Term life insurance is the one product where delay destroys the asset outright. There is no cash value to fall back on, no nonforfeiture option, and nothing for a secondary-market buyer to hold once the policy expires. What can give a North American Company for Life and Health term policy real value is the conversion privilege, the contractual right to exchange it for a permanent policy without new medical underwriting. That right has a hard expiration date, and it almost always falls earlier than owners expect.
This page explains North American’s term conversion rules, including a 2022 change to those privileges, how the age 70 cap works, and what a settlement review looks at after a conversion. Pine Lake Life Solutions is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to North American Company for Life and Health Insurance or Sammons Financial Group, and Pine Lake does not purchase policies. The most valuable thing a free, no-obligation policy review can do for a term owner is establish exactly how much time is left.
In This Article
The Conversion Window Closes Before the Coverage Does
This is the single most consequential misunderstanding in term insurance. Owners assume that if the policy runs for twenty years, they can decide about conversion any time within those twenty years. On most modern term products, they cannot.
North American’s ADDvantage Term allows conversion during select durations within the term period, or to age 70, whichever comes first, with the conversion period never less than five years regardless of issue age. Changes to North American’s term conversion privileges took effect on April 23, 2022, and under the current structure a 30-year term is convertible until the earlier of 20 years or age 70. Partial conversions are permitted, subject to the terms of the policy.
Work through what that means for a real owner. Someone who bought a 30-year ADDvantage Term at age 55 does not have until year 30, and does not have until year 20 either. The age 70 cap binds at year 15. Fifteen years of coverage remain, but the right to turn that coverage into a permanent, sellable asset is already gone. Exact rules depend on your policy form and issue date, so the only answer that matters is the one North American gives you for your policy number.
Why Term Cannot Ordinarily Be Sold
A life settlement buyer is purchasing a future death benefit and agreeing to pay premiums until the insured dies. That model requires a contract capable of staying in force for life.
Level term is not such a contract. It provides coverage for a defined period and then either terminates or continues only at annually increasing renewal rates that become prohibitive very quickly. There is no account value, no cash surrender value, and no reduced paid-up or extended term election. A buyer has nothing durable to acquire.
The conversion privilege changes that entirely. Convert the term policy to a permanent contract and you now hold something that can remain in force for life, has an identifiable cost of carry, and can be evaluated in the secondary market. This is why the correct order of operations for every term owner is: confirm the deadline, evaluate conversion, then evaluate the market. Doing it in any other order risks discovering the deadline has already passed.
What Conversion Costs and What It Preserves
The defining benefit of conversion is that it requires no evidence of insurability. North American’s ADDvantage Term provides the opportunity to convert to most of the company’s currently available life insurance products without new underwriting. For an insured whose health has changed since the original application, this is the entire value of the privilege, because a fresh application would likely be rated or declined.
What conversion does not preserve is the premium. The permanent policy is priced at attained age, so the payment will be substantially higher, often several times the term premium. Many owners convert and immediately realize they cannot sustain the new cost. That is not a failure; it is precisely the circumstance where a converted policy has value to someone else even though it no longer works for you.
Partial conversion is a useful middle path. Converting a portion of the face amount keeps some permanent coverage at a manageable premium while letting the remainder expire. Ask North American which permanent products your contract can convert into, what the minimum converted face amount is, and what the premium would be at your attained age for several different conversion amounts.
| Situation | Conversion right | What it means practically |
|---|---|---|
| ADDvantage Term, general rule | Select durations within the term period, or to age 70, whichever is earlier | The window is shorter than the coverage period |
| 30-year term, current rules | Earlier of 20 years or age 70 | Ten years of coverage can remain after the window shuts |
| Issued at an older age | Conversion period never less than five years | A minimum window is protected regardless of issue age |
| Partial conversion | Permitted, subject to policy terms | Convert part of the face amount and let the rest expire |
The Carrier Behind Your Term Policy
North American Company for Life and Health Insurance traces to 1886, when it was founded as the North American Accident Association in Chicago. A.E. Forest purchased the company for two thousand dollars in 1890 and appointed its first general agent, and in 1918 it became the first company to offer disability insurance for women. It entered the brokerage marketplace in 1981 and was acquired by Sammons in 1996.
