Yes – you can sell a Voya Financial universal life policy through a life settlement, because the policy is your property and the buyer purchases the contract directly from you; the carrier’s permission is not required. Any carrier’s policy can be sold if both the policyholder and the policy qualify. What decides the outcome is not the name on the cover page – it is the insured’s age and health, the death benefit amount, and what it costs to keep the policy in force.
Voya owners run into one extra layer of confusion. Voya Financial began as ING U.S., the American arm of the Dutch insurer ING Groep, and took the Voya name in 2014 after its 2013 public offering. Then, in January 2021, Voya completed the sale of its individual life insurance business to Resolution Life. Many in-force policies were issued by Security Life of Denver Insurance Company, a Voya-era subsidiary. So the statement in your drawer may say ING, the envelope may say Voya, and the service center that answers the phone in 2026 may be a Resolution Life operation. Confirm the current administrator on your most recent premium notice before assuming.
None of that changes your right to sell. This guide walks through how universal life is valued in the secondary market, the two documents that decide everything, and how to compare an offer against simply surrendering. Pine Lake Life Solutions is not affiliated with Voya Financial, ING, Security Life of Denver, or Resolution Life.
In This Article
- Who Actually Services Your Voya Policy in 2026?
- Why Universal Life Is the Most-Sold Policy Type
- The In-Force Illustration Is the Document That Decides Your Offer
- What a Voya UL Policy Might Actually Bring
- Documents to Gather Before You Ask for a Review
- The Process and Timeline
- Who Qualifies, and Who Should Not Bother
- Frequently Asked Questions
Who Actually Services Your Voya Policy in 2026?
This matters for paperwork, not for your rights. Voya Financial’s roots are in ING Groep’s U.S. operations; the business was rebranded Voya in 2014 and later narrowed its focus to workplace retirement plans, employee benefits, and investment management. The individual life block – including large numbers of universal life contracts, many issued under the Security Life of Denver name – was sold to Resolution Life in a transaction that closed in January 2021. Resolution Life specializes in administering closed blocks of business, meaning policies that are still fully in force but no longer being sold to new customers.
Practically, that means three things. Your policy is still valid and enforceable exactly as written. New individual life sales under the Voya brand are generally not happening as of 2026 – verify directly if it matters to you. And the change-of-ownership form a settlement requires goes to whichever administrator is printed on your current statement, not to whichever company sold you the policy in 1998.
Why Universal Life Is the Most-Sold Policy Type
Universal life is the single most common policy type in the life settlement market, and the reason is structural. A UL policy is a bucket of money – the account value – that gets charged every month for the cost of insurance plus policy expenses. When the policy was illustrated at age 45, those charges were small. At 78 or 82, the cost-of-insurance charge on the same death benefit is many times larger.
That creates the classic squeeze: the account value drains, the carrier sends a notice demanding a much larger premium to keep the policy alive, and the owner faces a choice between paying far more than planned or letting decades of premiums evaporate in a lapse. A settlement is the third door. A buyer who is willing to pay those rising charges will pay you a lump sum today for the contract, which is why UL policies from every carrier – Voya’s included – draw the most buyer interest.
The In-Force Illustration Is the Document That Decides Your Offer
If you gather only one thing, gather this. An in-force illustration is a projection the administrator runs on your actual policy showing how long it stays alive at various premium levels, using current charges rather than the optimistic assumptions in your original sales illustration. Ask specifically for illustrations at the guaranteed maximum charges as well as current charges, and ask for a minimum-premium version if the service representative offers one.
Why it matters: a buyer’s entire valuation is built on what the policy will cost to carry. A UL policy that can be kept alive cheaply for a long time is worth considerably more than one hemorrhaging money each month. Requesting an in-force illustration is free, does not obligate you to anything, and is not reported to anyone. Expect it to take a couple of weeks to arrive by mail.
| Option for a Voya UL Policy | What You Get | What Happens to Coverage | Makes Sense When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keep paying the higher premium | Nothing today | Full death benefit stays | Beneficiaries still need it and you can afford it |
| Let it lapse | Nothing | Coverage ends, value lost | Almost never – check other options first |
| Surrender to the carrier | Account value minus surrender charges | Coverage ends | Small policy with no buyer interest |
| Reduce the death benefit | Nothing today; lower monthly charges | Smaller death benefit | You want to keep some coverage cheaply |
| Life settlement | Lump sum, commonly 10-35% of face value | Coverage transfers to the buyer | Coverage no longer needed; cash needed for care |
What a Voya UL Policy Might Actually Bring
Life settlement offers across the market generally fall in a range of roughly 10% to 35% of the death benefit, and industry data reported by the U.S. Government Accountability Office in its 2010 study (GAO-10-775) found sellers received several times what they would have gotten by surrendering – commonly in the range of four to eight times cash surrender value.
