Term life insurance is a rental, not a purchase. You pay for coverage over a fixed number of years, and at the end of that period the coverage either stops or the premium jumps to an annually increasing rate that almost nobody keeps paying. There is no account value, no surrender value, and nothing to cash in. So the direct answer to whether you can sell a Western & Southern term policy is usually no, at least not in the form it is in today.
The useful question is different. Most term contracts contain a conversion privilege, which lets the owner exchange the term policy for a permanent policy without new medical underwriting. That privilege has a deadline. Once it passes, the term policy is simply a bill that ends. Before it passes, the policy can often be converted into something with real value, including value in the secondary market. This page walks through how that works, what Western & Southern’s published product terms show, and why the timing is the whole game. Pine Lake Life Solutions offers education and a free policy review. We do not purchase policies and we are not affiliated with Western & Southern.
In This Article
- Why a Term Policy by Itself Has No Sale Value
- The Conversion Privilege Is the Actual Asset
- What Western & Southern’s Published Term Terms Show
- Who Services Your Policy and Who to Call
- After Conversion: How the Permanent Policy Gets Valued
- When Conversion Is the Wrong Move
- The Deadline Is the Point
- Frequently Asked Questions
Why a Term Policy by Itself Has No Sale Value
Institutional buyers in the life settlement market are buying a future death benefit. To make that worth paying for, the contract has to be capable of remaining in force until the insured dies. A level term policy cannot do that. It expires on a stated date, and the odds that the insured dies before that date are precisely what the original premium was priced to cover.
There is no cash value to fall back on either, and stopping payment simply ends the coverage after the grace period.
What buyers will consider is a permanent policy that started life as a term policy. If the conversion privilege is exercised, the resulting universal life or whole life contract is a normal permanent policy with a lifetime death benefit, and it can be evaluated on ordinary terms. The conversion is the bridge. Without it, there is no transaction.
The Conversion Privilege Is the Actual Asset
A conversion privilege lets you exchange term coverage for permanent coverage with no new medical exam and no health questions. That last part is what makes it valuable. An insured whose health has declined since the term policy was issued cannot buy new coverage at any sensible price, but the conversion right does not care about current health. The carrier already accepted the risk when it issued the term policy.
Three details govern what the privilege is worth. First, the deadline, normally expressed as an age, the end of the level term period, or whichever comes first. Second, what the term converts into, since carriers restrict conversion to a subset of their current permanent lineup. Third, whether the original underwriting class carries over, since converting at your original rate class produces a much cheaper permanent policy.
Ask the carrier all three questions in writing. The answers are policy-specific and cannot be read off a marketing page.
What Western & Southern’s Published Term Terms Show
Term products across the Western & Southern family are issued under several company names, so your own contract controls. As a published example, Columbus Life’s Nautical Term product lists four level periods with different issue-age limits: a 10-year term for ages 18 to 75, a 15-year term for ages 18 to 70, a 20-year term for ages 18 to 65, and a 30-year term for ages 18 to 50, with face amounts starting at $100,000. On conversion, the product page states the policy can be converted into a permanent life insurance policy up to age 70 or when the term ends.
Read that carefully, because it is the pattern across the industry. Two clocks run at once and the earlier one wins. A 62-year-old holding a 20-year term has term remaining until 82, but if the conversion privilege stops at 70, the real deadline is eight years out, not twenty.
These figures reflect a current product as published in 2026. Older Western & Southern, Columbus Life, or Lafayette Life term contracts issued years ago may have different conversion ages and different permanent products available. Confirm your own terms with the carrier rather than assuming this example applies.
| Level term period | Published issue ages (Nautical Term example) | Conversion deadline as published |
|---|---|---|
| 10-year | 18 to 75 | Up to age 70 or end of term, whichever is first |
| 15-year | 18 to 70 | Up to age 70 or end of term, whichever is first |
| 20-year | 18 to 65 | Up to age 70 or end of term, whichever is first |
| 30-year | 18 to 50 | Up to age 70 or end of term, whichever is first |
Who Services Your Policy and Who to Call
One thing you will not have to untangle is a chain of block sales. Western & Southern still sits under a mutual holding company. In its April 23, 2026 rating action, A.M. Best identified Western & Southern Financial Group, Inc. as an intermediate stock holding company of the ultimate parent, Western & Southern Mutual Holding Company, and affirmed Financial Strength Ratings of A+ (Superior) and Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of aa (Superior) for the life subsidiaries while revising the outlooks to positive from stable. The rated companies are The Western and Southern Life Insurance Company, Western-Southern Life Assurance Company, Columbus Life, Integrity Life, National Integrity Life, and The Lafayette Life Insurance Company.
