Universal life shows up in life settlements more often than any other policy type, and the reason is mechanical. The insurance charge deducted inside the contract is priced on the insured’s attained age, so it rises every year. Sooner or later those deductions outpace what premiums and credited interest put in, and the owner faces a choice between a much larger payment and losing the policy.
Before any of that analysis applies to a policy branded The Standard, there is a threshold question worth settling: which company issued it, and is it individually owned or a workplace certificate. This page walks through both. It is education only. Pine Lake Life Solutions does not purchase policies, is not affiliated with The Standard or Meiji Yasuda, and provides no legal, tax or investment advice.
In This Article
Confirm the Issuing Company Before Anything Else
The Standard is a marketing name, not a single insurer. The company’s own website states that The Standard is a marketing name for Standard Insurance Company of Portland, Oregon, licensed in all states except New York, and The Standard Life Insurance Company of New York of White Plains, New York, licensed only in New York, with products and availability varying by state and being solely the responsibility of the applicable insurance company.
There is a second reason to check. On its consumer pages, The Standard lists annuities and individual disability insurance as its personal insurance and investment products, while life and accidental death and dismemberment coverage appears under workplace benefits. Universal life is not presented as a retail individual product sold directly to consumers.
So a universal life contract carrying The Standard’s name is most likely one of three things: group or voluntary universal life obtained through an employer, an older contract from a block the company no longer markets, or a policy issued by a differently named company that you associate with The Standard for another reason. Read the face page, note the exact issuing company and product name, and start there. Everything downstream depends on getting this right.
How the Charges Inside the Contract Behave
Universal life is an account with insurance attached. Premiums and interest credits go in. Every month the insurer deducts a cost-of-insurance charge based on the net amount at risk and the insured’s attained age, plus policy fees and rider charges.
In the early decades the account absorbs the rising charge easily. Later, monthly deductions exceed inflows, the account value declines, and when it reaches zero the contract enters a grace period and terminates unless a substantially larger premium is paid. Contracts sold when crediting rates were much higher have compounded this, since every year of lower-than-illustrated interest pulls the projected lapse date closer.
None of that is visible on a routine annual statement, which reports position rather than trajectory. The document that shows trajectory is an in-force illustration, and requesting one is the single most useful thing a universal life owner can do.
The Three Illustrations to Request
Ask the servicing insurer, in writing, for three projections on your policy number. First, current premium at current charges: the projected year the account value reaches zero if you change nothing. Second, current premium at guaranteed maximum charges: the earliest lapse year the contract legally permits, which is frequently years earlier. Third, the premium required to carry the policy to maturity, typically age 100 or 121.
That third figure is the one that usually settles the decision, because it converts an abstract worry into a specific annual dollar amount. Alongside the projections, request the current account value, the cash surrender value net of any surrender charge, any loan balance with accrued interest, and written confirmation of whether a no-lapse or secondary guarantee is in force.
If a secondary guarantee exists, ask exactly what premium and what payment timing preserve it. These guarantees are valuable and fragile; a late or short payment, or a loan, can void one permanently, after which the policy stands on its account value alone.
| Policy trait | Individually owned universal life | Group or voluntary universal life |
|---|---|---|
| Owner of record | You, a trust or a business | Employer, association or plan trust |
| Account value | Yours, shown on statement | May exist within the certificate |
| Portability | Not applicable | Sometimes available after leaving |
| Change of ownership | Possible if the carrier permits | Controlled by the plan sponsor |
| Key document | In-force illustration | Certificate and summary plan description |
Group Universal Life Is a Different Animal
If the coverage came through an employer, association or public-sector plan, ownership is the controlling issue rather than the account math. In a group universal life arrangement, the master contract is generally owned by the plan sponsor or a trust and you hold a certificate. Some group universal life is portable, meaning you can continue it by paying the insurer directly after leaving, and portable certificates behave much more like owned coverage.
A life settlement requires a permanent, complete transfer of ownership. Where the owner of record is an employer or a trust, that entity — not the insured — controls whether any transfer is possible, and most plan documents do not contemplate one. Ask the insurer in writing who the owner of record is and whether the contract permits a change of ownership or absolute assignment to an unrelated third party.
