How to Sell a Life Insurance Policy

There may come a time in your life when you no longer want or think you need your life insurance policy. If this ever happens to you, you can sell your life insurance policy on a secondary market. These transactions are commonly referred to as "life settlements."

Things You'll Need

• Permanent life insurance policy (i.e. universal life or whole life)
• Life insurance agent
• Life settlement company

Instructions

1. Determine how much your life insurance policy is worth. You can do this by looking at your most recent statement from the insurance company. Look for the current death benefit amount. This is the amount of money that the policy would pay if you died right now. This is how much the policy is worth.

2. Contact an agent that specializes in life settlements. This might be your existing agent, but more than likely it will be a financial adviser who has experience in estate planning or tax planning.

3. Locate a life settlement company. An experienced financial adviser can help you do this. You will probably need the help of a professional for this because some life settlement companies may take advantage of you if they think you don't know what you're doing.

4. Get a quote from several life settlement companies. They will give you an amount that is somewhere between the cash surrender value amount of the policy and the death benefit.

5. Take the best offer and transfer the policy into the life settlement company's name. They will provide all the necessary paperwork for you to fill out.

Tips & Warnings

• Be careful when selling your life insurance policy. Be absolutely certain that you will never need this policy ever again. You are selling your life insurance policy to a third party that will profit when you die.

Resources

• More information about life settlements