Yes — a ManhattanLife variable universal life policy can be sold in a life settlement provided you and the policy qualify, because the contract is your property and a buyer acquires it directly from you; carrier permission is not required. After closing, the insurer records the new owner and beneficiary and the policy continues in force.
VUL is the policy type where owners most often misjudge their own position, because the number they watch — the account value — is the number a buyer cares about least. Your cash value sits in separate-account subaccounts that rise and fall with the markets, which means the surrender value quoted to you this month is not the surrender value next month. Making a permanent decision off a temporary number is how people end up regretting a surrender.
About the carrier: ManhattanLife, based in Houston, traces its origins to The Manhattan Life Insurance Company, chartered in New York in 1850 — among the oldest life insurers in the country. The modern group has expanded by acquiring smaller carriers and blocks including Standard Life and Accident Insurance Company and Family Life Insurance Company, and much of its present business is supplemental health rather than life insurance. Verify the 2026 corporate structure and A.M. Best rating with the company. Pine Lake Life Solutions is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of ManhattanLife.
In This Article
- Confirm You Hold Life Insurance, Not a Health Product
- The Three Charges Quietly Eating Your Account Value
- Why a Buyer Ignores Your Subaccount Balance
- Ask for the 0% Illustration
- Documents to Gather
- Qualification and Realistic Numbers
- Process, Escrow, and the Rescission Window
- Get a Free Policy Review
- Frequently Asked Questions
Confirm You Hold Life Insurance, Not a Health Product
Start here, because it saves time. A significant portion of ManhattanLife’s business today is supplemental health insurance: Medicare supplement, hospital indemnity, cancer, and accident coverage. Those contracts pay on medical events and have no death benefit, so nothing about a life settlement applies to them.
Your schedule page settles it. Life insurance states a face amount payable on the death of a named insured. A variable universal life policy goes further — you will also have received a prospectus, and your statements list investment subaccounts by name with values that move. Note the exact issuing entity too; older policies within the group may have been written by an acquired carrier such as Standard Life and Accident or Family Life. That affects only where paperwork is submitted, never your right to sell.
The Three Charges Quietly Eating Your Account Value
A VUL is a life insurance policy wrapped around an investment account, and the wrapper is not free. Three deductions run continuously:
- Mortality and expense risk charges (M&E). An asset-based charge levied on the separate account for the insurance risk and guarantees the insurer bears.
- Fund-level expenses. Each subaccount carries its own operating costs, deducted before any return reaches you.
- Cost of insurance (COI). A monthly charge based on the insured’s attained age and the amount of pure insurance at risk. This one rises every year, and after about age 70 it rises fast.
In a good market, returns can outrun these charges and the account value grows. In a flat or falling market — or simply as the insured ages — the charges win. An underfunded VUL in the insured’s late seventies or eighties can burn through account value quickly, which is exactly when owners receive a notice demanding far more premium than they have ever paid.
Why a Buyer Ignores Your Subaccount Balance
This is counterintuitive and worth sitting with. A settlement buyer is not purchasing your investment portfolio. After the ownership transfer, the buyer generally controls how the policy is funded and allocated going forward. What the buyer is pricing is the death benefit, the premium load required to carry the policy through the insured’s remaining life expectancy, and that life expectancy itself.
Two practical consequences follow. First, a VUL whose subaccounts have performed poorly is not automatically a poor settlement candidate — it may simply be a policy you should stop feeding. Second, a heavily funded VUL with a large account value relative to its death benefit can actually draw weaker offers, because the surrender floor is higher and there is less economic room for a buyer. The performance you have been tracking on your statements is largely beside the point. See what actually drives an offer.
Ask for the 0% Illustration
If you request one document, make it this. Ask the carrier for in-force illustrations at a range of assumed gross return rates, and specifically include a 0% assumption alongside current and guaranteed-charge versions. The 0% version shows the year the policy exhausts its value and lapses if the subaccounts contribute nothing.
That single date reframes the decision. If the policy fails at 82 under a flat-market assumption and the insured is 76, you are not deciding whether to sell a comfortable asset — you are deciding what to do about a policy on a lapse trajectory. Also request the premium required to sustain the policy to age 100 under both current and guaranteed charge assumptions. Our guide on in-force illustrations covers how to read each column.
| Factor | How much you watch it | How much a buyer weighs it |
|---|---|---|
| Subaccount performance this quarter | Closely | Very little |
| Current account value | Closely | Mainly as a surrender floor |
| Death benefit | Occasionally | Heavily |
| Premium required to sustain the policy | Only when a notice arrives | Heavily |
| Insured’s life expectancy | Rarely | The central input |
| Outstanding policy loan | Often forgotten | Deducted from the offer |
Documents to Gather
For a free screening: the policy cover page alone — issuing company, policy number, face amount, issue date.
