Two forks decide this, and most people only know about one of them. The familiar fork is conversion: a term policy has market value only while it can still be converted into permanent coverage, because a buyer is purchasing a death benefit that will eventually be paid, and term left alone expires paying nothing.
The fork people miss is what kind of term policy they hold. Grange Life’s described product focus has included mortgage protection and income replacement, and mortgage protection is frequently sold as decreasing term — a policy whose death benefit declines each year on a schedule tracking an amortizing loan. A $200,000 decreasing term policy bought in 2004 may carry a death benefit of $40,000 today. That is a different asset from a level term policy of the same original size, and in the settlement market it is usually no asset at all.
So start with the schedule page rather than a phone call to anyone offering to value your policy. Two lines on that page — the death benefit pattern and the conversion provision — determine whether there is a conversation to have.
In This Article
Fork one: level term or decreasing term?
Look at your schedule page for a death benefit schedule or a table of decreasing amounts by policy year. If one exists, you hold decreasing term.
Level term holds a constant death benefit for a stated period — 10, 15, 20 or 30 years — at a level premium. This is the product the settlement market works with.
Decreasing term, usually marketed as mortgage protection or credit life, pays a benefit that shrinks year by year, roughly matching a mortgage balance, while the premium stays level. Three features make it essentially unmarketable: the current death benefit is often a fraction of the original face amount and falls below the roughly $100,000 minimum most providers require; it approaches zero as the term runs out; and these products frequently carry no conversion privilege at all.
Two further things to check on mortgage protection coverage. Sometimes a lender is named as beneficiary or an assignment is recorded in the lender’s favor, in which case the benefit is committed and is not yours to transfer. And people routinely keep paying mortgage protection premiums long after the mortgage was paid off or refinanced — check whether the loan the policy was meant to cover still exists, because that alone may settle the question of whether to keep it.
If you hold decreasing term, the honest answer on a sale is almost always no, and the useful work is deciding whether the coverage is still needed. See how to read the policy cover page.
Fork two: the conversion privilege and its deadline
If you hold level term, everything turns on whether the conversion right is still open. Request a written statement from the servicing company answering four things:
- Is the conversion privilege currently available? As of today’s date.
- What is the last calendar date it can be exercised? A date, not a formula.
- Which permanent plan or plans does it convert into, and what is the premium at the insured’s current attained age?
- Is partial conversion permitted, and what is the minimum?
The deadline arrives earlier than most owners expect because two limits typically apply at once and the earlier one governs: a conversion window shorter than the level period — commonly the first 10 or 15 policy years of a 20 or 30 year term — and an attained-age cutoff, frequently 65 or 70.
Insist on writing. A verbal answer read from a service screen will not satisfy a buyer’s counsel at closing, and conversion terms differ between policy series issued in different years — a distinction that matters more than usual here, since this block has passed through a corporate change.
The converted premium in question three is the input that sets the price. A buyer models exactly that number, because after exercising the conversion they will pay it annually for the rest of the insured’s life. An expensive conversion product produces a materially lower offer on the same face amount. See how a conversion rider works.
| Level term | Decreasing / mortgage protection term | |
|---|---|---|
| Death benefit | Constant through the level period | Declines annually toward zero |
| Premium | Level | Level, while the benefit shrinks |
| Conversion privilege | Common, with a deadline | Frequently absent |
| Beneficiary or assignment | Usually an individual | Sometimes the lender |
| Clears the $100,000 market floor | Often, if originally large | Rarely, once it has run for years |
| Realistic outcome | Review worth doing if convertible | No market; decide whether coverage is still needed |
Who to send that request to
Grange Life Insurance Company has operated from Columbus, Ohio since 1968 and is Ohio-domiciled, which makes the Ohio Department of Insurance its solvency regulator. It was the life division of Grange Mutual Casualty Company until Kansas City Life Insurance Company agreed in June 2018 to acquire it for approximately $77.2 million; that transaction closed effective October 1, 2018. Grange Life has since operated as a Kansas City Life subsidiary and continues to service policyholders from Columbus. Kansas City Life’s other subsidiaries as of 2026 are Old American Insurance Company and Sunset Financial Services. Grange Life is licensed in fifteen states across the Midwest, mid-Atlantic and Southeast.
We could not confirm whether Grange Life is currently writing new business, and will not assert it either way — ask the company directly if the answer matters to you.
Two practical consequences. Do not call the Grange Insurance property and casualty number about a life policy; auto and home coverage branded Grange remains with a separate organization under different ownership. And a corporate change does not alter your contract: your conversion privilege is a right written into the original policy, and the company servicing the block is obligated to honor it on the original terms. Locating the exact provision may require pulling an older product file, which is one more reason to ask in writing and allow time.
Ohio regulates viatical and life settlement transactions under Chapter 3916 of the Ohio Revised Code, which sets licensing standards for providers and brokers. The governing law for a settlement is generally the law of the policy owner’s state of residence, so if you have since moved, your current state’s framework applies.
