If you own a universal life policy with the Voya name on it and you called Voya recently, you may have been routed somewhere unexpected. That is not an error. Voya sold its in-force individual life business several years ago, and the company that services your policy today is not the company whose name is on the folder.
Universal life is also the policy type that most often ends up in the secondary market, because its flexible premium design means it can quietly become unaffordable decades after it was purchased. This page covers the 2021 transaction in plain terms, explains how a universal life policy fails, walks through the in-force illustration that determines whether keeping it makes sense, and describes the change-of-ownership step a settlement actually requires. Pine Lake Life Solutions is independent, does not purchase policies, and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Voya or Resolution Life.
In This Article
Resolution Life Now Services Voya’s Individual Life Block
On January 4, 2021, Resolution Life completed its acquisition of substantially all of Voya Financial’s in-force individual life business. Resolution Life US acquired all of the shares of Security Life of Denver Insurance Company and Security Life of Denver International Limited, along with Midwestern United Life Insurance Company and certain other affiliates, and reinsured Voya’s remaining in-force individual life and annuity blocks.
The numbers give a sense of scale. Total consideration was reported at US$1,250 million, made up of US$902 million of cash plus US$123 million of retained surplus notes, with Voya taking a US$225 million interest in Resolution Life, the parent investment fund of Resolution Life US. Approximately 350 employees transferred with the business, along with the assets and systems used to administer it, and more than US$25 billion of assets moved onto Resolution Life’s balance sheet.
Voya’s own contact page reflects the outcome today: it routes individual retail life insurance policy questions to Resolution Life, while listing 800-955-7736 for Group Life and Disability, which Voya retained. Voya (NYSE: VOYA), formerly ING U.S., now describes itself around three segments, Retirement, Investment Management and Employee Benefits. Individual life is not among them.
Before you mail any form, confirm the issuing company on your policy face page and confirm the current administrator’s address. A form sent to a company that no longer administers your policy does not get processed.
What a Block Sale Does and Does Not Change
Owners often worry that a sale like this weakens their policy. It does not change the contract. The guarantees, the death benefit, the loan provisions, the rider terms, and the cost of insurance schedule are all contractual and travel with the policy to the acquiring company. Resolution Life’s business model is specifically the acquisition and administration of closed in-force blocks, and state insurance regulators must approve the change of control before it closes.
What does change is operational. Statement formats change. Web portals change. Phone numbers, mailing addresses and form sets change. Service turnaround times can lengthen during a transition. And crucially, a closed block generally means no new products are being sold, which can narrow the menu of options available if your contract includes an exchange or conversion feature.
The practical instruction is simple: verify the current administrator every time before you send anything, rather than relying on paperwork from ten years ago.
How Universal Life Fails Quietly
A universal life policy is an account with money flowing both ways. Premium payments and interest credits go in. Monthly cost of insurance charges, policy fees, and rider charges come out. The cost of insurance is priced on the net amount at risk and rises with the insured’s age, steeply after 75.
Policies sold in higher interest rate environments were often illustrated at crediting rates that later fell. The premium the owner has been paying for thirty years may have been perfectly adequate under the original illustration and badly inadequate under actual results. Because the annual statement reports a balance rather than a projection, the shortfall is invisible until the account value starts declining year over year, and by then the runway is short.
If your Voya or Security Life of Denver universal life statement shows an account value that is lower than last year’s while you are still paying the same premium, that is the signal to act. A policy heading toward lapse is worth evaluating while it is still in force. A lapsed policy returns nothing.
| Option | What you receive | What you give up |
|---|---|---|
| Keep paying | Full death benefit for heirs | Continued premium outlay |
| Reduce face amount | Lower premium, smaller benefit | Part of the death benefit |
| Stop premiums | Coverage until account value runs out | Long-term certainty |
| Surrender | Cash surrender value, if any | All coverage |
| Secondary market | A possible offer, never guaranteed | All coverage and future benefit |
| Let it lapse | Nothing | Everything |
Reading the In-Force Illustration
The in-force illustration is the document that settles the argument. It is a projection run by the administrator on your actual policy using your actual account value and charge structure. Request it in writing as the policy owner, and ask for several scenarios rather than the default one.
