Yes — a survivorship (second-to-die) policy can be sold in a life settlement if the owner and the policy qualify, and no permission from the insurance carrier is needed to complete the transfer. The contract belongs to its owner, and owners may sell what they own. Joint coverage is different only in how it is valued: a buyer must underwrite two insured lives and price the timing of the second death, which lengthens the expected wait and lowers the offer.
Great-West policyholders should untangle the corporate story before doing anything else. Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company was the U.S. arm of the Canadian Great-West Lifeco organization; in 2019 it announced the sale of its individual life insurance and annuity business to Protective Life, executed largely through reinsurance, while the retirement services business was rebranded as Empower. The practical result is that a policy issued under the Great-West name may now be administered by a different company, with correspondence and service phone numbers that do not match the policy jacket. Confirm with the carrier as of 2026 exactly which entity services your contract, since block transfers do not always sweep every product line.
Below: joint mortality pricing, the effect of a first death, ILIT ownership and Crummey history, in-force illustrations, contestability and state waiting periods, and the situations where keeping the policy is the better decision. Pine Lake Life Solutions is not affiliated with Great-West Lifeco, Protective Life, or Empower, and nothing here is legal, tax, or investment advice.
In This Article
- Block Transfers, Reinsurance, and Who Answers the Phone
- Pricing Two Lives: Where the Discount Comes From
- The First Death and Why It Reprices the Contract
- When Second-to-Die Coverage Loses Its Purpose
- ILIT Ownership: Trustee Authority and Crummey Records
- Contestability, State Rules, and How Funds Move
- Qualification, and the Honest Case for Keeping It
- Frequently Asked Questions
Block Transfers, Reinsurance, and Who Answers the Phone
Large life insurance blocks change hands regularly, and the mechanics matter to policyholders in one specific way: the company that services your contract controls the documents a settlement buyer needs. In-force illustrations, current loan balances, ownership-change forms, and beneficiary records all live with the servicer, not with whichever brand appears on your original policy.
A reinsurance-based transaction like the one that moved Great-West’s individual life business can leave the original insurer as the nominal contract party while another company handles administration. That is legally unremarkable and does not alter your rights, but it means the phone number you find through an internet search may be the wrong one.
Use the number printed on your most recent premium notice or annual statement. Ask the representative to confirm five items: the issuing company of record, the servicing company, the current death benefit, the outstanding loan balance, and the owner and beneficiary designations as they stand today. Write down the policy form number too — that is how a buyer confirms whether the product is genuinely second-to-die.
Pricing Two Lives: Where the Discount Comes From
Settlement pricing is a discounted cash flow exercise. The buyer projects premiums out to an expected payout date and discounts the death benefit back to today. Everything turns on that expected date.
For single-life coverage, one life expectancy report produces it. For survivorship coverage, the buyer orders reports on both insureds, then models the joint distribution to estimate the second death. Because the second death is governed by whoever survives longer, the joint estimate runs beyond either individual projection — often substantially. A spouse in good health for their age can add a decade to the model regardless of the other insured’s condition.
More projected years means more premium outlay and a lower present value. Add a shorter list of bidders, since joint mortality is a specialized underwriting appetite, and survivorship files consistently price below equivalent single-life policies. The GAO’s market study (GAO-10-775) found typical sellers receiving roughly 10% to 35% of face value, commonly several multiples of cash surrender value; survivorship contracts generally sit at the low end of that range. See what drives a policy’s market value.
The First Death and Why It Reprices the Contract
The death of the first insured turns a survivorship policy into what is functionally single-life coverage on the survivor. From the buyer’s side, the dominant source of uncertainty vanishes: one person, one medical file, one life expectancy report. Policies that generated no interest while both insureds were alive routinely become viable candidates at this point.
The estate side moves the opposite way. Second-to-die coverage exists to deliver liquidity at the second death, usually to fund estate tax or to equalize inheritances when the estate is concentrated in illiquid assets. Once the first estate has been administered and the survivor’s plan updated, that liquidity gap has frequently narrowed or closed while the premium obligation continues untouched.
The practical move after a first death is to request a new in-force illustration and read carefully what happens to premiums, cost of insurance, and any no-lapse guarantee now that one life has ended. Some survivorship designs change materially. Related: what changes after a first death and what an in-force illustration shows.
| Valuation Input | Single-Life Policy | Survivorship Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy reports ordered | One | Two, plus a joint mortality model |
| Driver of the payout date | The insured’s health | The longer-lived insured’s health |
| Effect of one serious diagnosis | Large | Modest unless both insureds are impaired |
| Premium outlay projected by the buyer | Shorter horizon | Longer horizon, higher total |
| Number of competing bidders | Broader | Narrower — specialized appetite |
| Where offers land in the GAO range | Across 10–35% of face | Usually the lower end |
When Second-to-Die Coverage Loses Its Purpose
These policies were sold to solve specific problems. Watch for the problem having quietly resolved:
- Estate-tax exposure has disappeared. Exemption levels are far above where they stood when most second-to-die policies were written, and many families no longer face a federal estate tax at all. Verify your 2026 position with your own tax counsel rather than relying on the projection used at the point of sale.
- The ILIT survives a plan that does not. An irrevocable trust drafted for a superseded structure may now hold only an unnecessary policy.
- One insured has died. The joint premise is no longer operative.
- A business arrangement ended. Coverage funding a succession or buy-sell obligation becomes surplus when the entity is sold or the agreement dissolved.
- Premiums have collided with retirement cash flow. See bridging a retirement income gap for the broader picture.