What a buyer needs to see on a term file
Assuming level term with a live conversion right, the offer turns on a short list:
- Face amount. A $100,000 floor is typical and $250,000 or more attracts more bidders. Fixed per-file costs — records retrieval, independent life expectancy reports, legal review, escrow — do not scale down with the death benefit. See minimum policy size.
- Insured age and health. The market concentrates on insureds past 70, or past 65 with impairments that shorten projected life expectancy relative to standard mortality tables. A healthy 63-year-old rarely clears the bar however convertible the policy is. See health requirements.
- Converted premium at current attained age. The single largest input.
- Runway on the privilege. A settlement runs roughly three to four months from application to funding. Two years of room is comfortable; sixty days generally is not.
- Contestability. Two years from issue under most state law, restarting after a reinstatement. No buyer closes inside it.
Expect convertible term to price at a lower percentage of face amount than a seasoned permanent policy on the same insured, because the buyer absorbs the conversion cost. That is still meaningfully better than what a term policy pays when it expires, which is nothing.
Convert, sell, or keep — and the mistake to avoid
Sell while convertible. The buyer acquires the policy, converts it, and funds permanent premiums from that point. You never write a permanent-premium check and carry no execution risk.
Convert first, then market. Sometimes a better gross number, because conversion uncertainty leaves the buyer’s pricing. The exposure is that you commit to a permanent premium possibly several times the term premium, and if no acceptable offer materializes you own a contract you did not want. Never convert on the strength of a verbal indication that an offer is likely.
Partial conversion. Often the best answer — convert the coverage the family genuinely needs permanently, let the rest go or be marketed.
Keep it. A level term policy issued years ago at a rate class reflecting better health, still inside its level period, is frequently the cheapest death benefit that person will ever hold. If the family needs the protection, no offer improves on keeping it. See settlement versus keeping the policy.
The mistake: replacing an old term policy with a new one. For an insured whose health has declined, the existing rate class reflects health that no longer exists, and a new contract restarts both the contestability period and the suicide exclusion. Be skeptical of anyone proposing a replacement, particularly if they earn a commission on the new contract.
If the privilege has expired, say it plainly: the policy has essentially no market value. Check the rider schedule for an accelerated death benefit, which can pay a discounted portion of face during a terminal illness without any buyer involved, and do not let the policy lapse while any diagnosis is pending. See what to do when a policy is lapsing.
Pine Lake Life Solutions does not purchase policies and is not licensed in every state. We provide education and a free policy review: send the schedule page and the carrier’s written conversion statement and we will tell you which fork you are on and what it means. Call (305) 209-7183.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I tell whether I have decreasing term?
Look on the schedule page for a table of death benefit amounts by policy year. If the benefit declines annually while the premium stays level, you hold decreasing term, usually sold as mortgage protection. Also check whether a lender is named as beneficiary or holds a recorded assignment, which would commit the benefit regardless of anything else.
Can mortgage protection insurance be sold?
Almost never. The declining death benefit typically falls well below the roughly $100,000 minimum providers require, the benefit approaches zero as the term runs out, and these products frequently carry no conversion privilege. If the mortgage it was meant to cover has been paid off or refinanced, the more useful question is whether to keep paying at all.
Who services Grange Life policies now?
Grange Life Insurance Company has been a Kansas City Life Insurance Company subsidiary since the acquisition closed effective October 1, 2018, and continues to service policyholders from Columbus, Ohio. It remains Ohio-domiciled under the Ohio Department of Insurance. Do not call the Grange property and casualty number, which belongs to a separate organization.
Did the 2018 acquisition change my conversion rights?
No. The conversion privilege is a contractual right in the original policy, and the company servicing the block must honor it on the original terms. What can change is the menu of permanent products available for conversion, so ask specifically which plan your policy converts into and what the premium would be at the insured’s current age.
Why is the converted premium so important to a buyer?
Because after exercising the conversion the buyer pays that premium annually for the rest of the insured’s life. Higher projected outlay reduces the present value of the death benefit and therefore the offer. Ask the carrier to illustrate the conversion product at the insured’s current attained age before you form any expectation about price.
Should I replace an old term policy with a new one?
Usually not, if the insured’s health has declined since issue. The old policy’s rate class reflects health that no longer exists, and a new contract restarts the two-year contestability period and the suicide exclusion. Compare the remaining level period and premium on the existing policy against any new quote before agreeing to switch.
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Related Reading
- What Is A Term Conversion Rider
- Minimum Policy Size For A Life Settlement
- Health Requirements For A Life Settlement
- Life Settlement Vs Keeping The Policy
- Policy Lapsing What To Do
- Where To Find Your Policy Cover Page
- Sell Term Life Policy
- Sell My Grange Life Final Expense 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.