Yes — a ManhattanLife universal life policy can be sold in a life settlement when you and the policy qualify, because you own the contract and a buyer purchases it from you; no carrier approval is needed. Universal life is, in fact, the single most common policy type in the secondary market, and the reasons are structural rather than accidental.
ManhattanLife is headquartered in Houston and descends from The Manhattan Life Insurance Company, chartered in New York in 1850 — among the oldest life insurers in the country. The current group has expanded largely by acquiring smaller carriers and blocks of business, including Standard Life and Accident Insurance Company and Family Life Insurance Company, so an older UL policy in the group may have been issued under a different name. Verify the present corporate structure and A.M. Best rating with the company or A.M. Best, as of 2026.
Worth checking first: a large share of ManhattanLife’s current business is supplemental health coverage — Medicare supplement, hospital indemnity, cancer and accident plans. Those contracts have no death benefit and cannot be sold. Make sure what you hold is life insurance. Pine Lake Life Solutions is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of ManhattanLife.
In This Article
Why Universal Life Dominates the Settlement Market
Universal life separates the death benefit from the funding. You pay premiums into an account value, the insurer deducts a monthly cost of insurance and expense charges, and credits interest on what remains. The flexibility is the selling point — and the trap.
Two forces work against an aging UL policy at the same time. First, the cost of insurance is charged against the insured’s attained age, so it climbs every single year, gently at first and then steeply after roughly age 70. Second, policies illustrated during the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s often assumed crediting rates of 8% to 12%, which reflected the interest-rate environment of the day. Those same policies have spent the last two decades crediting at or near their contractual guaranteed minimum, frequently in the 2% to 4% range. The projected account value never materialized.
Put those together and you get the classic scenario: a policyholder in their late seventies receives a notice that the premium they have paid for thirty years is no longer enough to keep the policy in force, and the required amount is several times higher. That is the moment most people first hear the phrase “life settlement.”
Find Your Lapse Date Before You Do Anything Else
You cannot make a good decision without knowing when the policy runs out of money. That answer lives in an in-force illustration, and you have to ask for it correctly. Call the carrier’s policyholder service line and request in-force illustrations at two sets of assumptions:
- Current assumptions — projecting forward using the interest rate and charges in effect today.
- Guaranteed assumptions — the worst case the contract permits: minimum credited interest, maximum cost of insurance.
Ask for each at your current premium, and also ask what premium would carry the policy to age 100. The year the account value hits zero on the guaranteed illustration is your realistic outside date. If the two illustrations show lapse dates that are a decade apart, you have learned that your policy’s survival depends entirely on the insurer’s discretionary crediting — which is exactly the kind of uncertainty worth converting into cash. Our guide to in-force illustrations explains each column.
What the Illustration Tells a Buyer
A settlement buyer reads the same document you do, but for different reasons. The buyer is calculating how much premium it will take to keep the policy alive over the insured’s remaining life expectancy, and discounting the death benefit back to today at a required rate of return. Low ongoing premium relative to the death benefit is good for pricing. High and rising cost of insurance is bad.
This is why a UL policy that looks like a problem to you can look like a reasonable asset to a buyer: the buyer has capital to fund it and a portfolio to spread outcomes across, while you have one policy and a fixed income. It is also why offers vary between buyers — they use different life-expectancy providers and different return targets. If more than one buyer bids, that competition is worth having. See what drives an offer.
Your Realistic Options When Premiums Balloon
When the carrier tells you the premium must rise, you have five choices, not two:
- Pay the higher premium. Fine if it is affordable and the coverage is still needed.
- Reduce the death benefit. Lowering the face amount lowers the cost of insurance and can make the policy sustainable. It also may drop you below the settlement market’s threshold, so decide in that order, not the reverse.
- Let it lapse. You get nothing. This is the outcome a settlement exists to prevent.
- Surrender. On an aging UL, surrender value is often disappointingly small after decades of rising insurance charges.
- Sell it. The GAO’s market study (GAO-10-775) found sellers typically received about 10% to 35% of face value, roughly four to eight times what surrender would have paid.