Western & Southern Life publishes a main customer service number of 866-832-7719, staffed Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern, with claims at 800-926-1315 and a mailing address at 400 Broadway, Cincinnati, OH 45202. Policy questions are routed by number series, with accounts beginning with 4 directed to 800-343-2551 and accounts beginning with 98 or issued on or after January 28, 2016 directed to 877-752-6350 or 800-343-2551.
When you call, ask for the conversion deadline date, the permanent products currently available for conversion, and a quote at your original underwriting class.
After Conversion: How the Permanent Policy Gets Valued
Converting does not automatically make a policy sellable. It makes it eligible to be evaluated. A buyer then looks at the same factors it applies to any permanent contract: the insured’s age and current medical records, the premium required to keep the policy in force, the face amount, and the carrier’s financial strength.
Conversion economics matter here. A converted policy carries premiums set at the insured’s current age, and high required premium reduces what a buyer can pay while still hitting its return target. Understand what a converted policy would likely be worth before you pay the first converted premium, not after. Where permitted, converting only part of the face amount lowers the ongoing premium while still producing a permanent contract that can be evaluated.
When Conversion Is the Wrong Move
If the insured is in good health and the term still has years to run, converting early usually costs money for nothing. The conversion right is not consumed by waiting, only by the deadline. Letting the term run while health is good preserves cheap coverage.
If the family still needs the death benefit, the question is not whether to sell but how to keep the coverage affordable, and conversion to a smaller permanent policy or a reduced face amount may be the answer without any sale involved.
And if the numbers simply do not work, the honest outcome is to let the term expire. No one can promise a policy will qualify for an offer or produce a specific amount, and any party that does is not being straight with you.
The Deadline Is the Point
Of everything on this page, one item is genuinely urgent. Conversion deadlines do not extend. They arrive on a specific date, and after that date the term policy has no path to becoming anything else. Owners routinely discover the deadline months after it passed, when there is no remedy.
If you own Western & Southern term coverage and you are anywhere near 65, call the carrier this month and ask for your conversion end date in writing. Put it on a calendar. Then decide with time to spare. Pine Lake Life Solutions can walk through the options with you at no cost and with no obligation. We do not buy policies, we are not affiliated with or endorsed by Western & Southern, and nothing here is legal, tax, or investment advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I sell a Western & Southern term policy without converting it first?
Almost never. A level term policy expires on a fixed date and has no cash value, so there is no lifetime death benefit for a buyer to purchase. The conversion privilege is what turns term coverage into a permanent contract that can be evaluated. Confirm your own conversion deadline with the carrier before assuming anything is possible.
What is the conversion deadline on Western & Southern term coverage?
It depends on the contract. As a published current example, Columbus Life’s Nautical Term states the policy can be converted into a permanent life insurance policy up to age 70 or when the term ends. Older contracts issued under other Western & Southern company names may differ. Request your specific deadline in writing from the carrier.
Will I need a medical exam to convert?
A conversion privilege normally allows the exchange without new medical underwriting, which is precisely why it is valuable to an insured whose health has changed. What can vary is the rate class applied on conversion and which permanent products are available. Ask the carrier both questions before you file the conversion paperwork.
Does converting guarantee I will receive an offer?
No. Conversion makes a policy eligible for evaluation, not guaranteed to sell. Buyers price each contract on the insured’s age and current medical records, the premium required to maintain it, and the face amount. A converted policy carries premiums set at current age, which can reduce what a buyer is able to pay.
Is Pine Lake affiliated with Western & Southern?
No. Pine Lake Life Solutions is independent, is not affiliated with or endorsed by Western & Southern, and does not purchase policies. We provide education and a free, no-obligation policy review so you can see your conversion deadline and your options in writing while there is still time to act.
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Related Reading
- Sell My Western Southern Whole Life Policy
- Sell My Western Southern Universal Life Policy
- Sell My Western Southern Guaranteed Universal Policy
- How Do Life Settlements Work
- Is A Life Settlement Right For You
- Life Insurance After 65
- How Health Affects Life Settlement Value
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.