Ask also whether a collateral assignment or outstanding loan would have to be released first, and how long the insurer takes to process and confirm an ownership change. That processing step, not the decision itself, is usually what determines the timeline.
Financial Strength and Corporate Ownership
On its financial strength page, The Standard states that in November 2025 A.M. Best affirmed the credit ratings of Standard Insurance Company and group affiliate companies as A, and that the company is one of only eight life and health insurers to have achieved an A rating or higher in every year since 1928. The Standard traces its founding to 1906 in Portland, Oregon. Verify the current rating with A.M. Best, since ratings are subject to change.
The parent is no longer American or public. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company acquired StanCorp Financial Group in a merger completed March 7, 2016, in which each StanCorp share was converted into the right to receive $115.00 in cash, and the Oregon Division of Financial Regulation approved the acquisition of Standard Insurance Company and StanCap Insurance Company Inc. by Meiji Yasuda on January 6, 2016. The Standard describes Meiji Yasuda, founded in 1881, as Japan’s third-largest life insurer.
Meiji Yasuda’s U.S. life footprint has since expanded. In February 2025 Legal & General Group announced the sale of its U.S. protection business — which operates through Banner Life Insurance Company and William Penn Life Insurance Company of New York — to Meiji Yasuda at a valuation of $2.3 billion, and later confirmed the transaction completed. None of this alters the terms written into an existing contract.
Alternatives That Deserve a Look First
Before considering any transfer, price the in-house options. Reducing the face amount lowers the monthly cost of insurance and can extend a struggling policy for years at a payment you can manage. Ceasing premiums and letting existing account value carry the contract buys defined time. Surrender converts the policy to cash but ends coverage permanently. Each of these can be quoted by the insurer at no cost.
A settlement, where it is available, may exceed the surrender value, but it is not guaranteed to be available for any given policy and it ends coverage exactly as a surrender does. Ranking the options requires the numbers, which is why the illustration request comes first.
Pine Lake Life Solutions offers a free, no-obligation policy review and will read an in-force illustration with you line by line. We do not buy policies, we make no promise about eligibility or value, we are not affiliated with or endorsed by The Standard, and we do not give legal, tax or investment advice. Tax and estate questions belong with your own qualified advisor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does The Standard sell individual universal life insurance?
The Standard’s consumer pages list annuities and individual disability insurance as its personal insurance and investment products, with life and AD&D presented under workplace benefits. Universal life is not shown as a retail individual product sold directly to consumers. Check the face page of your contract for the exact issuing company and product name, then confirm with that company.
What is the single most important document to request?
An in-force illustration. Ask for three versions: current premium at current charges, current premium at guaranteed maximum charges, and the premium required to carry the policy to maturity. Together they show when the policy is projected to lapse and what it would actually cost to keep. Also request surrender value net of loans and written confirmation of any no-lapse guarantee.
Who owns my policy if it came through work?
In most group universal life arrangements the master contract is owned by the employer, association or a plan trust, and you hold a certificate. Only the owner of record can transfer ownership, so a settlement generally is not possible unless the coverage was ported into something you personally own. Ask the insurer in writing to identify the owner of record.
Who owns The Standard now?
Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company. The merger completed March 7, 2016, with each StanCorp Financial Group share converted into the right to receive $115.00 in cash, and the Oregon Division of Financial Regulation approved the acquisition of Standard Insurance Company and StanCap Insurance Company Inc. on January 6, 2016. Corporate ownership does not change the guarantees written into an existing contract.
Will Pine Lake buy my policy?
No. Pine Lake Life Solutions does not purchase policies. We are independent, not affiliated with or endorsed by The Standard, StanCorp Financial Group or Meiji Yasuda, and our only offer is a free, no-obligation review of what you hold. We guarantee nothing about eligibility or value and provide no legal, tax or investment advice.
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Related Reading
- Sell My The Standard Group Life Policy
- Sell My The Standard Term Policy
- Sell My Banner Life Universal Life Policy
- Sell My Pacific Life Universal Life Policy
- How To Read In Force Illustration
- Automatic Premium Loan Provision
- How Life Settlement Value Is Calculated
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.