None of these on its own means sell. Each means review, with a settlement as one option among several.
ILIT Ownership: Trustee Authority and Crummey Records
Where an irrevocable life insurance trust owns the policy, the trust is the seller and the trustee signs everything — the settlement application, the assignment of ownership, and the escrow instructions. Proceeds go to the trust and are distributed under its terms, which means the insureds may receive nothing directly.
The trust document becomes part of the underwriting file. Buyer’s counsel will confirm that the trustee has authority to sell trust property, that the acting trustee was validly appointed, and that any consents required by the instrument have been obtained. Successor-trustee gaps — an original trustee who died, resigned, or lost capacity without clean documentation — are the leading cause of delay in these files. Where an insured lacks capacity, review selling under a power of attorney before starting.
Keep the Crummey notice history with the trust document. Premiums funded by annual exclusion gifts should be supported by withdrawal-right notices to beneficiaries. Buyers do not audit gift-tax compliance, but a complete file avoids questions at closing and gives your own attorney what they need before a large sum reaches the trust. Full detail: selling an ILIT-owned policy.
Contestability, State Rules, and How Funds Move
Contestability runs two years from issue. Within that period an insurer may investigate the application and rescind for material misrepresentation, so buyers will not purchase a contestable contract. State law adds a separate waiting period before a policy may be sold at all — commonly two years, with exceptions where an insured is terminally or chronically ill. Because these statutes differ by state and are periodically revised, confirm the current requirement where you live as of 2026.
The full transaction generally runs 60 to 120 days. Medical record retrieval and two life expectancy reports take the longest, followed by the carrier’s processing of the ownership change. Payment should move through an independent escrow agent and be released only once the insurer confirms the transfer — never sign an ownership assignment against a promise of later payment. Most states also provide a rescission window after funding.
Ask for offers in writing with both gross proceeds and net-of-commission figures shown. If a broker is representing you, their compensation should be disclosed before you sign anything.
Qualification, and the Honest Case for Keeping It
Survivorship policies that draw real bids look alike: face amount of $100,000 or more, both insureds in their mid-seventies or beyond, at least one and preferably both with meaningful health impairments, well past contestability, and free of a policy loan large enough to consume the value. Loan balances come straight off any offer, and a contract underwater on its loan may have no sale value.
The case for keeping the policy is real and often stronger. If heirs are relying on the death benefit and the premium is affordable, hold it. If both insureds are healthy for their ages, the joint horizon will make offers disappointing. If the coverage is a small final expense contract, no bid will come, and surrendering it typically destroys more value than it releases. If the only aim is to stop paying premiums, ask the servicing carrier for a reduced paid-up quote first — that path requires no buyer, no medical underwriting, and no commission. Compare at lapse versus surrender versus settlement.
For a clear read on your own contract, send the policy cover page for a free policy review, or call (305) 209-7183. Pine Lake Life Solutions provides education and free policy reviews only; it is not affiliated with Great-West, Protective Life, or Empower, and does not offer legal, tax, or investment advice. Other Great-West contracts are covered at universal life and whole life.
Frequently Asked Questions
My policy says Great-West but letters come from another company. Why?
Great-West Life and Annuity announced in 2019 the sale of its individual life and annuity business to Protective Life, executed largely through reinsurance, while its retirement business was rebranded Empower. Servicing can move without changing your contract rights. Confirm with the carrier as of 2026 which entity administers your specific policy.
Do I need the carrier’s permission to sell the policy?
No. A life settlement does not require the insurer’s consent; the company records the change of ownership and beneficiary after closing. Qualification depends on the policy and the insureds, not on carrier approval.
Why does a survivorship policy attract lower offers?
Because the death benefit is payable only after both insureds die, the buyer’s expected holding period is set by the longer-lived spouse, which means more premiums and a lower present value. Fewer providers underwrite joint mortality, so the bidding is thinner as well.
Does the policy become more valuable after one insured dies?
Usually yes. The contract then prices like single-life coverage on the survivor, eliminating the joint mortality uncertainty that suppressed offers. Provide the death certificate and request a fresh in-force illustration, since premium behavior can change after the first death.
What does a trustee have to show to sell an ILIT-owned policy?
Authority in the trust instrument to sell trust assets, valid appointment as acting trustee, and any beneficiary consents the document requires. The trustee signs all documents and proceeds go to the trust. Missing successor-trustee paperwork is the usual source of delay.
What are Crummey notices and why do buyers mention them?
They are withdrawal-right notices sent to trust beneficiaries when annual gifts fund policy premiums. Buyers do not audit them, but a complete record prevents questions during closing. Your own attorney may want to review the history before a lump sum reaches the trust.
How long does the process take?
Roughly 60 to 120 days from application to funded payment. Medical records and two life expectancy reports take the longest, followed by carrier processing of the ownership change. Funds are held in independent escrow and released only after the transfer is confirmed.
What is the smallest first step?
Send the policy cover page, which lists the insurer, policy number, face amount, and issue date. That single page supports a free, no-obligation review that screens the policy in or out quickly. Call (305) 209-7183 if you prefer to talk first.
Find out what your policy is worth — free, confidential, no obligation.
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Related Reading
- Survivorship Policy First Death
- Sell Ilit Trust Owned Policy
- How Much Is My Policy Worth
- What Is An In Force Illustration
- Retirement Income Gap
- Power Of Attorney Sell Policy
- Lapse Vs Surrender Vs Settlement
- Sell My Great West Life Universal Life Policy
- Sell My Great West Life 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.