Universal life is the single most common policy type in the life settlement market, and the reason is unforgiving arithmetic. A universal life contract has no fixed premium and no guaranteed cash value schedule. It is an account balance that the carrier deducts monthly charges from, and those charges climb steeply with the insured’s age. When the balance runs out and the grace period expires, the policy lapses and the death benefit disappears with no payment to anyone.
If you own a North American Company for Life and Health universal life policy that is demanding more premium than expected, or that is projected to lapse in your eighties, this page explains what is happening inside the contract, which single document will tell you the truth, and how a settlement compares to your other options. 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. Pine Lake does not purchase policies and offers only a free, no-obligation policy review.
In This Article
- Request One Document Before You Do Anything Else
- Why the Monthly Charges Accelerate
- Who Administers North American Universal Life Policies in 2026
- Ratings Tell You About Claims, Not About Lapse Risk
- Five Paths, Compared Honestly
- Completing a Sale: The Carrier Has the Final Step
- Frequently Asked Questions
Request One Document Before You Do Anything Else
Call North American and request a current in-force illustration. Ask for it twice: once run at current charges and current credited rates assuming no further premium is paid, and once run at guaranteed maximum charges and guaranteed minimum crediting. Then ask for a third version showing the premium required to carry the policy to age 100 or to policy maturity.
The annual statement will not answer your question. It reports where the account value stood on one date, with no projection forward. The original sales illustration is worse, because it encodes assumptions about interest crediting and charges made when the policy was issued, and those assumptions no longer describe reality. The in-force illustration is the only document that shows the trajectory.
The number to find on it is the projected policy year in which the account value reaches zero. Compare that year to the insured’s life expectancy. If the policy is projected to lapse first, the death benefit that has been paid for over decades is on track to be lost entirely. That is the situation the secondary market exists to address, though no offer is guaranteed on any particular policy.
Why the Monthly Charges Accelerate
Each month the carrier deducts a cost of insurance charge, plus policy fees and any rider charges, from the account value. The cost of insurance is the net amount at risk, roughly the death benefit less the account value, multiplied by a mortality rate that increases with attained age.
Two forces compound in the later years. Mortality rates rise sharply through the seventies and eighties. And as the account value falls, the net amount at risk grows, so a higher rate is applied to a larger base. Interest credited on the remaining balance is nowhere near enough to offset it. A universal life policy that appeared stable at sixty-five can consume its entire account balance within a handful of years at eighty-two.
This is also why paying only the minimum billed amount can be misleading. A minimum bill keeps the policy in force for the next period; it does not mean the policy is on track. Owners who paid every bill on time are frequently the most surprised when the lapse notice arrives, because nothing they did was wrong. The design of the product, not the owner’s behavior, produced the outcome.
Who Administers North American Universal Life Policies in 2026
Owners of older universal life contracts often cannot tell whether the block has been sold, reinsured, or handed to a runoff administrator. For North American, the chain is documented.
The company was founded in 1886 as the North American Accident Association in Chicago. In 1890 A.E. Forest purchased it for two thousand dollars and appointed the 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. Most relevant to an in-force owner, the company redomesticated to Iowa on September 27, 2007, with the stated purpose of simplifying regulatory compliance for the holding company system by using a common regulator for the company and its affiliates, and reducing current and future tax costs tied to anticipated annuity growth. 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 universal life and indexed universal life, along with annuities, through independent financial professionals. That matters operationally, because an active carrier maintains current forms, staffs an illustration desk, and processes ownership changes as routine business. The company reported more than 463,000 life policies in force as of December 31, 2024 and paid over 547 million dollars in life insurance death claims during 2024.
| What to request | What it tells you | How to ask for it |
|---|---|---|
| In-force illustration, current charges, no further premium | The projected year the policy lapses if nothing changes | Life service line, in writing |
| In-force illustration, guaranteed charges | The worst case the contract permits | Request in the same call |
| Premium to carry to maturity | What keeping the policy actually costs | Request in the same call |
| Current cash surrender value | What surrendering would return today | Ask for a dated figure |
| Loan payoff quote | The amount netted out of any option | Ask for a dated figure |
Ratings Tell You About Claims, Not About Lapse Risk
AM Best affirmed North American’s Financial Strength Rating of A+ (Superior) and its Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of aa- on August 13, 2025, with a stable outlook, citing very strong balance sheet strength and strong operating performance. A+ is the second highest of fifteen AM Best categories. S&P Global Ratings affirmed A+ (Strong) on May 15, 2025 and Fitch Ratings assigned A+ with a stable outlook on June 17, 2025.
