If you own an individual term life policy with The Hartford’s name on it, there is a fact you need before anything else: The Hartford has not written individual life insurance since the beginning of 2013, and the block containing term policies was transferred to Prudential. Owners still holding Hartford paperwork are frequently calling the wrong company, which is how a conversion deadline gets missed.
This page covers who services Hartford individual term today, why term has no cash value and therefore usually no sale value, and how the conversion privilege — with its dual duration and age limits — is the one clock that actually matters. This is educational content. Pine Lake Life Solutions does not buy policies, is not affiliated with The Hartford or Prudential, and gives no legal, tax or investment advice.
In This Article
Who Services a Hartford Individual Term Policy Now
On January 2, 2013, The Hartford completed the sale of its Individual Life insurance business to The Prudential Insurance Company of America. The Hartford’s own quarterly filing for that period states the consideration was $615 million, consisting primarily of a ceding commission, and that the business sold included variable universal life, universal life, and term life insurance. At closing, The Hartford reinsured approximately $8.7 billion of policyholder liabilities and $5.3 billion of separate account liabilities under indemnity reinsurance arrangements, and transferred invested assets with a carrying value of about $8.0 billion.
Two details in that disclosure matter to a term policyholder. First, the filing states plainly that the reinsurance transaction does not extinguish The Hartford’s primary liability on the policies issued under the Individual Life business. Your contract was not cancelled or rewritten; the obligation behind it simply moved economically to Prudential while the original issuing company remains primarily liable.
Second, The Hartford noted it would continue to sell life insurance products and riders during a transition period of 18 to 24 months, with Prudential assuming all expenses and risk for those sales through the reinsurance agreement. So even policies issued on Hartford paper in 2013 or 2014 belong to the transferred block. If you are trying to reach someone about a Hartford individual term policy, start with Prudential’s policyholder service line and confirm the servicing arrangement in writing.
Term Has No Cash Value, So There Is Rarely Anything to Sell
Level term is pure insurance. There is no account value, no surrender value, and no nonforfeiture benefit. When the level period ends, either premiums step up steeply on an annually renewable basis or the coverage simply terminates on the stated expiry date.
That structure is why term is seldom a settlement candidate on its own. A buyer in a life settlement acquires a permanent death benefit and takes over premiums for as long as the insured lives. A contract that expires on a fixed calendar date, often well before life expectancy, does not offer that. The exception is a term policy with an unexpired conversion privilege, because the privilege — not the term coverage — is what carries value.
This also means that letting a term policy lapse costs you nothing financially in the way surrendering permanent coverage does. There is no cash to leave behind. What you can lose, permanently, is the right to convert.
The Two Deadlines Inside a Conversion Clause
Conversion provisions almost always contain two independent limits. One is expressed as a policy duration: conversion is permitted through a stated policy year, or through the end of the level term period, whichever the contract says. The other is expressed as an attained age: conversion is not permitted after the insured reaches a stated age, frequently somewhere in the sixties.
Whichever limit arrives first ends the right. Because the two limits appear in different sentences, and sometimes in different sections, owners routinely miscount. Someone with a 20-year term issued at age 52 may believe eight years remain when the age-65 cap actually closed the window last year.
The remedy is one written request: ask the servicing carrier for the last date on which a conversion application will be accepted on your policy number, and what product the policy converts into. Insist on a written answer. Verbal assurances about conversion deadlines are the single most common source of avoidable loss in this area.
| Item | Hartford individual term | Hartford group life certificate |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns it | You | Employer, association or plan trust |
| Who administers it | Block reinsured to Prudential in January 2013 | Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Company |
| Cash value | None | None on group term |
| Key deadline | Conversion duration and attained-age limits | Days to convert or port after coverage ends |
| Transferable | Only after conversion, if eligible | Generally not |
What Conversion Produces, and Why It Changes the Analysis
A converted policy is a new individual permanent contract, issued at your attained age at the carrier’s current permanent rates, generally without new evidence of insurability. That last clause is the entire value of the privilege. If your health has declined since the term policy was issued, conversion may be the only way to obtain permanent coverage at any price.
