Yes – a Voya Financial variable universal life policy can be sold in a life settlement; the contract is your property, the buyer purchases it from you, and the carrier’s consent is not part of the equation. Variable universal life is a well-understood asset in the secondary market. What changes from one VUL policy to the next is how much subaccount value is left and how quickly the monthly charges are eating it.
Two pieces of Voya history are worth knowing before you call anyone. Voya Financial was formerly ING U.S., the American arm of Dutch insurer ING Groep, renamed after its 2013 offering. And Voya sold its individual life insurance business to Resolution Life in a deal that closed in January 2021, with many contracts having been issued by Security Life of Denver Insurance Company. Your VUL may therefore be serviced by a company you have never heard of – verify who it is on your current statement rather than guessing.
Below: how VUL is valued, why a down market plus rising charges is the most common lapse path, and what a realistic comparison against surrendering looks like. Pine Lake Life Solutions is not affiliated with Voya, ING, Security Life of Denver, or Resolution Life.
In This Article
- What Makes VUL Different from Ordinary Universal Life
- The Common Lapse Path, Step by Step
- How Buyers Value a Variable Universal Life Policy
- Running the Numbers Against Surrender
- Documents a VUL Review Requires
- Timeline, Escrow, and Your Right to Change Your Mind
- When Selling Is the Wrong Call
- Frequently Asked Questions
What Makes VUL Different from Ordinary Universal Life
A variable universal life policy is a universal life chassis with investment subaccounts bolted on. Instead of the carrier crediting a declared interest rate, your account value rides mutual-fund-like subaccounts you selected – equity funds, bond funds, money market. Because it involves securities, VUL is sold with a prospectus and by representatives holding securities licenses.
The flexibility that made VUL attractive in the 1990s and 2000s is exactly what makes it fragile in the 2020s. Good market years can carry the policy; bad ones leave the account value unable to absorb the monthly deductions. Two or three poor years stacked against cost-of-insurance charges at age 80 can put a policy that once looked bulletproof on a path to lapse.
The Common Lapse Path, Step by Step
It usually unfolds the same way. The policy was funded on an illustration assuming a healthy average return. Markets underperform that assumption for a stretch. Meanwhile the cost-of-insurance charge climbs every year with the insured’s age, because it is priced on the amount at risk. The account value stops growing, then starts shrinking.
Eventually the administrator sends a lapse warning: pay a large catch-up premium within a grace period or coverage terminates. Families often discover the letter in a stack of mail months after it arrived. If the policy still has value and the insured’s health has declined, that letter is the moment to get a settlement review rather than the moment to give up. A lapsed policy pays nobody anything.
How Buyers Value a Variable Universal Life Policy
A buyer is doing arithmetic on two numbers: what the death benefit is worth given the insured’s life expectancy, and what it will cost to keep the policy alive until then. Remaining account value helps, because it can absorb charges for a while before out-of-pocket premiums are needed. Poor subaccount performance hurts, because it means premiums start sooner.
Buyers also look at whether the policy has a no-lapse guarantee rider, whether surrender charges are still in effect, and whether the subaccounts can be reallocated to something conservative after purchase – most buyers move the money to a stable option, since they want predictability, not upside. None of this is something you need to manage. You just need to hand over accurate documents.
| Factor | Pushes Offer Higher | Pushes Offer Lower |
|---|---|---|
| Insured’s life expectancy | Shorter, well documented | Longer or uncertain |
| Death benefit size | $250,000 and up | Under $100,000 |
| Remaining account value | Enough to absorb charges for years | Nearly depleted |
| Cost of insurance trend | Modest increases | Steep age-based increases |
| No-lapse guarantee rider | Present and intact | Absent or forfeited |
| Outstanding policy loan | None | Large loan reduces net proceeds |
Running the Numbers Against Surrender
Here is a clearly hypothetical comparison. Suppose a $600,000 VUL policy on an 81-year-old insured with a $31,000 account value, a $4,000 remaining surrender charge, and a lapse notice demanding $18,000 a year to stay in force. Surrender nets roughly $27,000 and ends the coverage. A settlement offer in the range of 12% of face value would be $72,000.