For an offer, add the most recent quarterly or annual statement (account value, subaccount allocations, charges deducted, any policy loan) and the in-force illustrations described above. A loan matters more than owners expect: the outstanding balance plus accrued interest reduces the death benefit and comes straight off any offer, so get the exact payoff figure from the carrier. Later, a HIPAA authorization allows a buyer to estimate life expectancy from medical records; it should name recipients and be revocable.
Qualification and Realistic Numbers
The general screen: insured roughly 65 or older, or younger with a serious health impairment; death benefit of $100,000 or more; policy past its contestability period; premiums a buyer can economically carry. Full criteria are in what policies qualify for a life settlement.
On outcomes, the U.S. Government Accountability Office reported in GAO-10-775 that sellers typically received roughly 10% to 35% of face value, on the order of four to eight times cash surrender value. Those are market-wide observations, not a quote. Two VUL policies with identical face amounts can price very differently based on the insured’s health and the premium the policy demands going forward.
Process, Escrow, and the Rescission Window
Free review from the cover page. Documentation over roughly two to four weeks — illustrations from the carrier, HIPAA authorization, medical records. Offers, which you should receive in writing; if a broker is involved, ask for both gross and net-of-commission figures. Then contracts, funds placed with an independent escrow agent, the carrier’s processing of the ownership and beneficiary change, and release of your money from escrow. Most states then provide a rescission window during which you may unwind the sale.
Plan on 60 to 120 days end to end. Never transfer ownership against a promise of later payment. And because a VUL is a registered securities product, involve your own financial and tax advisors — this page is educational only and is not legal, tax, or investment advice. For the broader keep-or-sell framing, read is a life settlement worth it.
Get a Free Policy Review
Send the policy cover page for a free, no-obligation review, or call (305) 209-7183. We will confirm what kind of contract you hold, help you frame the illustration request to the carrier, and give you a straight answer about whether the policy is a realistic candidate. Related guides: selling a ManhattanLife GUL 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
Does ManhattanLife have to approve the sale of my VUL?
No. You own the policy and a buyer purchases the contract from you. The carrier records the ownership and beneficiary change after closing as an administrative step. Pine Lake is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of ManhattanLife.
My subaccounts dropped this year. Is my policy worth less now?
Probably not, from a buyer’s perspective. Buyers price the death benefit, the premium needed to sustain the policy, and life expectancy — not the subaccount balance. A weak account value is more a reason to stop funding the policy than a reason it cannot be sold.
What are M&E charges?
Mortality and expense risk charges are asset-based deductions the insurer takes from the separate account for the insurance risk and guarantees it provides. They sit alongside fund-level expenses and the monthly cost of insurance, which rises every year with the insured’s age.
What is the 0% illustration and why should I request it?
It is an in-force illustration run on the assumption that the subaccounts earn nothing. It reveals the year the policy would exhaust its value and lapse without market help. For anyone deciding whether to keep funding a VUL, it is the most informative page in the file.
Could my ManhattanLife contract be health insurance instead?
It might be. A large share of the group’s current business is supplemental health — Medicare supplement, hospital indemnity, cancer, and accident coverage. Check the schedule page for a face amount payable on death. Without a death benefit, there is nothing to sell.
How does an outstanding policy loan affect my offer?
The loan balance plus accrued interest reduces the death benefit a buyer would receive, and it is deducted from the offer. Request the exact payoff figure from the carrier before evaluating any number so you are comparing true net proceeds.
How much might I receive for a qualifying VUL?
The GAO’s market study (GAO-10-775) found sellers typically received roughly 10% to 35% of face value, about four to eight times cash surrender value. Your outcome depends on age, health, the death benefit, and the premium the policy will require going forward.
How long does the process take?
Typically 60 to 120 days from application to funded payment, with carrier illustrations and medical records taking the longest. Funds should be held by an independent escrow agent until the insurer confirms the transfer, and most states allow a rescission period afterward.
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Related Reading
- What Is An In Force Illustration
- How Much Can I Get For My Life Insurance Policy
- What Policies Qualify For Life Settlement
- Is A Life Settlement Worth It
- How It Works Policy Options
- Sell My Manhattan Life Guaranteed Universal 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.