The realistic answer is no, and the reason has nothing to do with Midland National. Burial and final expense coverage is written for roughly $5,000 to $25,000 of death benefit, and that sits well below the size at which a life settlement market exists at all. The fixed cost of underwriting a case — pulling medical records from every treating provider, commissioning independent life expectancy reports, carrier verification of coverage, legal review under the seller’s state settlement statute, escrow, and years of premium servicing afterward — runs into the thousands and does not shrink when the face amount does.
That is not the end of the conversation, though. Small permanent policies frequently contain rights the owner has never used: a reduced paid-up option that eliminates premiums entirely, an accelerated death benefit that pays early on a terminal diagnosis, or accumulated cash value that nobody has asked about in twenty years. On a $12,000 contract, those are worth real money. A settlement process was never going to be.
There is also a preliminary question worth resolving on a Midland National policy specifically, because the company’s product identity does not match what most people picture when they say "burial insurance." Start there.
In This Article
- First, confirm what you actually hold
- Why the settlement market has a floor and where it sits
- Simplified issue, guaranteed issue, and the graded death benefit
- The four contract features that are worth more than a sale at this size
- Check for a pre-need funeral contract before doing anything
- If the real problem is that the premium has become unaffordable
- Frequently Asked Questions
First, confirm what you actually hold
Midland National Life Insurance Company traces its history to 1906 in Watertown, South Dakota, and today runs its administrative operations from One Sammons Plaza in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It redomesticated to Iowa in 1999, which means its primary regulator is the Iowa Insurance Division — the agency that conducts and publishes its periodic financial and market conduct examinations. It is a member company of Sammons Financial Group, itself a subsidiary of the privately held Sammons Enterprises, Inc. of Dallas, Texas, alongside its sister carrier North American Company for Life and Health Insurance.
What matters for this page is Midland National’s product posture. Its life business has been built around fully underwritten permanent coverage distributed through independent agents — term, whole life, universal life and indexed universal life — supported by an accelerated underwriting program marketed as WriteAway that can waive the exam for qualifying applicants. As of 2026 we cannot confirm a dedicated, currently marketed final expense or burial product line under the Midland National name. That is a statement about what we could verify, not a claim that no such contract exists; carriers open and close small blocks constantly, and distribution-specific products often never appear in public material.
So do this before anything else: read the product name and issue date on page one of the policy. If the product name is a whole life or universal life series and the face amount is small, you likely hold a small-face permanent contract rather than a graded-benefit burial policy — and the two behave very differently, particularly on the death benefit question covered below. If the paperwork names a different insurer than Midland National, or names an agency rather than a carrier, that is worth resolving before you spend time on anything else.
Why the settlement market has a floor and where it sits
Institutional buyers of life insurance are funds with a fixed cost per file. Whether the policy is $18,000 or $1,800,000, they order the same medical records, commission the same one or two life expectancy reports, run the same legal and compliance review, and fund the same escrow. Those costs are largely invariant to face amount.
The practical thresholds in 2026 look like this. Above roughly $100,000 of net death benefit, the standard market will look at a case. Between $50,000 and $100,000, a smaller group of buyers will engage, generally only when the insured’s life expectancy is short. Below $50,000, participation is rare enough that you should treat it as no market. Below $25,000 — which is where the great majority of burial policies sit — there is effectively nothing. The full breakdown is in minimum policy size for a life settlement.
If a caller tells you they can place a $15,000 policy, ask for the licensed provider’s legal name and license number in the state where you live, ask who the funding buyer is, and ask what fee is charged and to whom it is paid. Those three questions end most bad conversations before any documents are signed.
Simplified issue, guaranteed issue, and the graded death benefit
Coverage marketed as final expense is usually simplified issue — no exam, a short knockout health questionnaire — or guaranteed issue, with no health questions at all. The carrier prices that acceptance risk by limiting the death benefit during the first two or three policy years.
The two common structures are worth knowing by name. A return-of-premium graded benefit pays the beneficiary all premiums paid plus interest, frequently 10% simple annual interest, if the insured dies of natural causes inside the graded period. A percentage graded benefit pays a stated share of the face amount instead — often around 30% in year one and 70% in year two, with the full amount payable thereafter. Death by accident is normally paid in full from day one under either design.
Two things follow. First, a policy still inside its graded period is worth approximately the premiums paid, which is another independent reason no buyer will bid on it. Second, and far more consequential for families: an older policy that is already past its graded period and pays in full should almost never be replaced with a new one. Surrendering a 2004 contract that pays $10,000 today and buying a 2026 policy with a two-year graded period can leave the family with a refund of premiums instead of a death benefit if the insured dies in 2027. The relevant language sits under a contract heading such as "Limited Death Benefit" or "Death Benefit During the First Two Policy Years." Read it before signing any replacement.
| Option | What you give up | What you get | Best when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keep paying premiums | Ongoing cash outlay | Full face amount at death | Premium is affordable and the benefit is needed |
| Reduced paid-up | Part of the death benefit | Smaller paid-up benefit, no more premiums, ever | Premium is unaffordable but coverage is still wanted |
| Extended term | Coverage after a fixed number of years | Full face amount for that limited period | Health is poor and the horizon is short |
| Surrender | All coverage | Cash surrender value; gain over basis is taxable | Coverage is genuinely unwanted and value is meaningful |
| Life settlement | All coverage | A lump sum, if a buyer bids | Net death benefit is $100,000+ and insured is 70+ or impaired |
The four contract features that are worth more than a sale at this size
Request a written in-force values statement from Midland National showing current cash surrender value, cost basis, loan balance if any, and all available nonforfeiture and rider options. Then work through these in order.
