Yes — a Zurich American indexed universal life policy can be sold in a life settlement when the insured and the contract qualify, and no permission from the insurer is required to make the transfer. The policy is your property. At closing the carrier records a new owner and beneficiary, the same clerical act it performs for any ownership change. The gating question is commercial: will a buyer bid, given the insured’s age and health, the death benefit, the loan balance and the cost of keeping the contract in force?
A word on the entity. Zurich Insurance Group is a Swiss insurer with a large U.S. commercial operation, and its American life subsidiary has historically been weighted toward corporate-owned and bank-owned life insurance, private placement contracts and legacy individual blocks rather than a broad retail shelf. Individual policies bearing a Zurich name may sit in an in-force or closed block, and some have been transferred to other carriers over the years. As of 2026, confirm the exact issuing entity and current administrator printed on your policy and statements before requesting anything.
This guide covers how index crediting works, why illustrations from the 2000s over-promised, and how the secondary market prices a universal life chassis. Pine Lake Life Solutions is not affiliated with Zurich Insurance Group or any Zurich company, and nothing here is legal, tax or investment advice.
In This Article
- Corporate-Owned and Bank-Owned Policies Follow Different Rules
- Index Crediting: Caps, Participation Rates and a 0% Floor
- Why the Original Projection No Longer Holds
- The One Document to Request First
- How Buyers Convert the Contract Into an Offer
- Alternatives That Sometimes Beat Selling
- Who Qualifies, and What to Expect
- Frequently Asked Questions
Corporate-Owned and Bank-Owned Policies Follow Different Rules
A meaningful share of the U.S. life business written under the Zurich name has been institutional: corporate-owned life insurance (COLI) and bank-owned life insurance (BOLI) covering groups of executives, plus private placement contracts for high-net-worth planning. If the policy in question is institutional rather than personal, the seller is a company, a bank or a trust — not an individual — and the paperwork is different.
Institutional sales are possible but require board or trustee authorization, evidence that the entity has the power to sell, and often consent documentation from the insured employee. If the sponsoring business has been sold, dissolved or restructured, expect to produce corporate records establishing who now controls the asset. Our guides to business-owned policies and COLI when a company is dissolving cover the mechanics.
Index Crediting: Caps, Participation Rates and a 0% Floor
An indexed universal life policy credits interest linked to an external index without investing your cash value in it. The typical design measures the S&P 500 on price return — dividends excluded — over a one-year segment, multiplies the change by a participation rate, limits the result to a cap, and never credits below the floor, which is usually 0%.
What is guaranteed in the contract is the floor, the guaranteed minimum cap and participation rate, and the guaranteed maximum cost-of-insurance scale. What is not guaranteed is the cap and participation rate you are receiving today, or the current COI scale. Carriers can move both, generally by policy class. Request the guaranteed and current figures in writing from whichever company administers your contract as of 2026, and keep the response with your policy.
Why the Original Projection No Longer Holds
Illustrations sold in the 2000s frequently assumed a level annual credit near the cap, sustained for decades. Actual crediting is lumpy: strong years truncated by the cap, flat years at zero, and no dividend component from the index. Meanwhile, deductions are relentless. Every month the policy charges cost of insurance on the net amount at risk, plus a policy fee and per-thousand charges.
Once the account value falls behind the illustrated path, the net amount at risk widens, and the charge grows. Left alone long enough, an in-force illustration will show the policy exhausting its value years or decades before the maturity age it was sold to reach. At that point the choices are a much larger premium, a smaller death benefit, a sale, or a lapse. See why universal life costs rise.
| Owner Type | Who Signs | Extra Documents Needed |
|---|---|---|
| Individual | The policy owner | ID, HIPAA authorization |
| Irrevocable trust | Trustee | Full trust instrument, trustee certification |
| Corporation (COLI) | Authorized officer | Board resolution, corporate records, insured consent |
| Bank (BOLI) | Authorized officer | Board or committee authorization |
| Power of attorney | Attorney-in-fact | POA instrument granting the power to sell |
The One Document to Request First
Request an in-force illustration from the current administrator, and specify the scenarios: current charges with current crediting, guaranteed maximum charges with guaranteed minimum crediting, the premium solve to carry the policy to maturity under each, and the projection at zero further premium. There is no charge for it, and it is normally delivered within a couple of weeks.
