One reason to insist on paper: in that Illinois market conduct examination, examiners cited the company under 50 Illinois Administrative Code 1406.90(a) for failing to provide an annual statement to the policyholder in 24 of 111 sampled files drawn from a population of 9,697, an error rate of 22 percent. If you have not received an annual statement recently, that is not proof anything is wrong with your policy, but it is a good reason to request one directly rather than assume the file is current.
Change of Ownership Is the Step a Settlement Actually Requires
People imagine a life settlement as an offer. Operationally it is a change of ownership. Nothing closes until the carrier records a transfer of policy ownership and, usually, an absolute assignment on the carrier’s own form. Global Atlantic publishes life insurance service forms on its site, including a form to transfer the ownership of a policy and a form to assign the rights and privileges of a policy.
Practical points that trip people up on this block:
- The carrier records the transfer, not the buyer. Until the service center acknowledges it in writing, nothing has happened.
- Signatures must match the owner of record, which on transferred blocks is sometimes stale.
- Existing assignments, including collateral assignments to a lender or a funeral provider on a preneed contract, generally must be released first.
- Beneficiary designations do not survive a change of ownership the way most families expect.
What Pine Lake Does, and What It Does Not Do
Pine Lake Life Solutions provides education and a free, no-obligation policy review. We do not purchase policies. We are not affiliated with Global Atlantic, Forethought, Accordia, Commonwealth Annuity or KKR, and none of those companies endorses us.
A review means we read what your policy actually says, help you identify which entity services it, and explain the options in plain language so you can talk to your own attorney, tax advisor and family with better information. We do not guarantee eligibility or value, and nothing on this page is legal, tax or investment advice.
For financial strength context: AM Best announced on October 23, 2025 that it had affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of “a+” for Forethought Life Insurance Company and Accordia Life and Annuity Company, with a stable outlook. Confirm current ratings with AM Best directly, since ratings change.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is my policy with Global Atlantic, Forethought or Accordia?
It can be any of the three, because Global Atlantic is a group of separate insurance companies rather than a single insurer. Individual life contracts are commonly issued by Accordia Life and Annuity Company of Des Moines, Iowa, while preneed funeral funding is commonly issued by Forethought Life Insurance Company of Indianapolis. Look at the issuing company named on the contract’s first page, not the brand on the envelope.
Can a preneed or funeral whole life policy be sold?
Generally no. Global Atlantic describes preneed life insurance as a whole life policy linked to a specific funeral provider, with the death benefit assigned to that provider and paid to them at death. Because the benefit is already assigned and the face amounts are small, these contracts are not typically candidates for a life settlement. Confirm the assignment status with the carrier before drawing any conclusion.
Does surrendering my whole life policy create a tax bill?
It can. Cash received above your cost basis in the contract is generally treated as taxable income, and outstanding policy loans complicate that calculation considerably. The carrier’s recorded cost basis is the figure that drives the result, and on policies that changed administrators it is worth confirming in writing. Pine Lake does not give tax advice; ask your own tax professional before you act.
How do I change the owner of a Global Atlantic life policy?
The carrier controls the process. Global Atlantic publishes service forms for transferring the ownership of a policy and for assigning the rights and privileges of a policy. The transfer is not effective until the service center records and acknowledges it in writing, and any existing assignment usually has to be released first. Request the current forms and instructions directly from the servicing company.
Is Pine Lake buying my policy?
No. Pine Lake Life Solutions does not purchase policies and is not affiliated with Global Atlantic or any of its insurance subsidiaries. What we offer is a free, no-obligation policy review that explains what your contract says and what your options are, so you can make a decision with your own advisors. We make no guarantee of eligibility or value.
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Related Reading
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- Extended Term Nonforfeiture Option
- Change Of Ownership Life Insurance
- How Do Life Settlements Work
- Sell My Transamerica 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.