Can I Sell My Great-West Life & Annuity Group Life Policy? (2026 Guide)

A Timeline, Because Group Life Is All About Dates

Almost every bad outcome in group life comes from a date that passed. Here is the sequence most people actually live through:

1. You retire, resign, are laid off, or drop below hours. Group coverage ends on a date set by the plan — often the last day of that month, not the last day worked.
2. A notice goes out. It is usually buried inside a benefits packet alongside COBRA and pension paperwork. It describes conversion and possibly portability.
3. The window runs. Commonly about 31 days from when coverage ends, sometimes measured from when written notice was delivered.
4. The window closes. No reminder, no second chance. The coverage is gone and nothing converts.

If you are anywhere in steps 1 through 3, you still have options. If you are past step 4 for this particular coverage, the remaining question is whether you own any individual policies that could be reviewed instead.

Six Questions to Ask the Plan Administrator Today

Call the benefits office or the plan administrator and get written answers to all six. This is the highest-value hour you can spend.

• What is the exact last date I can convert or port this coverage?
• Does the plan offer conversion, portability, or both, and what is the difference under this specific plan?
• How much death benefit is eligible to carry over — the full amount, or a capped portion?
• What is the quoted premium for the converted individual policy, and which permanent products are available?
• Is there a retiree life benefit separate from conversion, and does taking it forfeit the conversion right?
• Which company will issue and service the converted policy, and where do the forms go?

That last question matters more than it sounds. If Great-West is named anywhere on your certificate, the servicing entity today is likely not the one printed on it — see the section below.

Conversion and Portability Are Not the Same Thing

Plans use both words and participants blur them together, which leads to the wrong choice being made under time pressure.

Conversion produces an individual permanent policy issued in your name, usually with no new medical underwriting. You own it outright, you can name and change the beneficiary, and you can transfer ownership — which is what makes a life settlement possible at all. The premium is typically much higher than payroll deduction because the employer subsidy is gone and pricing is based on your current age.

Portability lets you continue group-style term coverage after leaving, often at group rates for a defined period. It is cheaper and easier, but the coverage generally remains group in character, has an end date, and is rarely a settlement candidate on its own.

If preserving the option to sell matters to you, conversion is the door. If you simply need affordable coverage for a few more years and have no interest in selling, portability may serve you better. There is no universally right answer — but choose deliberately, not by default.

Why the Converted Premium Looks So High

Group life is priced across an entire workforce and frequently subsidized by the employer, so the payroll deduction you were used to may have been a few dollars per pay period. A converted individual permanent policy prices your age alone, with no subsidy and no group pooling. Seeing that number for the first time at 68 is genuinely jarring.

Before you dismiss it, separate two questions. The first is whether the coverage is worth keeping for its own sake — does someone still depend on that death benefit? The second is whether the converted policy would have value in the secondary market, which is a different calculation entirely and turns on death benefit size, age, and health rather than on affordability.

If the answer to the second question is yes, a high premium is a temporary carrying cost rather than a permanent obligation. If the answer is no, then the premium is exactly what it looks like and you can decline conversion with a clear head. Either way, find out before the window closes rather than after.

Event	Typical Timing	What You Should Do
Employment or membership ends	Day 0	Ask when group coverage actually terminates
Conversion / portability notice issued	Days 0–14	Read it immediately; do not file it with COBRA papers
Free policy review requested	Days 1–10	Send the cover page or certificate; find out if conversion is worth it
Conversion application submitted	Before day ~31	Send to the current servicing entity, confirmed by phone
Individual policy issued	A few weeks after	Request an in-force illustration
Settlement process, if pursued	Roughly 60–120 days	Keep premiums current until funding completes

Locating Your Policy After the 2019 Business Sale

Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company operated from the Denver area as part of Canada’s Great-West Lifeco group. In 2019 it sold its individual life and annuity business to Protective Life through a reinsurance transaction, and its retirement and workplace-savings operation carried on under the Empower brand, with the remaining legal entity later renamed accordingly.

For a group participant, that history creates real confusion. Your employer’s benefits materials may still name Great-West. Your converted individual policy may be issued or serviced by a different company. The service number in an old certificate booklet may go nowhere. Confirm the current servicing entity, mailing address, and phone number as of 2026 before you send a conversion request — a form sitting in the wrong mailroom for three weeks can consume most of a 31-day window.

None of this reduces your rights. A transferred policy keeps its contractual guarantees, and a corporate rename does not alter a death benefit, a premium, or an owner’s ability to transfer a contract. It is still sensible to check the current A.M. Best financial-strength rating of whichever company issues your converted policy — verify it rather than assuming.