Those figures are illustrative, not a quote. But the shape of the comparison is the point, and it lines up with what the U.S. Government Accountability Office reported in GAO-10-775: settlement sellers commonly received several times what surrender would have paid – often in the range of four to eight times cash surrender value. That is why it is worth getting an offer before you sign a surrender form.
Documents a VUL Review Requires
Start with the policy cover page showing owner, insured, face amount, and policy number. Add the most recent quarterly or annual statement, which for a VUL shows subaccount balances, the surrender value, and the monthly deduction. Then request an in-force illustration at current charges and at guaranteed maximum charges.
Because VUL is a securities product, you may also have a prospectus and periodic fund reports. Those are helpful context but rarely decisive. What decides the offer is the in-force illustration plus the medical file – the insured signs HIPAA authorizations so independent underwriters can obtain records and estimate life expectancy. Disclose any policy loan at the start, since loans are paid off out of the purchase price.
Timeline, Escrow, and Your Right to Change Your Mind
Expect 60 to 120 days. Weeks one and two: documents and authorizations. Weeks three through eight: medical underwriting and life expectancy reports. Then the policy is shopped to institutional buyers and offers arrive. If you accept, the closing package is signed, the funds go into an escrow account before anything transfers, and ownership and beneficiary changes are filed with the administrator.
Escrow exists so the money is verifiably set aside before you sign away the policy. After closing, most states give a seller a rescission period – a defined number of days to reverse the sale by returning the proceeds. Ask what your state’s rule is; it varies, and it is one of the more useful consumer protections in this market.
When Selling Is the Wrong Call
Honest answer: sometimes it is. If the death benefit is genuinely needed – a spouse who would struggle without it, a special-needs family member, a business obligation – keeping the policy usually wins, and there may be cheaper ways to keep it than you think, such as reducing the face amount to lower the monthly cost of insurance.
If the insured is terminally ill, check the policy for an accelerated death benefit rider first; it can pay quickly with far less paperwork. And if this is part of a Medicaid spend-down, the proceeds are countable resources, so the sequencing matters and should be planned with an elder law attorney. We give information, not legal, tax, or investment advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a variable policy sell differently from regular universal life?
The process is identical. The difference is in valuation: buyers look at your subaccount balances and the monthly deductions rather than a declared credited rate. Most buyers reallocate the subaccounts to something conservative after purchase because they want predictable costs.
My account value dropped a lot. Is the policy worthless now?
Not necessarily. Account value is only one input. A policy with a large death benefit on an insured with a shortened life expectancy can still draw strong offers even when the account value is nearly gone, because the buyer is primarily valuing the death benefit.
Who administers Voya’s old individual life policies?
Voya Financial sold its individual life business to Resolution Life in a transaction that closed in January 2021, and many contracts were issued under the Security Life of Denver name during the ING and Voya eras. Your current administrator appears on your latest statement – confirm it there rather than assuming, especially in 2026.
I just got a lapse notice. Is it too late?
Usually not, if you move quickly. A policy in its grace period can generally still be sold, and buyers can pay the premium needed to keep it in force during the transaction. Do not wait until after termination – once a policy lapses, there is nothing left to sell.
How much can I expect to receive?
Market-wide, offers commonly land between 10% and 35% of the death benefit, driven mostly by life expectancy and carrying cost. A free policy review is the only way to get a number tied to your actual policy. No legitimate company can quote you from a phone description alone.
Do I have to sell if I get an offer?
No. An offer is an offer. You may decline it, negotiate, or walk away at any point before closing, and most states also give you a rescission window after closing to unwind the sale by returning the funds.
What is the first step?
Send the policy cover page for a free review. That single page shows the face amount, policy type, and owner – enough for an initial read. If it looks like a candidate, we will tell you exactly which additional documents to request from the administrator.
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
- Cash Surrender Value Life Insurance
- What Policies Qualify For Life Settlement
- What Is Cash Surrender Value
- Sell My Voya Universal Life Policy
- Sell My Voya Term 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.