Yes, coverage that began as a group life certificate with The Standard can end up sold in a life settlement, but the sale happens after conversion, not before. Any carrier’s individual policy can be sold once you and the policy qualify, because you own the contract and the buyer takes it over. The obstacle with employer group coverage is ownership: the master contract belongs to the employer’s plan, so the certificate in your file drawer is not an asset you can transfer.
The Standard, formally Standard Insurance Company, is heavily focused on workplace benefits, and group life is one of its core lines. It publishes its own member materials explaining the two exits from a group plan, portability and conversion, because the choice trips up a lot of departing employees. For anyone thinking about a future settlement, that choice is the fork in the road.
Below is a plain explanation of how the timing works, what the converted policy has to look like to attract a buyer, and where the honest answer is that a sale is not realistic. Pine Lake Life Solutions is not affiliated with The Standard or Standard Insurance Company. For a free policy review, send the cover page of your certificate or conversion notice.
In This Article
- Who The Standard Is, and Why It Matters to Your Paperwork
- Your Group Certificate Is Not Yours to Sell
- Portability and Conversion Explained Without Jargon
- The Deadline Is Shorter Than People Expect
- Will the Converted Policy Attract a Buyer?
- Documents, Process, and Timing
- When Converting to Sell Does Not Make Sense
- Frequently Asked Questions
Who The Standard Is, and Why It Matters to Your Paperwork
The Standard is the market name for Standard Insurance Company, the main subsidiary of StanCorp Financial Group, headquartered in Portland, Oregon. StanCorp was acquired by Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company of Japan, a deal announced in July 2015 at roughly $5 billion and completed in March 2016. The Standard has continued operating under its own brand since.
In 2025, reporting indicated that Meiji Yasuda agreed to acquire Legal and General’s U.S. term life business, a transaction worth verifying independently before relying on it, but it points to a group that has been consolidating U.S. life blocks rather than exiting them.
Why does corporate history matter for a settlement? Because change of ownership forms have to go to whoever administers your policy now, and because people sometimes cannot tell whether their policy is still with the company on the letterhead. Call the service number on your most recent notice and confirm. Verify any financial strength rating claim with A.M. Best directly.
Your Group Certificate Is Not Yours to Sell
Employer group life is issued under a master contract between the insurance company and the employer or association. Employees receive a certificate showing their coverage amount under that contract. You can usually name a beneficiary, but you cannot assign the certificate to an investor, and the employer can change or end the plan at renewal.
Buyers in the secondary market will not purchase something that can vanish when a benefits committee makes a decision. They buy individual contracts with a fixed death benefit and defined premiums. That is why the entire conversation about selling group coverage is really a conversation about converting it first.
There is one wrinkle worth checking. Some employers offer group universal life or voluntary permanent products where the employee is the actual policy owner. If your coverage is genuinely individually owned, you may be able to skip conversion entirely. Look at your certificate or ask HR whether the coverage is employer-owned group term or employee-owned permanent.
Portability and Conversion Explained Without Jargon
The Standard publishes member handouts comparing these two options because they are easy to confuse. Portability generally means continuing group-style term coverage after you leave, paying the insurer directly. Conversion generally means exchanging your group coverage for an individual permanent policy issued by the carrier, without new medical questions.
Portability is often cheaper in the short run and may require you to be under a certain age. Conversion costs more, sometimes much more, but produces permanent coverage that does not expire on a schedule. Health status usually does not block either option, which is precisely why they exist.
For settlement purposes, permanent coverage is what has resale value. Ported term coverage rarely does, unless it can still be converted later. Ask the plan administrator whether ported coverage retains a conversion right, and get the answer in writing.
| Question to ask the plan | Why it matters | Get it in writing? |
|---|---|---|
| What is my exact conversion deadline? | Commonly about 31 days, and missing it ends all options | Yes |
| How much coverage can I convert? | Face amount below roughly $100,000 rarely draws buyers | Yes |
| What will the converted premium be? | Determines whether you can carry the policy while shopping it | Yes |
| Does ported coverage keep a conversion right? | Decides whether portability is a dead end for resale | Yes |
| Who administers the policy after conversion? | Ownership change forms must go to the right service center | Helpful |
The Deadline Is Shorter Than People Expect
Group contracts commonly give about 31 days after coverage ends to elect conversion. Some plans allow a slightly longer window if notice was delayed, but that is a plan-by-plan question, not a guarantee. Retirement, layoff, a reduction in hours, and the employer changing carriers can all trigger the clock.
