If you own an Ohio National whole life policy, the most important thing to know before you evaluate anything else is that the company that issued your contract no longer goes by that name. Ohio National went through two structural changes in quick succession: a sponsored demutualization that closed in 2022 and a legal name change to AuguStar in 2023. Your policy is still valid and still enforceable, but the letterhead, the website, the service phone number, and the ownership of the company behind it have all changed.
That history is not trivia. For a participating whole life policyholder it goes to the heart of what the contract is worth, because being a member of a mutual company was part of what you bought. This page explains what happened, what it means for dividends and cash value, and how to compare a possible secondary market sale against surrendering the policy or converting it to reduced paid-up coverage. Pine Lake Life Solutions is an educational resource offering a free, no-obligation policy review. We do not purchase policies, we are not affiliated with Ohio National or AuguStar, and nothing here is legal, tax, or investment advice.
In This Article
- Your Policy Is Now Issued by AuguStar, Not Ohio National
- What the 2022 Demutualization Changed
- Dividends: Guaranteed Elements Versus Everything Else
- Financial Strength of the Company Standing Behind the Contract
- Settlement Offer, Surrender Value, and Reduced Paid-Up Compared
- The Ownership-Change Step and What AuguStar Requires
- Who Tends to Qualify, and How Pine Lake Fits
- Frequently Asked Questions
Your Policy Is Now Issued by AuguStar, Not Ohio National
On July 17, 2023, Constellation Insurance announced that it was repositioning and rebranding its Ohio National life insurance business as AuguStar Life. Effective October 2, 2023, The Ohio National Life Insurance Company legally changed its name to AuguStar Life Insurance Company, and Ohio National Life Assurance Corporation changed its name to AuguStar Life Assurance Corporation.
These are name changes to the same legal entities, not transfers of your policy to a different company. Your contract obligations did not move; what moved is where you send paperwork and who answers the phone. AuguStar publishes a life and disability income customer service line at 800-366-6654, staffed 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern, Monday through Friday, with a mailing address of P.O. Box 237, Cincinnati, OH 45201-0237, and servicing forms available after logging in at augustarfinancial.com. The legacy Ohio National address that appears on older paperwork is One Financial Way, Cincinnati, OH 45242.
If you have been mailing premium to an address printed on a policy issued in the 1990s, verify the current remittance instructions first.
What the 2022 Demutualization Changed
Ohio National Mutual Holdings, Inc. completed a sponsored demutualization on March 31, 2022. Members approved the plan by vote on March 11, 2022. The mutual holding company converted to a stock company, was renamed Ohio National Holdings, Inc., and became an independently managed subsidiary of Constellation Insurance, backed by institutional investors Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and CDPQ.
The financial terms were substantial. Constellation acquired Ohio National for total consideration of approximately $1 billion, including $500 million in aggregate cash payments or policy benefits to eligible members in exchange for the extinguishment of their membership interests, and a commitment to contribute $500 million of capital into Ohio National Life Insurance Company over a four-year period. It was reported as the largest life insurance demutualization in roughly two decades.
The phrase that matters most to a whole life owner is extinguishment of membership interests. Before March 2022, participating policyholders were members of a mutual organization. After it, they are customers of a stock company owned by investors. That does not void any guarantee written into the contract, but it does change the ownership economics that historically stood behind non-guaranteed elements.
Dividends: Guaranteed Elements Versus Everything Else
Participating whole life pays dividends only when the board declares them, and dividends have never been guaranteed at any carrier, mutual or stock. What is guaranteed is the schedule of guaranteed cash values, the guaranteed death benefit, and the guaranteed maximum premium. Those columns are contractual and survive any corporate reorganization.
Given the 2022 conversion, verify rather than assume. Ask AuguStar in writing whether your policy remains participating, what dividend scale has been declared this year, and how your dividend option is set. The four common options are cash, premium reduction, paid-up additions, and accumulation at interest. If dividends have been buying paid-up additions for decades, they have added to both your cash value and your death benefit.
Then request an in-force illustration at the current dividend scale and a second at a reduced scale. The gap between those two shows you how sensitive the policy is to an assumption nobody controls.
| Former name | Current legal name | Effective |
|---|---|---|
| The Ohio National Life Insurance Company | AuguStar Life Insurance Company | October 2, 2023 |
| Ohio National Life Assurance Corporation | AuguStar Life Assurance Corporation | October 2, 2023 |
| Ohio National Mutual Holdings, Inc. | Ohio National Holdings, Inc. (stock company) | March 31, 2022 |
| Ultimate parent | Constellation Insurance, Inc. | March 31, 2022 |
Financial Strength of the Company Standing Behind the Contract
On November 13, 2025, A.M. Best affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of a+ (Excellent) for AuguStar Life Insurance Company and its wholly owned subsidiary AuguStar Life Assurance Corporation, the principal insurance subsidiaries of Constellation Insurance, Inc. A.M. Best concurrently affirmed a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of bbb+ (Good) for Constellation itself, and an A- (Excellent) Financial Strength Rating for National Security Life and Annuity Company. The outlooks were stable.