What Happens After You Own an Individual Policy

From the moment the converted policy is issued, the process is identical to any other permanent policy. A free review needs one page: the policy cover page showing the insurer, policy number, face amount, and issue date. If the policy looks like a candidate, the file then needs your most recent annual statement and an in-force illustration from the carrier projecting premiums and values forward — see what an in-force illustration is.

Later comes a HIPAA authorization so independent underwriters can prepare a life-expectancy estimate from medical records; any release you sign should be specific and revocable. Then offer, contracts, escrow, ownership change, and funding. Budget roughly 60 to 120 days from start to funded payment, on top of however long conversion takes.

Protections to insist on: the offer in writing, both the gross figure and what actually reaches you after any intermediary compensation, funds held by an independent escrow agent until the insurer confirms the ownership change, and confirmation of the rescission window available where you live. Keep paying premiums the entire time — a lapsed policy cannot be sold.

The Money Question, Answered Honestly

Converted group coverage usually has little or no cash value in its early years, which changes the shape of the decision. For a whole life policy with decades of accumulation, a settlement competes against a real surrender check. Here it typically competes against nothing — see how cash surrender value works and settlement versus surrender.

As for magnitude, the federal GAO’s market study (GAO-10-775) found sellers typically received roughly 10% to 35% of face value, on the order of 4 to 8 times cash surrender value. Those are market-wide ranges across all policy types, not a quote, and a specific policy can land outside them. What actually drives an individual result is the size of the death benefit, the insured’s age and health, and the premium a buyer would have to carry.

For the general framework, see how much you can get for a policy and whether a settlement is worth it.

When Group Coverage Is Not Worth Converting

Plenty of group life is small — one or two times salary, or a flat $25,000 or $50,000 benefit. Converted, that produces an individual policy well below the roughly $100,000 death benefit the secondary market generally needs to transact, because underwriting, life-expectancy reports, and closing costs do not shrink with the policy. Small final-expense-sized coverage is in the same category. It is better to say that plainly than to let someone pay converted premiums on a policy that will never attract an offer.

If that describes your situation, the sensible questions are whether the coverage still protects someone who needs it, whether a retiree life benefit through the employer is cheaper, and whether the money is better spent elsewhere. If you also own individual policies from any carrier — a whole life policy from decades ago, a universal life policy that is straining, a convertible term policy — those are usually the better place to look. Our guide to what policies qualify covers the full screen, and you can send any policy’s cover page for a free review or call (305) 209-7183.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I sell my group life certificate directly?

Generally no. Your employer or association owns the master contract and you hold a certificate under it, so there is no contract of your own to transfer. Group coverage must first be converted into an individual policy you own. Once it is individual, the carrier’s permission is not needed to sell it.

How long is the conversion window?

It is commonly about 31 days from the date group coverage ends, though some plans measure it from when written notice was delivered. Get the exact last date in writing from the plan administrator. Once it passes there is usually no way to recover the coverage.

Is portability the same as conversion?

No. Portability continues group-style term coverage after you leave, usually cheaper but time-limited and still group in character. Conversion produces an individual permanent policy you own outright and can transfer, which is what makes a settlement possible. Ask which options your plan offers.

Great-West doesn’t sell individual life anymore. What happens to my coverage?

Great-West sold its individual life and annuity business to Protective Life in 2019 and rebranded its retirement business as Empower. A transferred policy keeps its contractual guarantees, so nothing about a death benefit or premium changes. What changes is which company services it and where forms go — confirm the current servicing entity as of 2026 before mailing anything.

Why is the converted premium so much higher than my payroll deduction?

Group rates are pooled across a whole workforce and often partly paid by the employer. A converted individual policy prices your current age with no subsidy and no pooling. The relevant question is whether the resulting policy has enough value to justify carrying it, which depends on death benefit size, age, and health.

My group benefit is $50,000. Is it worth converting to sell?

Probably not for that purpose. The secondary market generally needs a death benefit around $100,000 or more, because underwriting and closing costs do not scale down with the policy. Converting may still make sense if someone still depends on the coverage — just not as a way to sell it.

How long does everything take?

Conversion itself typically takes a few weeks after the application is submitted. If a settlement follows, plan on roughly 60 to 120 days from application to funded payment. Because the conversion window is only about 31 days, start the review while you are still inside it rather than sequencing the steps one at a time.

What do I need to send for a free review?

The policy cover page — or, if you are still in the conversion window, your certificate and the conversion notice with the quoted premium and deadline. That is enough to tell you whether the resulting policy would realistically be a candidate. You can also call (305) 209-7183.

Related Reading

• What Policies Qualify For Life Settlement
• Cash Surrender Value Life Insurance
• Life Settlement Vs Surrender
• What Is An In Force Illustration
• Is A Life Settlement Worth It
• Sell My Great West Life Whole Life Policy

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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.