The projected lapse year is the number that matters. A buyer builds the premium stream directly from that document, which is why no credible offer exists without it. It is equally the basis for deciding to keep paying. Background: what an in-force illustration is.
How Buyers Convert the Contract Into an Offer
The model: start with the net death benefit — face amount less loans and accrued loan interest. Project the minimum premium required to keep the policy in force to maturity from the in-force illustration. Obtain an independent life-expectancy estimate from a medical underwriter reading the insured’s records. Discount the expected benefit at a required rate of return, subtract the present value of the premiums and the transaction costs, and the remainder is the bid.
Two policies with identical face amounts can price very differently. Documented health impairments shorten the projected holding period and raise the offer. A hungry contract that needs heavy funding lowers it. Federal market research (GAO-10-775) put typical proceeds at roughly 10% to 35% of face value, commonly four to eight times cash surrender value.
Alternatives That Sometimes Beat Selling
Reducing the specified death benefit lowers the net amount at risk and can materially cut monthly deductions — occasionally enough to stabilize a policy without any transaction. If the contract offers reduced paid-up or extended term, that ends premiums outright. If the insured is still insurable and a guaranteed no-lapse product would be cheaper, a 1035 exchange may be worth pricing, though underwriting at advanced ages is often the obstacle.
Surrender pays the cash surrender value and nothing more. Lapse pays nothing at all and is the most common outcome for distressed universal life. A settlement is appropriate when coverage is no longer needed, the premium is unsustainable, and the face amount is large enough for the market to bid. Compare at lapse versus surrender versus settlement.
Who Qualifies, and What to Expect
Buyers generally look for an insured aged 65 or older — younger if health conditions are significant — a death benefit of $100,000 or more, and a policy past the two-year contestability period. Individually owned policies are simplest; trust-owned, business-owned and power-of-attorney cases are all workable with proper documentation.
Plan on 60 to 120 days from application to funded payment, with medical records and carrier turnaround as the usual delays. Insist on written offers, disclosed intermediary compensation and an independent escrow agent that releases funds only after the ownership change is confirmed. Most states provide a rescission window after funding; confirm your state’s rule as of 2026.
To begin, send only the policy cover page for a free, no-obligation policy review, or call (305) 209-7183. If the policy is not a candidate, you will get that answer directly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need Zurich’s approval to sell the policy?
No. Selling a policy is a transfer of property you already own, and the insurer records the change after closing rather than approving it. Confirm which company currently administers your contract, because that is where the transfer paperwork must be filed.
Does Zurich still issue individual indexed universal life in the U.S.?
Zurich’s U.S. life operations have historically emphasized corporate-owned, bank-owned and private placement contracts alongside legacy individual blocks, and some blocks have moved between carriers over time. Confirm the issuing entity and current administrator as of 2026 from your policy and latest statement before assuming which product line you hold.
Our company owns the policy on a former executive. Can it be sold?
Often yes. A corporate-owned policy can be sold if the entity documents its authority, produces the necessary board authorization, and satisfies the consent requirements that applied when the coverage was issued. Expect more paperwork and a longer timeline than an individually owned case.
What does the 0% floor really protect?
It protects against a negative index credit, not against charges. In a flat or down year you are credited nothing while cost of insurance and policy fees continue to be deducted, so the account value declines. That distinction explains most surprised policyholders.
How is my offer calculated?
Net death benefit less the present value of premiums needed to maturity, discounted at the buyer’s required return and weighted by an independent life expectancy estimate, then reduced by transaction costs. Loans are subtracted first. Market-wide the GAO found typical proceeds of about 10% to 35% of face value.
Will I get more than surrendering?
For policies the market actually bids on, usually yes — the GAO study found proceeds averaging roughly four to eight times cash surrender value. For small policies or healthy younger insureds, there may be no offer at all, in which case surrender or restructuring is the better path.
What do I need to send first?
Only the policy cover page showing the insurer, policy number, face amount and issue date. That is enough for a free eligibility review with no obligation. Call (305) 209-7183 if you want to discuss an institutional or trust-owned policy first.
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Related Reading
- What Is Indexed Universal Life
- Can I Sell A Policy Owned By A Business
- Sell Coli Policy Company Dissolving
- Universal Life Cost Increases
- What Is An In Force Illustration
- Lapse Vs Surrender Vs Settlement
- Can I Sell A Policy Owned By A Trust
- How Life Settlement Buyers Price A 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.