Practically, that means the week you learn coverage is ending you should ask three questions: what is my exact conversion deadline, how much of my coverage can I convert, and what will the converted premium be. Everything else can wait. A missed window closes the door on both keeping the coverage and ever selling it.
Keep a paper trail. Group benefit answers travel through HR, a third-party administrator, and the insurer, and the story sometimes changes. Note names, dates, and what you were told.
Will the Converted Policy Attract a Buyer?
Once you own an individual permanent policy, the same criteria apply as with any life settlement. Buyers generally focus on insureds in their senior years or with meaningful health changes, and on death benefits of $100,000 or more. Smaller policies usually fall below the threshold where a transaction makes economic sense for anyone.
Value is driven by the life expectancy estimate produced from medical records and by the premium required to keep the policy in force. Offers commonly land between 10 and 35 percent of the death benefit. A GAO study found sellers received roughly four to eight times the cash surrender value, though a newly converted policy typically has little or no surrender value in its early years.
That last point is important and often glossed over. A freshly converted permanent policy has almost no cash value, so if a sale does not materialize your fallback is limited. Check what policies qualify before spending significant money on conversion premiums.
Documents, Process, and Timing
Collect the group certificate showing your face amount, the conversion or portability notice with your deadline, and after conversion the new policy pages plus an in-force illustration at current charges. Expect to sign HIPAA authorizations so underwriters can request medical records.
The transaction runs in a familiar order: document review, medical underwriting and life expectancy estimates, bids, an offer, closing documents including change of ownership and change of beneficiary, escrow, and funding once the carrier records the transfer. Plan on 60 to 120 days.
After you are paid, most states provide a rescission period allowing you to unwind the sale by returning the funds. Talk to a CPA about taxes and, if you are planning around Medicaid, to an elder law attorney about how a lump sum affects eligibility.
When Converting to Sell Does Not Make Sense
If your convertible amount is $50,000, the conversion premium is steep, and you are in reasonably good health, the realistic outcome is that no buyer bids and you have spent money for nothing. It is better to hear that up front than to find out four months later.
Keep the coverage instead when a spouse or dependent still relies on it. If you are terminally ill, ask whether the converted policy includes an accelerated death benefit rider, which often pays faster and with far less process than a sale. And if the premium is simply unaffordable, dropping coverage may be more honest than stretching for it.
Pine Lake Life Solutions provides education and free policy reviews only, and is not affiliated with The Standard. Nothing here is legal, tax, or investment advice. Call (305) 209-7183 or send your certificate cover page for a free review.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I sell my group life certificate from The Standard as is?
Generally no. The employer’s plan owns the master contract, so the certificate cannot be assigned to a buyer. Converting to an individual policy in your own name is normally the prerequisite to any sale.
Who owns The Standard?
Standard Insurance Company is the main subsidiary of StanCorp Financial Group, based in Portland, Oregon. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company announced its acquisition of StanCorp in July 2015 and completed it in March 2016, with The Standard continuing under its own brand.
What is the difference between portability and conversion?
Portability continues group-style term coverage that you pay for directly, often with an age limit. Conversion exchanges the coverage for an individual permanent policy with no new medical underwriting. Permanent coverage is what the secondary market can value.
How long do I have to decide?
Group contracts commonly allow about 31 days after coverage ends. Your notice states the exact date. Confirm it with the plan administrator right away rather than relying on memory or general information.
Does the insurance company have to approve a settlement?
No. Once you own an individual policy it is your property to sell. The carrier processes the change of ownership and beneficiary forms submitted at closing and records the new owner.
How much might my converted policy be worth?
Offers commonly range from 10 to 35 percent of the death benefit, based on the insured’s age and health and the premiums needed to keep the policy in force. No one can quote a figure before medical underwriting.
What if my employer changed insurance carriers?
A carrier change can end coverage under the old contract and start the conversion clock even though you did not leave your job. Ask HR specifically whether the change triggered conversion rights and what the deadline is.
Could selling affect Medicaid or other benefits?
Yes, potentially. A lump sum can count as income or a resource depending on timing and state rules, and transfers interact with look-back rules. Consult an elder law attorney or benefits counselor before closing.
Find out what your policy is worth — free, confidential, no obligation.
A 15-minute educational review covers your eligibility, every alternative, and a realistic view of what each path would net you.
Related Reading
- What Policies Qualify For Life Settlement
- How It Works Policy Options
- Life Settlement Vs Surrender
- What Is The Medicaid Look Back Period
- Sell My The Standard Term Policy
- Education Center
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.