Term life insurance is rented coverage. It pays if the insured dies inside the level period and pays nothing otherwise, and it builds no cash value along the way. That single characteristic controls whether a National Life Group or LSW term policy can be monetized at all: with rare exceptions, the secondary market cannot purchase a plain term contract that has no route to permanent coverage.
The route, where one exists, is the conversion privilege written into the policy. The deadline on that privilege usually arrives years before the term expires and passes without notice from anyone. This page is education only and explains what to confirm and when.
In This Article
- No Cash Value Means Conversion Comes First
- How to Find Your Conversion Deadline
- Why the Window Closes Quietly
- Which Company’s Name Is on Your Term Policy
- What a Converted Policy Would Look Like
- The Paperwork Chain After Conversion
- A Free Review Before the Deadline, Not After
- Frequently Asked Questions
No Cash Value Means Conversion Comes First
Term insurance carries no surrender value, no loan value and no nonforfeiture options. Stop paying and coverage simply ends with nothing returned. There is no third door inside the contract itself. What many term policies do include is a conversion privilege, a contractual right to exchange the term contract for a permanent policy from the same company without new medical underwriting, at the underwriting class already recorded on the schedule page.
That right matters twice over. If health has declined since issue, converting without fresh evidence of insurability may be the only realistic way to hold permanent coverage. And because the resulting permanent policy has a death benefit that does not expire, it is the kind of contract the secondary market is able to evaluate. Convert or lose the option; there is no partial credit and no reinstatement by paying extra later.
How to Find Your Conversion Deadline
Conversion terms differ by policy form, issue year, state and issuing company, and National Life Group policies may have been issued by National Life Insurance Company of Montpelier, Vermont or by Life Insurance Company of the Southwest of Addison, Texas. There is no single answer that applies to every contract, so treat any general rule you read online, including on this page, as a prompt to verify rather than as an answer.
Get the deadline in writing from the issuing company. General customer service for the group is listed at 1-800-732-8939, and correspondence may be faxed to 802-229-7054 or mailed to National Life, 1 National Life Drive, Montpelier, VT 05604. The Texas campus address is 15455 Dallas Parkway, Suite 800, Addison, TX 75001. Confirm current contact details on the carrier’s own site. The table below lists exactly what to ask for.
Why the Window Closes Quietly
Conversion deadlines are unusual among insurance dates because nothing marks their passing. The premium notice looks the same the month before and the month after. No lapse warning is issued, because the policy has not lapsed; only the option is gone. What follows a missed deadline runs in a fixed sequence.
- The conversion right ends and cannot be restored by paying anything.
- The term policy continues to its expiry date and then terminates with no value.
- New permanent coverage, if still wanted, requires full medical underwriting at current age.
- Any secondary-market option that depended on a permanent contract disappears with it.
The order of operations is therefore: confirm the deadline, then evaluate, then act. Evaluating first is how owners discover the date passed months earlier.
| Ask the issuing company | Why it decides the outcome |
|---|---|
| Which company issued the policy, National Life or LSW | Determines whose records and forms govern |
| The exact conversion expiry date on this policy | The binding deadline, usually earlier than term expiry |
| Any age limit that ends the privilege sooner | Age tests frequently close the window before the term does |
| Underwriting class shown on the schedule page | The class the converted policy is issued at without new exams |
| Permanent products currently available for conversion | You convert into what is offered on the conversion date |
| Any accelerated or living benefit rider attached | May pay part of the death benefit during life without a sale |
Which Company’s Name Is on Your Term Policy
National Life Group is a trade name of National Life Insurance Company, Life Insurance Company of the Southwest and their affiliates, and the group states that each company is solely responsible for its own financial condition and contractual obligations. National Life Insurance Company was chartered by the Vermont Legislature in 1848. LSW was chartered in 1955; National Life acquired a majority interest in February 1996 and LSW became a wholly owned subsidiary in June 1999.
The corporate form also shifted. On January 1, 1999, under a mutual insurance holding company reorganization, National Life Insurance Company converted from a mutual to a stock life insurance company, with its shares held by NLV Financial Corporation, a subsidiary of National Life Holding Company, and policyholders becoming voting members of that holding company. None of this changes the conversion privilege written into your contract, but it does tell you which entity to address correspondence to.
What a Converted Policy Would Look Like
A conversion produces a permanent contract issued at the time of conversion, from whatever permanent products the issuing company offers on that date, at the underwriting class shown on your term schedule page. The premium will be substantially higher than the term premium, because you are buying coverage that no longer expires. That higher premium is not automatically a problem to be avoided; it is the price of holding an asset that has value beyond the level period, and it is what makes the resulting policy evaluable at all.
National Life Group continues to write new individual life insurance and is not in runoff, reporting $634 million in life insurance sales for 2025 and roughly $65.7 billion in assets under management. A.M. Best has affirmed a Financial Strength Rating of A+ (Superior) for National Life Insurance Company and Life Insurance Company of the Southwest, with stable outlooks. Confirm the current rating with the carrier.
The Paperwork Chain After Conversion
Only after a permanent policy exists does an ownership change become relevant. National Life Group publishes an Ownership Change Form covering a new owner, a corporate name change, or showing a new trustee of an existing trust owner, for use with life policies, and states that forms may be faxed to 802-229-7054 or mailed to the Montpelier address. Nothing is effective until the carrier records the change and confirms it in writing.
A Free Review Before the Deadline, Not After
Pine Lake Life Solutions offers a free, no-obligation policy review at (305) 209-7183 that reads your schedule page and rider pages and identifies the deadline you are actually facing. Pine Lake does not purchase policies, cannot extend any conversion deadline, and cannot promise that a converted policy will attract an offer. A term policy with no conversion right remaining generally has no secondary-market value, and a straight answer on that point is worth having.
Pine Lake Life Solutions is an independent education and referral resource. Pine Lake is not affiliated with, endorsed by, appointed by or connected to National Life Insurance Company, Life Insurance Company of the Southwest or any National Life Group company, and Pine Lake does not purchase policies. Nothing here is legal, tax or investment advice, and no eligibility or dollar value is promised. The only thing offered is a free, no-obligation policy review at (305) 209-7183.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I sell a National Life Group term policy as it is?
Generally no. Term insurance has no cash value and expires, so the secondary market normally cannot purchase it in term form. The usual path is exercising the conversion privilege to obtain a permanent policy first, and if that window has closed there is typically nothing to sell.
How do I find my conversion deadline?
Ask the issuing company in writing, because terms differ by policy form, issue year, state and whether National Life Insurance Company or LSW issued the contract. General customer service for the group is listed at 1-800-732-8939, with correspondence faxed to 802-229-7054 or mailed to 1 National Life Drive, Montpelier, VT 05604.
Will I need a medical exam to convert?
A conversion privilege is designed to allow the exchange without new evidence of insurability, at the underwriting class already shown on the schedule page. That is exactly why the privilege is most valuable to owners whose health has changed since the policy was issued.
Which company is legally responsible for my term policy?
The issuing company named on the contract. National Life Group is a trade name of National Life Insurance Company of Montpelier, Vermont, Life Insurance Company of the Southwest of Addison, Texas, and their affiliates, and the group states each company is solely responsible for its own contractual obligations.
Does Pine Lake purchase converted policies?
No. Pine Lake does not purchase policies and is not affiliated with or endorsed by National Life Group or LSW. It offers a free, no-obligation policy review only, and cannot guarantee that any policy will attract an offer.
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- How Health Affects Life Settlement Value
- Sell My State Farm Term 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.