An A rating is solid. In the secondary market, carrier strength is one of the inputs a buyer prices, because it is underwriting a claim that may not come due for many years, and a stable A rating does not create a meaningful pricing discount. Ratings are point-in-time; confirm the rating in effect when you are actually making a decision.
Settlement Offer, Surrender Value, and Reduced Paid-Up Compared
Whole life is the policy type where selling is least often the right answer, precisely because the contract already contains a guaranteed floor. Get three numbers before you evaluate any offer.
The net cash surrender value is the amount AuguStar will pay you today to terminate the contract, after subtracting any policy loan and accrued interest. It is guaranteed and immediate. Reduced paid-up insurance converts existing cash value into a smaller amount of fully paid-up coverage with no further premiums due. A life settlement is the sale of the policy to a licensed institutional buyer for a lump sum, after which ownership and the beneficiary designation transfer and the buyer pays all future premiums.
A settlement is only worth pursuing if an offer clears the net surrender value by a margin that justifies giving up the coverage. On a mature, well-funded participating policy with years of paid-up additions, it frequently does not. That is an honest answer, and it is one you should expect any competent reviewer to give you when the numbers support it.
The Ownership-Change Step and What AuguStar Requires
A settlement is completed by a change of ownership, sometimes documented as an absolute assignment. Carriers treat this as a controlled transaction with its own forms and its own timing rules, and those rules can create hard deadlines.
Ohio National’s Ownership Change Request form, numbered V-4611, states that the form must be received within 90 days of the signature date, and that additional requests submitted in conjunction with a change of ownership must be signed by the new owner and dated on or after the ownership change request. The carrier also maintains a separate 1035 Exchange and Absolute Assignment of Life Insurance Policy form, numbered 9324-ON. Form numbers and requirements change, particularly across a rebrand, so request the current version directly from AuguStar rather than downloading an old copy from a third-party site.
Call 800-366-6654, confirm the current ownership-change packet for your policy series, and ask how long processing takes. That window is often the longest step in a transaction.
Who Tends to Qualify, and How Pine Lake Fits
No one can promise eligibility. Buyers underwrite individually, and interest concentrates on insureds in their seventies or older, or younger insureds with a documented health change since issue, with face amounts of roughly $100,000 or more. Small policies and healthy younger insureds rarely draw offers, and neither do policies where the guaranteed surrender value already approximates market value.
Pine Lake Life Solutions does not purchase policies. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Ohio National, AuguStar, or Constellation Insurance. What we offer is a free, no-obligation policy review: bring your current statement, surrender value, dividend option, and an in-force illustration, and we will walk through what each path is actually worth. Confirm tax treatment with your own CPA or tax attorney.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is my Ohio National whole life policy still valid after the name change?
Yes. The Ohio National Life Insurance Company changed its legal name to AuguStar Life Insurance Company effective October 2, 2023, and Ohio National Life Assurance Corporation became AuguStar Life Assurance Corporation on the same date. These were name changes to the same legal entities, so contractual obligations carried over. Only the servicing contacts changed.
What did the 2022 demutualization do to my policy?
The sponsored demutualization closed March 31, 2022, converting Ohio National Mutual Holdings into a stock company under Constellation Insurance. Eligible members received cash payments or policy benefits totaling $500 million in exchange for the extinguishment of their membership interests. Guaranteed policy values were not eliminated, but policyholders are no longer members of a mutual organization.
Are dividends still being paid on Ohio National participating whole life?
Dividends are declared annually and have never been guaranteed at any carrier. Given the 2022 conversion to stock ownership, ask AuguStar in writing whether your policy remains participating, what scale has been declared for the current year, and how your dividend option is set. Then request in-force illustrations at both the current and a reduced scale.
How financially strong is AuguStar today?
A.M. Best affirmed a Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of a+ for AuguStar Life Insurance Company and AuguStar Life Assurance Corporation on November 13, 2025, with a stable outlook. Parent Constellation Insurance, Inc. carries a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of bbb+ (Good). Confirm current ratings before making a decision.
Does Pine Lake buy Ohio National or AuguStar policies?
No. Pine Lake Life Solutions does not purchase policies and has no affiliation with Ohio National, AuguStar, or Constellation Insurance. We provide education and a free, no-obligation policy review so you can compare keeping, surrendering, converting to reduced paid-up, and selling with figures from your own carrier.
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Related Reading
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- Change Of Ownership Life Insurance
- Keep Or Sell Policy Npv
- How To Read In Force Illustration
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.