Yes — a Great-West Life & Annuity guaranteed universal life policy can be sold in a life settlement, because the contract is your property and the buyer purchases it from you; the insurer’s permission is not needed. With GUL, that answer matters more than with any other policy type — because surrendering a GUL usually returns close to nothing.
Guaranteed universal life is engineered as pure death benefit. It strips out most of the cash accumulation that whole life and traditional universal life carry, and in exchange it offers a no-lapse guarantee: pay the required premium on schedule and the death benefit stays in force to a stated age, regardless of what interest rates do. Efficient, cheap per dollar of coverage — and nearly worthless if you cancel it. That asymmetry is why GUL owners who no longer need the coverage should understand the secondary market before they stop paying.
It also means one specific mistake can be catastrophic: a single late or short premium can permanently damage the no-lapse guarantee. This guide covers how to protect it, how buyers price a GUL, and where the Great-West block is serviced now, given the 2019 sale of that business to Protective Life. Pine Lake Life Solutions is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of Great-West Life & Annuity, Empower, or Protective Life. Education only — not legal, tax, or investment advice.
In This Article
- The No-Lapse Guarantee Is the Asset
- How One Late Payment Can Break It
- Why Surrender Value Is Almost Zero — and What That Implies
- What Buyers Look At in a GUL
- Where the Great-West Block Lives Now
- Documents, Process, and Timing
- When Selling Is Not the Right Answer
- Related Great-West Guides
- Frequently Asked Questions
The No-Lapse Guarantee Is the Asset
In a standard universal life contract, the policy survives only as long as its account value can cover the monthly deductions. A GUL adds a separate promise layered on top: as long as you satisfy the premium test written into the contract, the death benefit is guaranteed to a specified age — commonly 90, 95, 100, or 121 depending on how the policy was designed and funded.
That guarantee is the entire product. It is what you paid for, it is what makes the coverage predictable, and it is what a buyer is acquiring. A GUL guaranteed to age 121 is a fundamentally different asset from an otherwise identical policy guaranteed only to age 85, even if the death benefits are the same today.
So the first thing to establish about your policy is not the account value. It is: to what age is the death benefit currently guaranteed, at the premium I am actually paying? That number is the headline. Everything else is detail.
How One Late Payment Can Break It
No-lapse guarantees are conditional, and the conditions are strict in a way most owners never absorb. The contract typically requires that cumulative premiums paid, by each point in time, meet or exceed a specified test amount. Pay late, pay short, skip a year, or take a loan or withdrawal, and the test can fail.
When it fails, the guarantee does not simply pause. Depending on the contract, it can be shortened dramatically or lost outright, leaving you with a thinly funded universal life policy that will lapse far earlier than promised. The death benefit still shows on the statement, which is why owners often do not realize anything happened.
Most contracts include a catch-up provision — pay the shortfall plus interest within a defined period and the guarantee is restored. The period is limited and the rules are contract-specific. If you suspect you have ever missed or underpaid, ask the servicing company two direct questions: is my no-lapse guarantee currently intact, and to what age? and if it is impaired, what exact amount by what exact date restores it? Get both in writing. A restored guarantee can be worth a great deal more than the catch-up payment.
Why Surrender Value Is Almost Zero — and What That Implies
Because GUL is priced as coverage rather than as savings, its cash value is minimal by design and in many designs runs to zero in the later years even while the guarantee remains fully intact. That is not a defect. It is the trade you made for a lower premium.
The consequence at exit time is stark. Surrender a whole life policy and you receive a meaningful check. Surrender a GUL and you may receive almost nothing after any surrender charge — see how cash surrender value works for why. Simply stopping payment is worse: the policy lapses and returns nothing at all.
That is why the secondary market matters so much for this product. The GAO’s market study (GAO-10-775) found sellers typically received roughly 10% to 35% of face value, and on the order of 4 to 8 times cash surrender value. For most policy types that multiple is a comparison. For a GUL with essentially no surrender value, the practical comparison is between a lump sum and zero. Our page on settlement versus surrender lays out the framework.
What Buyers Look At in a GUL
GUL pricing is unusually clean, because there is no account value drama to model. The inputs are:
- The guarantee period. To what age is the death benefit locked in, and is the guarantee intact? Longer is better; “to 121” is the strongest form.
- The required premium. The exact annual amount needed to maintain the guarantee. This is the buyer’s carrying cost and it is contractually fixed, which buyers like.
- Death benefit. The size of the eventual payment. Under about $100,000 is generally too small to transact.
- Life expectancy. Estimated by independent underwriters from medical records.
- Loans or withdrawals. Any outstanding balance reduces net proceeds and may have already impaired the guarantee.
Notice what is absent: crediting rates, subaccount performance, dividend scales. A GUL is the most predictable thing in the secondary market, which is exactly why buyers pay attention to it. What you need to hand them is documentation proving the guarantee is intact — see what an in-force illustration is and request one showing the guarantee period explicitly.
| Feature | Guaranteed Universal Life | Traditional Universal Life |
|---|---|---|
| Primary promise | Death benefit guaranteed to a stated age | Coverage lasts while account value covers charges |
| Cash value | Minimal by design, sometimes zero in later years | Meaningful early, often eroding with age |
| Effect of a late premium | Can permanently impair or void the guarantee | Draws down account value; guarantee not the issue |
| What surrender pays | Close to nothing | Whatever net account value remains |
| What buyers price on | Guarantee period and required premium | Projected lapse date and premium to sustain |
| Value of a settlement | Often the only route to any value | Usually well above a shrinking surrender value |
Where the Great-West Block Lives Now
Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company, based in the Denver area and long part of Canada’s Great-West Lifeco group, sold its individual life and annuity business to Protective Life in 2019 through a reinsurance transaction. The retirement and workplace-savings side was rebranded as Empower, and the remaining legal entity was later renamed accordingly. For a GUL owner, the practical effect is that statements look different and the service number in your original policy is likely obsolete.