The premium will be a shock relative to term. Ask for a specimen illustration showing the converted premium, the guarantees, and any cash value development before deciding. Ask also whether the full term face amount may be converted or whether the amount is capped or reduced.
Only a permanent, individually owned policy can be the subject of a settlement, and even then eligibility depends on the death benefit, the insured’s age and health, the premium load, and the carrier’s change-of-ownership rules. Nobody can promise a policy will qualify or that any particular amount would be offered. What can be said with confidence is that a term policy whose conversion window has closed has effectively no transferable value.
The Hartford Today, for Context
The Hartford’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 describes a company writing property and casualty insurance, employee group benefits insurance and services, and mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. Its oldest subsidiary, Hartford Fire Insurance Company, dates back to 1810, and total assets were $86.0 billion with total stockholders’ equity of $19.0 billion at year end.
The group side of the house has grown rather than shrunk: The Hartford acquired Aetna’s U.S. group life and disability business with a November 1, 2017 acquisition date, and Employee Benefits earned premiums and other considerations reached $6,645 million in 2025. Insurance financial strength ratings as of February 19, 2026 put Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Company at A.M. Best A+, S&P AA- and Moody’s A1.
None of that changes the individual life picture. If your term policy is individually owned Hartford paper issued before or during the 2013 to 2015 transition period, it sits in the block reinsured to Prudential, and Prudential is where its administration lives. If your term coverage instead came through an employer, it is a group certificate and a different set of rules applies.
A Practical Sequence
First, determine whether you hold an individual policy or a group certificate; the face page says so. Second, if it is individual Hartford paper, contact Prudential policyholder service and confirm who administers the contract. Third, request in writing the last date to convert and the product the policy converts to. Fourth, get a converted-premium quote so the decision is about numbers rather than guesses.
Do all of this before the level term period ends, not after. A term policy in its final months has options; a lapsed term policy usually has none, and reinstatement, where offered at all, comes with health questions and its own deadline.
Pine Lake Life Solutions offers a free, no-obligation policy review. We will read the conversion clause with you and tell you what it actually permits. We do not purchase policies, make no guarantee of eligibility or value, are not affiliated with or endorsed by The Hartford or Prudential, and do not provide legal, tax or investment advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who do I call about a The Hartford term life policy?
If it is an individually owned policy, start with The Prudential Insurance Company of America. The Hartford completed the sale of its Individual Life business, which included term life, to Prudential on January 2, 2013 in an indemnity reinsurance transaction. If your coverage came through an employer, it is a group certificate serviced through The Hartford’s Employee Benefits operation instead.
Did The Hartford cancel my term policy when it sold the business?
No. The Hartford’s own filing states that the reinsurance transaction does not extinguish the company’s primary liability on the policies issued under the Individual Life business. Your contract terms, face amount and guarantees are unchanged. What changed is who administers the block and who bears the economic risk behind it.
Can a term policy be sold in a life settlement?
Rarely on its own, because level term has no cash value and expires on a fixed date. The usual path is to exercise the conversion privilege first, producing an individually owned permanent policy, and only then to evaluate whether a sale is possible. Even then, eligibility depends on many factors and cannot be guaranteed by anyone.
How do I find my conversion deadline?
Read the conversion provision and note both limits it contains: the last policy year for conversion and the maximum attained age. Whichever comes first controls. Then ask the servicing carrier in writing for the last date a conversion application will be accepted on your policy number, and what product it converts into.
Does Pine Lake buy Hartford policies?
No. Pine Lake Life Solutions does not purchase policies from anyone. We are independent, not affiliated with or endorsed by The Hartford or Prudential, and our only offer is a free, no-obligation review of what you hold. We give no legal, tax or investment advice and make no guarantee about eligibility or value.
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Related Reading
- Sell My The Hartford Group Life Policy
- Sell My The Hartford Universal Life Policy
- Sell My Prudential Term Policy
- Sell My Transamerica Term Policy
- How Long Policy Survive Without Premiums
- Life Insurance Grace Period Explained
- Is A Life Settlement Right For You
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.