The company redomesticated to Iowa on September 27, 2007, in order to simplify regulatory compliance for the holding company system by using a common regulator for the company and its affiliates and to reduce current and future tax costs related to anticipated growth in the annuity business. It is regulated by the Iowa Insurance Division under NAIC company code 66974.
North American is not in runoff. It continues to issue new individual life insurance, including term, universal life, and indexed universal life, through independent financial professionals. That is directly relevant to a term owner, because conversion requires the carrier to have permanent products currently available to convert into. A runoff carrier with no active product shelf can make conversion far more restrictive. AM Best affirmed a Financial Strength Rating of A+ (Superior) with a stable outlook on August 13, 2025, the second highest of fifteen categories; confirm current ratings with the carrier or AM Best.
Four Questions to Ask the Carrier This Week
Do not estimate your deadline from a marketing brochure. Call North American’s life insurance service line at 877-872-0757, or 712-847-1334 from outside the United States, Monday through Thursday 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. or Friday 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Central time, with your policy number in hand.
Ask what the last date is on which this specific policy can be converted. Ask which permanent products it is currently convertible into. Ask whether partial conversion is allowed and what the minimum face amount is. Ask what the premium would be for the converted policy at the insured’s attained age, at both full and partial conversion amounts.
Request the answers in writing, by secure message or by letter to One Sammons Plaza, Sioux Falls, SD 57193. A phone note is not enough when a contractual deadline is involved. If the last conversion date falls within the next twelve months, treat the matter as urgent. The right is contractual and the carrier has no obligation to extend it once it lapses.
After Conversion: How the Secondary Market Views the Policy
Once converted, the policy is evaluated like any other permanent contract. Buyers focus on the insured’s age and health, the death benefit, the projected cost of carrying the policy to maturity, and the strength of the contract’s guarantees. Nothing about eligibility or value can be promised in advance, and many policies submitted to the market receive no offer.
The comparison for a term converter is nonetheless stark. A term policy allowed to expire pays nothing to anyone. A converted permanent policy that attracts an offer produces a lump sum. Even a modest offer is measured against zero. That asymmetry is the reason the conversion deadline deserves to be the most prominent date in your file.
Pine Lake does not purchase policies and has no financial stake in whether you convert, keep, or sell. A free policy review will confirm your conversion window, lay out the converted premium, and give you a realistic read on whether the secondary market is likely to be relevant to your situation. Nothing here is legal, tax, or investment advice; consult your own advisors before acting.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does my North American term conversion window close?
ADDvantage Term generally allows conversion during select durations within the term period or to age 70, whichever is earlier, with the conversion period never less than five years. Under the privileges that took effect April 23, 2022, a 30-year term is convertible until the earlier of 20 years or age 70. Your policy form and issue date govern, so confirm the exact date with North American using your policy number.
Will I need a medical exam to convert?
No. ADDvantage Term provides the opportunity to convert to most of North American’s currently available life insurance products without evidence of insurability. That is why the privilege is valuable to someone whose health has declined. Your premium will be set at your attained age, so it will be considerably higher than the term premium you have been paying.
Can I sell the term policy without converting?
In almost all cases, no. Term insurance has no cash value and is scheduled to expire, so there is no lifetime contract for a buyer to purchase and carry. Conversion is what creates a permanent, marketable policy. If the conversion window has already closed, there is usually nothing to bring to the secondary market.
What if I cannot afford the converted premium?
Consider partial conversion, which lets you convert a portion of the face amount and allow the rest to expire. You can also convert and then have the resulting permanent policy evaluated in the secondary market, since a converted policy you cannot sustain may still have value to a licensed buyer. No offer or eligibility is ever guaranteed.
Is Pine Lake connected to North American?
No. Pine Lake Life Solutions is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to North American Company for Life and Health Insurance or Sammons Financial Group, and Pine Lake does not purchase policies. The free policy review is educational and carries no obligation. It is not legal, tax, or investment advice.
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Related Reading
- Sell My North American Universal Life Policy
- Sell My North American Guaranteed Universal Policy
- Sell My North American Whole Life Policy
- Life Insurance After 65
- Do Seniors Need Life Insurance
- How Do Life Settlements Work
- Life Settlement Process Step By Step
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.