Business Development Officer, T.D. McNeil Insurance Services, Fresno, California
The only person who can cash in a life insurance policy is the owner of the policy. The person insured is not always the owner. The owner can be either the person insured or the beneficiary. The owner could be another third party. Only the owner can “cash-in” the life policy.
As David stated, only the owner of the policy can cash in a life insurance policy. It may need to be explained, as well, that not all life insurance polices can be cashed in, because not all life insurance policies have cash value. Even Whole and Universal Life policies usually take time to build up cash value, and Term policies never have cash value unless they have a return of premium feature.
So, stated another way, only those who own policies that have cash value, can cash in their life insurance. But they can also borrow from their cash value, and that often is a better way to access the cash in the policy, so as not to give up the death benefit.
In Canada also only the owner can cash is a life insurance policy. If there is an irrevocable beneficiary their permission is required.
In addition to loosing the protection there may be tax consequences when you cash in a policy. A suggestion would be to explore borrowing using the policy as collateral that way you could access the cash without a policy disposition and taxation.
If you have further questions, or feel that I could be of assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.
If you would like to work with a local life insurance broker, you could start with a Google search. For example, if you search for: life insurance broker Halifax or life insurance agent Halifax, my name, along with several others, will come up. You can use the same method to find a life insurance broker in your community.
That is a great question! The insurance companies will only allow the person who owns the policy to make certain decisions. The owner is the only one who can name or change the beneficiary, and the only one who can cancel, or surrender the policy. Please be aware that the insured may or may not be the owner of the policy. Thanks for asking!
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So, stated another way, only those who own policies that have cash value, can cash in their life insurance. But they can also borrow from their cash value, and that often is a better way to access the cash in the policy, so as not to give up the death benefit.
In addition to loosing the protection there may be tax consequences when you cash in a policy. A suggestion would be to explore borrowing using the policy as collateral that way you could access the cash without a policy disposition and taxation.
If you have further questions, or feel that I could be of assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.
If you would like to work with a local life insurance broker, you could start with a Google search. For example, if you search for: life insurance broker Halifax or life insurance agent Halifax, my name, along with several others, will come up. You can use the same method to find a life insurance broker in your community.