A complete request looks like this: project the policy at current charges and current crediting rates showing the premium needed to carry it to age 95 and to age 100; project it at guaranteed maximum charges and guaranteed minimum crediting; and project how long the policy remains in force if no further premiums are paid. That last scenario is usually the one that changes people’s plans.
Carriers generally provide in-force illustrations at no charge on the owner’s request, but turnaround can take several weeks, particularly on a block that has changed administrators. Ask early. Then read the year-by-year account value column, not the summary paragraph. The year the account value hits zero is the year the policy lapses unless something changes.
Absolute Assignment and Change of Ownership
A life settlement is not a special financial product. It is a change of policy ownership and beneficiary, processed on the carrier’s own forms like any other ownership change. The administrator’s role is to verify the owner’s identity and signature, confirm the policy is in force, record the ownership change or absolute assignment, and issue a verification of coverage to the new owner.
The documents involved are consistent across carriers. You will need the current change of ownership and absolute assignment forms from the administrator, a verification of coverage confirming face amount, in-force status, premium mode and any outstanding loans, and an authorization allowing release of information. Individual policies rarely carry anti-assignment restrictions, but it is worth checking the contract for any transfer limitations, especially on policies originally issued in a business context.
Any policy loan reduces what an owner nets, because the loan is settled out of the transaction. If your policy has been carried by automatic premium loans for years, pull the loan balance before you form expectations.
Keep, Reduce, Surrender, or Sell
Once the in-force illustration is in hand, the decision is a comparison rather than a leap. Each of these is a real option and one of them is usually clearly better than the others for a given set of facts.
- Keep it as is if the projection shows the policy carrying to a reasonable age at a premium you can sustain.
- Reduce the death benefit to lower the cost of insurance. This is the most underused option in universal life and can turn an unaffordable policy into an affordable one.
- Stop premiums and coast if the account value can carry the policy long enough to be worth it.
- Surrender for the cash surrender value, which is a certain number available immediately, though on an aging universal life policy it is often modest.
- Explore the secondary market, where an offer is never guaranteed and depends on age, health, face amount and premium load, but where the comparison point is a lapse that returns nothing.
Pine Lake does not purchase policies and does not guarantee eligibility or value. What is offered is a free, no-obligation policy review: send the cover page and someone reads it with you. This page is education, not legal, tax or investment advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who services my Voya universal life policy now?
Resolution Life. On January 4, 2021 it completed the acquisition of substantially all of Voya’s in-force individual life business, including Security Life of Denver Insurance Company and Midwestern United Life Insurance Company. Voya’s own contact page directs individual retail life policy questions to Resolution Life. Confirm the current administrator before sending forms.
Did the sale to Resolution Life change my policy’s terms?
No. Contract guarantees, death benefit, loan provisions and charge schedules are contractual and travel with the policy. State regulators approve a change of control before it closes. What typically changes is operational: statement format, portal, phone numbers, mailing addresses and form sets.
Why is universal life the policy type most often sold?
It is individually owned, it has a flexible premium structure that can be underfunded, and its cost of insurance rises steeply with age. Many policies illustrated at higher crediting rates decades ago now need far more premium than the owner has been paying, which creates a real choice between funding it, reducing it, surrendering it or exploring the market.
What should I ask for in an in-force illustration?
Ask for the premium required to carry the policy to age 95 and to age 100 at current charges, the same projection at guaranteed maximum charges, and how long the policy survives with no further premiums. Request it in writing as the policy owner and allow several weeks. It is normally provided at no charge.
Is Pine Lake connected to Voya or Resolution Life?
No. Pine Lake Life Solutions is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of Voya, Resolution Life, or any carrier. Pine Lake does not purchase policies. The only offer is a free, no-obligation review of your policy documents so you understand what you hold.
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
- Sell My Voya Group Life Policy
- Sell My Voya Term Policy
- Sell My Voya Variable Universal Policy
- Sell My Nationwide Universal Life Policy
- Sell My Pacific Life Universal Life Policy
- How To Read In Force Illustration
- How Long Policy Survive Without Premiums
- Evaluating Life Settlement Offer
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.