This matters more than usual here, because GUL questions are time-sensitive. If you need to confirm whether a guarantee is intact — or make a catch-up payment before a deadline — reaching the wrong service desk costs weeks you may not have. Work from the most recent premium notice, and confirm the current servicing entity, address, and phone number as of 2026 before mailing anything. If you have nothing recent, your state insurance department’s consumer line can identify the servicer.
A transferred policy keeps its contractual guarantees. The reinsurance transaction did not weaken your no-lapse provision, shorten the guarantee period, or change the required premium. It is still reasonable to check the current A.M. Best financial-strength rating of the company standing behind the block — verify it rather than assuming.
Documents, Process, and Timing
A free review needs only the policy cover page — insurer, policy number, face amount, issue date. For a GUL, add one more thing if you can: written confirmation from the carrier of the current guarantee age and the required premium. Those two facts do more to establish value than anything else in the file.
Beyond that: the most recent annual statement, an in-force illustration that displays the no-lapse guarantee period, and later a HIPAA authorization so an independent underwriter can prepare a life-expectancy estimate. Make sure any release you sign is specific and revocable.
The sequence runs review, documentation, offer, contracts and escrow, ownership change, funding — roughly 60 to 120 days end to end. Keep paying the required premium throughout. Letting a guarantee lapse mid-process can wipe out the value of the transaction you are in the middle of negotiating. Insist that funds sit with an independent escrow agent until the servicing company confirms the ownership change, and get every offer in writing with both the gross figure and what actually reaches you.
When Selling Is Not the Right Answer
A GUL is a good product doing its job when someone still needs the death benefit. If your heirs, a business partner, or an estate-tax plan depends on that coverage and the premium is manageable, keep paying it — the guarantee you already bought is difficult and expensive to replace at an older age.
Selling deserves a look when the original purpose has gone away: the mortgage is paid, the business was sold, the estate plan changed, the spouse the coverage protected has died, or the premium has become a strain on a fixed income. It also deserves a look when the alternative on the table is simply stopping payment — because lapsing a GUL is the one outcome that guarantees you receive nothing.
If the death benefit is small, be realistic. Final-expense and burial-size policies, and most coverage under about $100,000, are below the level where a settlement is economical. Our guides to what policies qualify and whether a settlement is worth it cover both sides honestly.
Related Great-West Guides
If you are not sure whether your policy is a true GUL or a traditional universal life contract, the statement usually tells you: look for language about a no-lapse guarantee, a guaranteed death benefit rider, or a guarantee period expressed as an age. If you see illustrated crediting rates and a meaningful account value instead, you probably have standard universal life.
Compare our guides to selling a Great-West universal life policy, a Great-West variable universal life policy, or a Great-West whole life policy. To have someone read yours, send the cover page for a free review or call (305) 209-7183.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I sell a GUL policy that has no cash value?
Yes. Buyers in the secondary market price a guaranteed universal life policy on its death benefit, its guarantee period, and the premium required to maintain it — not on cash value. In fact the absence of cash value is why selling often makes more sense for a GUL than for any other policy type, since surrendering returns almost nothing.
What happens if I paid a premium late?
A no-lapse guarantee typically depends on cumulative premiums meeting a contractual test, so a late or short payment can shorten or void the guarantee. Most contracts allow a catch-up payment plus interest within a limited period to restore it. Ask the servicing company in writing whether your guarantee is intact and, if not, exactly what amount by what date restores it.
To what age is my death benefit guaranteed?
That depends on how the policy was designed and funded — common guarantee ages are 90, 95, 100, and 121. It is the single most important number for both keeping and selling the policy. Request written confirmation from the carrier at the premium you are actually paying.
Great-West sold its life business. Is my guarantee still good?
Yes. The individual life and annuity block moved to Protective Life in 2019 through a reinsurance transaction, and a transferred policy keeps its contractual guarantees. Your no-lapse provision, guarantee period, and required premium are unchanged. Confirm the current servicing entity and phone number as of 2026 before sending paperwork.
How much could a GUL be worth in a settlement?
The federal GAO study found sellers typically received roughly 10% to 35% of face value across the market. For a GUL the meaningful comparison is not against surrender value, which is usually near zero, but against letting the policy lapse for nothing. The actual offer turns on the guarantee period, the required premium, the death benefit, and life expectancy.
Should I stop paying premiums while a sale is in progress?
No. Missing premiums during the process can impair the very guarantee that gives the policy its value, and a lapsed policy cannot be sold. Keep the required premium current until the ownership change is recorded and the transaction is funded.
Does the insurer have to approve the sale?
No. The policy is your property and the buyer purchases the contract from you. The servicing company records the new owner and beneficiary after closing but has no approval right over the transaction itself.
How do I know whether I have a GUL or regular universal life?
Look on your statement or in the contract for language about a no-lapse guarantee, a guaranteed death benefit rider, or a guarantee expressed as an age. A GUL will have minimal cash value; traditional universal life will show an account value and a crediting rate. If it is ambiguous, the servicing company can confirm it in a single call.
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Related Reading
- Cash Surrender Value Life Insurance
- Life Settlement Vs Surrender
- What Is An In Force Illustration
- What Policies Qualify For Life Settlement
- Is A Life Settlement Worth It
- Sell My Great West Life Universal 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.