Compare the last two carefully in life settlement vs. surrender.
| Illustration you request | What it assumes | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Current assumptions, current premium | Today’s credited rate and charges continue | Best-case runway at what you pay now |
| Guaranteed assumptions, current premium | Minimum interest, maximum cost of insurance | Your realistic outside lapse date |
| Premium to carry to age 100, current | Today’s rate and charges continue | The check you would need to write to be safe |
| Premium to carry to age 100, guaranteed | Worst case the contract allows | The true cost of certainty |
| Minimum premium to keep in force 12 months | Short-horizon funding | What to pay while a review is underway |
Documents and Details to Gather
For a free screening, one page does it: the policy cover page with the issuing company’s legal name, policy number, face amount, and issue date. That also resolves whether your policy originated with ManhattanLife or with an acquired carrier such as Standard Life and Accident or Family Life — either way, your rights are unchanged and the paperwork goes to whoever administers it now.
For an actual offer, add the most recent annual statement (account value, surrender value, current cost-of-insurance charges, any loan) and the in-force illustrations described above. A HIPAA authorization comes later so a buyer can estimate life expectancy from medical records; it should name who receives the records and be revocable.
Do You Qualify?
The market’s general screen: insured roughly 65 or older, or younger with a significant health impairment; death benefit of $100,000 or more; policy past its contestability period; and premiums that make economic sense to carry. Outstanding policy loans reduce the death benefit and come off any offer, so get the exact payoff figure before you evaluate numbers.
UL policies clear this screen more often than any other type, but not universally. A small UL, or one so richly funded that it will comfortably outlive the insured on its own, may be worth more kept. The full criteria are in what policies qualify for a life settlement.
Process and Timing
Free review from the cover page, then documentation (illustrations, HIPAA, medical records) over roughly two to four weeks, then offers, then contracts and independent escrow, then the carrier’s processing of the ownership and beneficiary change, then release of funds. Most states provide a rescission window afterward in which you may unwind the sale.
Budget 60 to 120 days overall. If your policy is close to lapsing, start early and keep paying the minimum premium in the meantime — a lapsed policy has nothing to sell. Ask any broker for both gross and net-of-commission figures in writing, and never transfer ownership before funds are in escrow. This page is educational only and is not legal, tax, or investment advice.
Free Policy Review
If you have received a premium-increase notice or a lapse warning, that letter is the signal to get the policy reviewed rather than filed away. Send the policy cover page for a free, no-obligation review, or call (305) 209-7183. Related guides: selling a ManhattanLife whole life policy and how the policy options work. Pine Lake Life Solutions is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of ManhattanLife.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did my universal life premium suddenly increase?
Universal life charges a cost of insurance that rises with the insured’s age, and many older policies were illustrated at credited interest rates far above what has actually been paid for the past two decades. The account value fell short, so the carrier requires more premium to keep the death benefit in force.
Do I need the carrier’s approval to sell a UL policy?
No. The policy is your property and a buyer purchases the contract from you. After closing, the carrier records the new owner and beneficiary as an administrative step. Pine Lake is not affiliated with or acting on behalf of ManhattanLife or any carrier.
What exactly should I ask the carrier for?
Ask for in-force illustrations at both current and guaranteed assumptions, at your current premium, plus the premium required to carry the policy to age 100 under each. The year the value reaches zero on the guaranteed version is your realistic outside lapse date.
Should I reduce my death benefit to lower the premium?
It is a legitimate option, but decide in the right order. Reducing the face amount may drop the policy below the roughly $100,000 threshold the settlement market works with, closing off a sale. Explore the settlement question before permanently shrinking the policy.
My policy came from Standard Life and Accident. Can it still be sold?
Yes. Blocks acquired by the group are administered under the ManhattanLife umbrella, and your contractual rights travel with the policy regardless of which entity services it. The change-of-ownership paperwork simply goes to whichever company administers it today.
How much might I receive?
The GAO’s study of the market (GAO-10-775) found sellers typically received roughly 10% to 35% of face value, about four to eight times cash surrender value. The actual figure depends on age, health, the death benefit, and the premium required going forward.
What if my policy is about to lapse?
Keep paying at least the minimum premium while a review is underway. A lapsed policy has no value to sell and generally cannot be reinstated without back premiums and evidence of insurability. Starting the process early matters because it typically takes 60 to 120 days.
What do I send to get started?
Just the policy cover page showing the issuing company, policy number, face amount, and issue date. That is enough for a free, no-obligation review. Call (305) 209-7183 if you would rather ask questions first.
Find out what your policy is worth — free, confidential, no obligation.
A 15-minute educational review covers your eligibility, every alternative, and a realistic view of what each path would net you.
Related Reading
- What Is An In Force Illustration
- Life Settlement Vs Surrender
- What Policies Qualify For Life Settlement
- How Much Can I Get For My Life Insurance Policy
- How It Works Policy Options
- Sell My Manhattan 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.