- Reduced paid-up insurance. Converts existing cash value into a smaller, fully paid-up death benefit with no further premiums due, permanently. For an owner who can no longer afford the premium, this is usually a better outcome than surrender and a far better one than lapse. Details in how reduced paid-up works.
- Extended term insurance. The alternative nonforfeiture election: keeps the full face amount for a limited number of years rather than a reduced amount for life. Better when health is poor and the horizon is short; worse if the insured outlives the extended period, at which point coverage simply ends.
- Accelerated death benefit or chronic illness rider. Pays part of the death benefit early on certification of a terminal condition, commonly within a twelve or twenty-four month life expectancy. It pays the family directly, involves no third party, and is generally the fastest cash available. See what these riders do.
- Cash surrender value. Modest on small policies but not always trivial on contracts paid for decades. Ask for the figure and the cost basis together, since only the gain over basis is taxable on surrender.
Run all four before concluding the policy has nothing to offer. On a thirty-year-old small whole life contract, reduced paid-up status plus an intact accelerated benefit rider is a genuinely good result.
Check for a pre-need funeral contract before doing anything
A large share of what families describe as burial policies are pre-need funeral arrangements. The purchaser contracted with a specific funeral home for specific goods and services, and a small life insurance policy funds the contract. The policy is typically assigned to the funeral home or to a trust, and the assignment is often irrevocable — particularly when the arrangement was structured so the value would not count as a countable asset for Medicaid eligibility.
These are not saleable. You are not the beneficiary, and in an irrevocable assignment you may not even have the power to change that. Pre-need arrangements are governed by their own body of state law, frequently administered by a state funeral or cemetery board in addition to the insurance department, and revocability depends on both the statute and the specific contract.
Identify one by looking for an assignment form, a funeral home named as beneficiary or assignee, an itemized goods-and-services statement, or the word "irrevocable" anywhere in the file. If any appear, talk to the funeral home and — if Medicaid eligibility was ever part of the plan — an elder law attorney before touching anything. Unwinding an irrevocable assignment can create an eligibility problem far larger than the policy is worth.
If the real problem is that the premium has become unaffordable
That is the situation behind most searches like this one, and it has a defined decision order. Do not simply stop paying. A missed premium starts the grace period, and lapse returns nothing at all — the one outcome with no upside. Our guide on what to do when a policy is lapsing covers the immediate steps.
The order to work through is: elect reduced paid-up if cash value supports a meaningful paid-up amount; consider extended term if health is poor and the horizon is short; take the cash surrender value if the policy is genuinely no longer wanted and the value is real; and pursue the secondary market only if the net death benefit is $100,000 or more and the insured is roughly 70 or older or impaired. Lapse belongs at the bottom of the list, after everything else has been checked and ruled out. More on the tradeoffs in what to do when premiums become unaffordable.
Pine Lake Life Solutions does not purchase policies and is not licensed in every state. A free policy review will read the contract, tell you which nonforfeiture and rider options are actually available, and give you a plain answer about the secondary market — which, at these face amounts, is usually that a sale is not available and not needed. That answer costs nothing and is the honest one. If you also hold a Midland National term policy, the analysis there is completely different and is covered in our Midland National term guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Midland National sell a final expense or burial policy?
Midland National’s life business has centered on fully underwritten term, whole life, universal life and indexed universal life sold through independent agents, supported by an accelerated underwriting program marketed as WriteAway. As of 2026 we could not confirm a dedicated final expense line under the Midland National name. Read the product name on page one of your contract rather than relying on how the policy was described to you.
Who regulates Midland National, and where do I file a complaint?
Midland National Life Insurance Company redomesticated to Iowa in 1999, so the Iowa Insurance Division is its domiciliary regulator and conducts its financial and market conduct examinations. For a consumer complaint, file with the insurance department of the state where you live, which has jurisdiction over the company’s conduct toward its residents. Both routes are free and neither requires an attorney.
My policy is $20,000. Is there any buyer at that size?
Realistically no. Most institutional buyers work upward from about $100,000 of net death benefit, and a smaller group will consider $50,000 to $100,000 when life expectancy is short. At $20,000 the underwriting and legal cost of the file exceeds any plausible spread. Focus instead on nonforfeiture options and any accelerated death benefit rider already written into the contract.
Should I replace an old small policy with a new final expense policy?
Usually not, and the graded death benefit is the reason. An older contract past its graded period pays the full face amount immediately. A new simplified-issue policy typically restarts a two or three year limited benefit period, so death in that window may produce only a return of premiums with interest. Compare the reduced paid-up value of what you have against any replacement proposal first.
What is the difference between a graded death benefit and a waiting period?
They describe the same limitation from different angles. During the graded period, natural-cause death pays either all premiums with interest, commonly at 10% simple annual interest, or a stated percentage of face such as 30% in year one and 70% in year two. Accidental death is generally paid in full from day one. After the period ends, the full face amount is payable in either design.
The funeral home is listed as beneficiary. What does that mean?
It signals a pre-need funeral arrangement in which the insurance funds a contract for specific goods and services. The policy is typically assigned to the funeral home, and when the arrangement was made to support Medicaid eligibility the assignment is often irrevocable. It cannot be sold. Speak to the funeral home, and to an elder law attorney if Medicaid was involved, before changing anything.
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Related Reading
- Can I Sell A Final Expense Policy
- Minimum Policy Size For A Life Settlement
- What Is Reduced Paid Up Insurance
- What Is An Accelerated Death Benefit Rider
- Cant Afford Life Insurance Premiums
- Policy Lapsing What To Do
- What Is Cash Surrender Value
- Sell My Midland National Term 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.