Cash Surrender Value: We Explain How Cash Surrender Value Works

Insurance policies that accumulate cash value are considered a permanent form of insurance. All life insurance policies have a cash surrender value that can be accessed by the owner.

If you want to cash in on your life insurance policy’s cash surrender value, you should first have a firm grasp on those concepts and how they apply to your policy.

Read this article if you are in the market for life insurance or already have a policy so you can learn more about cash surrender value, how to estimate it, and how to evaluate your options.

What Exactly Is a Cash Surrender Value?

When you terminate a life insurance policy with cash value, you will receive the cash surrender value.

If you let the coverage on your life insurance policy lapse, you could still be eligible for the cash surrender value. If you have any outstanding policy fees or loans secured by the policy, the sum will be less than the cash value of the policy.

Because the cash value of life insurance plans increases with the passage of time, the cash value of policies that have been kept for a longer period of time often has a significantly higher value. As a result of the cash value’s ability to accumulate interest over time, a significant number of individuals utilize it as a method of long-term savings.

How Does Cash Surrender Value Work?

There are a few different motivations that could lead policyholders to make the decision to surrender their life insurance policies. They might no longer require the protection, or they might require the money to pay unforeseen costs. Both of these scenarios are possible. 

The owner of the policy has the ability to surrender it at any time in exchange for the cash value of the policy, less any outstanding obligations against the policy and any surrender charges. After that, the coverage for life insurance is terminated, and it is not possible to reinstate the policy.

In order to surrender their policy, policyholders need to get in touch with their life insurance provider. The insurance provider will ask the policyholder to fill out a form and submit it to them for consideration. Once a policy is surrendered to the insurer, the policyholder receives the surrender value.

How Is Cash Surrender Value Determined?

Your policy’s surrender value is determined by its cash value and any surrender penalties that may apply if you decide to terminate the policy. 

Your policy will detail the length of time the surrender period lasts as well as the factors that are used to determine the surrender charge. These factors include your age, gender, rating class, and the quantity of coverage you currently have.

The penalty could be a percentage of the policy’s value, decreasing annually until the policy is “out of surrender” and the value is zero. Particularly high surrender charges may apply in the first few years of the contract’s term.

If you want to cancel your policy during the surrender time, you should find out from your provider what the cash surrender value is so you know how much of a loss you’ll incur. Depending on the amount, it may be better to wait until the policy is no longer in the surrender period, or to take a loan or direct withdrawal from the cash value.

Cash Surrender Value vs. Cash Value: What’s the Difference?

Although the cash value is secured in a whole life insurance policy, it cannot be accessed until the policy is terminated. The cash value of an insurance policy can be borrowed against or withdrawn by the policyholder.

One can get low-interest policy loans using the cash value of an insurance policy as collateral. Loan amounts are subtracted from the death benefit of the insurance if premiums are not paid.

To the extent that outstanding loans represent cash value earnings, they are not taxable unless and until the policy is surrendered.

There is a distinction between the surrender value and the cash value. You should factor in any withdrawal fees that your firm might impose when calculating your cash surrender value.

All premium payments are added up, and then the policy’s fees and any penalties for early withdrawal are subtracted to arrive at the cash surrender amount.

Is the Cash Surrender Value of Life Insurance Taxable?

The rise of your cash value will not be subject to any taxes if you have a cash value policy. But do you have to pay taxes on the cash worth of your life insurance policy if you surrender it early? The premiums that were paid into the policy are not subject to taxation on the cash surrender value. Gains on investments, on the other hand, are subject to taxation.

For instance, if a policyholder pays $10,000 in premiums and then receives $15,000 in cash in exchange for surrendering their insurance, the gain of $5,000 is considered taxable income.

When a life insurance policy is surrendered for a cash value, the owner of the policy is subject to income tax on the earnings from the policy. This is the case even if the cash surrender value of the policy is greater than the total amount of premiums paid for the policy.

Is Surrendering Your Policy A Good Idea?

Your decision to surrender your coverage should be guided by your individual circumstances. Surrendering your life insurance policy could be a good idea if you’re going to convert to a different plan, especially if it’s with a different provider.

If you change occupations and your new employer provides life insurance for you and your family at no cost, you may want to consider surrendering your old policy. In cases where immediate cash is required and alternative options have been exhausted, policy surrender may be considered.

However, this ultimate idea should be used only as a last option. A personal loan might make more sense in this case.

It is not always a good idea to give up your insurance policy. Most likely, you won’t get back the full amount of premiums you paid over the years. The cash value of a surrendered policy is not refundable. The only thing that will change is the return on your initial investment, less any profits or losses.

Alternatives to Surrendering Policy

Exploring your other choices is probably the best thing to do before you cancel your life insurance policy and remove the financial protection it provides for your loved ones. Before you make the decision to give up your life insurance coverage, take a look at the following alternatives.

Take out the cash value

In many instances, you are permitted to make an immediate withdrawal from the cash value associated with your account. You might be required to keep a certain portion of it in place, but the remainder of it might be accessible to you to remove and use as you see fit. 

Bear in mind that the funds you withdraw from your life insurance policy may be subtracted from the death benefit you leave behind for your family and loved ones. This may result in them having less money after your death occurs.

Get a loan against your policy

A policy loan is yet another method through which you may quickly acquire financial stability with your life insurance policy. These are loans that are secured with the proceeds from your life insurance policy. 

Your life insurance company will deduct the amount that is owed on the loan from the amount that is paid out to your beneficiaries if any of the loan balance is unpaid at the moment of your passing.

Sell the insurance plan

Selling your insurance could be an option if you’re dead set on getting out of your policy. If you sell the plan for more than its cash surrender value, you’ll still be able to get rid of it. A life settlement is a name given to this type of transaction.

Life insurance policies can be purchased through brokers or directly from insurance providers. There may be situations in which your provider offers to sell your policy for you at a cost.

After you have found a buyer, the procedure of settling a life insurance policy is quite easy to complete. You will be required to submit a specialized application when you have reached an agreement on the fee. If all goes smoothly, the policy rights are traded for the agreed-upon sum.

This procedure could take a few months or perhaps longer to complete. On the other hand, there are some life settlement firms that will make payments, either in part or in full, before the whole process is finished.

Bottom Line

You may believe that relinquishing your life insurance policy is the greatest method to gain access to cash without taking on additional debt if you are seeking for strategies to gain access to cash without taking out additional debt. 

However, if you surrender your policy, your dependents will no longer have access to the death benefit, which could be of great assistance to them in their time of need. In addition to this, giving up your policy will require you to forfeit a portion of the cash value in order to pay any applicable fees and taxes. 

As a result, you need to give some thought to the options that can assist you in gaining access to your cash while preserving the validity of your policy.