A clearly hypothetical example: a $400,000 universal life policy on an 80-year-old with meaningful health conditions and a $22,000 account value. Surrendering nets the surrender value, which after any surrender charge might be $18,000. A settlement in the 15% range would be $60,000. Those numbers are illustrative only – your actual offer depends on your age, health, the policy’s cost structure, and what buyers are paying that quarter. Nobody can quote you without seeing the policy.
Documents to Gather Before You Ask for a Review
You do not need to hunt down everything before making a first call, but having these in hand shortens the process considerably. Start with the policy cover page – the page showing the owner, the insured, the face amount, and the policy number. Then your most recent annual statement or premium notice, which shows the current account value, surrender value, and any loans against the policy.
Next, the in-force illustration described above. Finally, the insured will be asked to sign HIPAA authorizations so medical underwriters can request records; life expectancy is the largest single input into the offer. If there is an existing loan against the policy, disclose it early – it does not disqualify anything, but it reduces net proceeds because the loan is settled out of the purchase price.
The Process and Timeline
A typical life settlement runs 60 to 120 days from first conversation to funds in hand. The first two weeks are gathering documents and authorizations. The next several weeks are medical underwriting, where independent firms review records and produce life expectancy estimates. Then the policy is presented to institutional buyers, and offers come back over a period of weeks.
If you accept, closing documents are signed, funds are placed in escrow, and change-of-ownership and change-of-beneficiary forms go to the administrator. Once the carrier confirms the transfer on its books, escrow releases the money to you. Most states also give sellers a rescission period after closing – a window to unwind the sale and return the money. Rules differ by state, so ask what applies to you.
Who Qualifies, and Who Should Not Bother
The realistic profile: an insured generally age 65 or older, or younger with a serious health change; a death benefit of $100,000 or more; and a policy that is past its contestability period and in good standing. Universal life, variable universal life, indexed UL, and convertible term all trade. Small final-expense policies generally do not.
You should probably not sell if the coverage is still doing a job – protecting a surviving spouse, funding a business buy-sell agreement, or backing estate liquidity. And if you are in a Medicaid spend-down, the proceeds are countable, so the timing and sequencing matter enormously. Talk to an elder law attorney or your tax advisor before signing. This page is education, not legal, tax, or investment advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Voya have to approve the sale of my policy?
No. A life insurance policy is personal property and you may sell it the way you would sell other property you own. The buyer purchases the contract from you, and the administrator simply records the change of ownership afterward. No carrier approval is required for the sale itself.
My policy says ING or Security Life of Denver. Is that the same thing?
Very likely part of the same lineage. Voya Financial was formerly ING U.S., and many in-force individual policies were issued by Security Life of Denver Insurance Company. Voya’s individual life business was sold to Resolution Life in a deal that closed in January 2021, so the servicing company may have changed again. Call the number on your most recent statement to confirm who administers your policy in 2026.
Will selling raise my premiums or change my policy?
No. The contract terms do not change when ownership changes. The buyer steps into your shoes and takes over paying premiums under the same policy language you have now. What changes is who owns the policy and who receives the death benefit.
How much is my Voya universal life policy worth?
Offers generally land somewhere between 10% and 35% of the death benefit, with the biggest drivers being the insured’s life expectancy and how expensive the policy is to keep in force. A GAO study (GAO-10-775) found settlement proceeds were commonly several times cash surrender value. The only way to know your number is a free policy review.
What if I already borrowed against the policy?
An outstanding policy loan does not stop a settlement. The loan is paid off out of the purchase price at closing, so it reduces what lands in your pocket rather than blocking the deal. Disclose it upfront so the numbers you are quoted are net of the loan.
Is the money I receive taxable?
Some of it may be. Tax treatment of life settlement proceeds generally depends on your cost basis in the policy and the amount received, and rules changed under federal tax legislation in 2017. A portion may be tax-free, a portion taxed as ordinary income, and a portion as capital gain. Ask a CPA about your specific situation before you close.
How do I start without committing to anything?
Send the policy cover page for a free policy review. That single page tells us the face amount, policy type, and owner, which is enough for a first read on whether the secondary market is likely to be interested. There is no cost and no obligation. You can also call (305) 209-7183.
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
- Life Settlement Vs Surrender
- What Policies Qualify For Life Settlement
- How It Works Policy Options
- What Is A Policy Loan
- Sell My Voya Term Policy
- Sell My Voya Variable Universal Policy
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.