Read that carefully in the universal life context. A rating is an opinion about whether the carrier can pay claims. It says nothing about whether your policy will still be in force when a claim would otherwise arise. A financially excellent carrier can be charging entirely permissible cost of insurance rates that will exhaust your account value. Lapse risk on universal life is a product-design risk you carry, not a carrier-solvency risk.
Five Paths, Compared Honestly
Fund the policy at the level the in-force illustration requires. This preserves the full death benefit and is the right answer when the coverage is genuinely needed and the premium is affordable.
Reduce the face amount. Lowering the death benefit shrinks the net amount at risk, which directly reduces monthly cost of insurance deductions. This is the most underused option and often keeps a smaller policy sustainable for life.
Surrender for cash value. On a depleted universal life policy this frequently returns very little, and any outstanding loan is netted out first. Ask for the figure in writing before assuming.
Let it lapse. This returns nothing and forfeits everything paid in.
Seek a life settlement. A licensed institutional buyer purchases the policy for a lump sum, becomes the owner, and takes on all future premiums. Buyers price against the insured’s life expectancy and the projected cost of carrying the policy, so results vary widely and many policies receive no offer. Eligibility and value can never be guaranteed in advance. A free policy review will put the surrender value, the required premium, and any offers received on the same page. Pine Lake does not buy policies and does not provide legal, tax, or investment advice.
Completing a Sale: The Carrier Has the Final Step
A settlement closes at the carrier, not at the settlement company. North American must record the change of ownership, and where applicable an absolute assignment, on its own books, and escrowed funds are typically released only after that recording is confirmed in writing.
Request the current ownership change and assignment forms from North American directly. The company publishes service forms on its own site, including an Address and Name Change Request form, and the life service team can confirm which versions apply to your policy form number. A superseded form pulled from a third-party document site is a common cause of delay. If a trust owns the policy or sits on either side of the transfer, expect trust certification documentation.
North American’s life insurance policyholder line is 877-872-0757, or 712-847-1334 internationally, Monday through Thursday 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Friday 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Central time. Correspondence goes to One Sammons Plaza, Sioux Falls, SD 57193. Confirm these details with the carrier.
Frequently Asked Questions
My universal life policy was supposed to be paid up. Why am I being billed?
Universal life is flexible premium, not fixed cost. The carrier deducts a monthly cost of insurance charge that rises with the insured’s attained age and is applied to the death benefit less the account value. When credited interest stops covering those deductions, the account value falls and additional premium is required to keep the policy in force. Nothing improper has happened; it is how the product is built.
Can a nearly empty universal life policy still be sold?
Sometimes. Secondary-market buyers price the future death benefit against the projected cost of keeping the policy in force, not against the current account balance, so a depleted policy can still attract an offer when the insured’s age and health support it. No offer is guaranteed, and a meaningful share of policies submitted receive none.
Has North American sold off its universal life block?
There is no indication of that. North American continues to issue new individual life insurance, including universal life and indexed universal life, and annuities through independent financial professionals as a member company of Sammons Financial Group. It redomesticated to Iowa on September 27, 2007 and is regulated by the Iowa Insurance Division under NAIC company code 66974.
Is reducing the death benefit a better option than selling?
It often is, and it is the option owners overlook most. Reducing the face amount lowers the net amount at risk, which directly reduces the monthly cost of insurance deduction, and can make a smaller policy sustainable for life. Ask the carrier what premium would be required at several reduced face amounts before you conclude the policy is unaffordable.
What does Pine Lake actually do?
Pine Lake Life Solutions provides education and a free, no-obligation review of your policy. Pine Lake does not purchase policies and is not affiliated with or endorsed by North American Company for Life and Health Insurance. Nothing on this page is legal, tax, or investment advice, and eligibility for any settlement is never guaranteed.
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Related Reading
- Sell My North American Whole Life Policy
- Sell My North American Guaranteed Universal Policy
- Sell My North American Indexed Universal Policy
- How To Read In Force Illustration
- How Long Policy Survive Without Premiums
- Life Insurance Grace Period Explained
- How Health Affects Life Settlement Value
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.