To cancel a Genworth policy, send Genworth Life Insurance Company, or whichever Genworth company is named on your own contract, a signed, dated request giving your policy number and the date you want coverage to end, then get written confirmation that the policy has terminated and billing has stopped. Before you send it, settle one question: whether you hold long term care insurance or life insurance. The two end very differently.
Genworth's legacy insurance subsidiaries, Genworth Life Insurance Company, Genworth Life and Annuity Insurance Company and Genworth Life Insurance Company of New York, no longer offer or sell long term care, life insurance or annuity products and instead service and manage the policies already in force, while new long term care coverage is written through CareScout Insurance Company.
This is usually a rate increase election, not a cancellation
Most people who look up how to cancel a Genworth policy did not wake up wanting to cancel. They opened a long term care premium increase notice, and cancelling looked like the only lever available. It is not, and the shape of the decision is worth understanding before you write anything. Genworth sets out three responses to an increase: keep your current coverage and pay the new premium, adjust the coverage so the premium comes down, or pay nothing more and receive a paid-up policy with benefits approximately equal to the total premium you have paid. Two of those keep the policy you know, and the third still leaves you holding a benefit rather than nothing. Genworth also allows 60 days to reverse a benefit reduction in writing, after which the reduction stands. The second thing to know is that the Genworth legacy companies have closed to new sales. They ceased long term care sales on October 1, 2025, and have not actively sold life insurance or fixed annuity products since 2016 or variable annuities since 2011. New long term care coverage is written through CareScout Insurance Company instead. So there is no internal upgrade to move into. Anything you give up here gets replaced on the open market, at your current age and health, or not at all.
How to cancel, step by step
- Find your policy number. It is on the policy itself and on any statement. Work from your own documents rather than from a letter you were not expecting.
- Put the request in writing. Sign and date it, name the policy number, and state the exact date you want coverage to end. A phone call alone leaves you nothing to point at later.
- Say if you are inside the free-look window. If the policy is new, your state may entitle you to a full refund. Make that request explicit rather than assuming it is applied.
- Ask for written confirmation. You want the termination date and, if there is cash value, the amount being released. Keep it.
- Stop the payment last, not first. Only once the insurer has confirmed the policy has ended. Stopping the draft first creates a lapse rather than a cancellation, which is messier and can cost you the cash value.
What to check before you send it
These are the things people most often wish they had looked at first. None of them are reasons not to cancel. They are the difference between a decision and a regret.
- Which Genworth product the letter is actually about. Genworth runs separate customer service areas for long term care insurance and for life insurance and annuities, each with its own library of forms. Your statement settles which one you are holding. A death benefit and a named beneficiary means life insurance. A daily or monthly maximum, an elimination period and inflation protection means long term care.
- If it is long term care, the choices that are not cancelling. When a premium increase lands, Genworth describes three paths: keep your current coverage, adjust your coverage, or pay nothing more. The adjustments it lists include lowering the daily or monthly maximum, shortening the benefit coverage period, lengthening the elimination period, reducing inflation protection, and cancelling optional riders. Any one of them lowers the premium while the policy stays in force.
- The 60 day window on a benefit reduction. Genworth states that a policyholder who reduces benefits has 60 days to reverse those changes in writing, and that after that period the reduction cannot be restored. If you are choosing between two adjustments and are not certain, that window is the practical deadline to have your answer.
- The paid-up option, by name. Genworth states that a long term care policyholder who decides to pay nothing more will in most situations receive a paid-up policy with benefits approximately equal to the total premium paid. That is a very different outcome from walking away with nothing, so ask for your own figure in writing before you decide.
- Which company actually issued your contract. Genworth Life Insurance Company, Genworth Life and Annuity Insurance Company and Genworth Life Insurance Company of New York are three separate insurers under the Genworth name. Send your request to the company name and service address printed on your own policy and statements rather than to the parent brand, and use the policy number exactly as it appears there.
- Whether your coverage is a certificate under a group plan. Genworth has reported that its legacy insurance subsidiaries may still issue a limited number of certificates under existing group long term care insurance policies. If your coverage came through an employer or an association, you likely hold a certificate under a group contract, and the rules for ending it, and for keeping it if you leave the group, come from that contract rather than from an individual policy.
When cancelling is the right answer
Cancelling is a fair, considered decision when the coverage has finished the job it was bought for: a term life policy that outlived the mortgage behind it, or a small legacy policy duplicating coverage you already hold elsewhere. On the long term care side the honest answer is more often a reduction than an ending, and if the premium truly no longer fits the budget, the paid-up route leaves you with some benefit instead of none. Ending long term care coverage outright makes sense mainly when you already have another plan in place to pay for care.
Common questions
How do I cancel a Genworth insurance policy?
Send a signed, dated written request to the Genworth company named on your policy, including your full name, policy number and the date you want coverage to end, and ask for written confirmation that the policy has terminated and billing has stopped. Genworth publishes product specific forms, including a Surrender Authorization for a full life insurance surrender and a Cancellation Authorization for Term Life Insurance. Service addresses appear on your own policy documents and statements.
How do I tell whether I have Genworth long term care insurance or life insurance?
Look at the schedule page of your policy or the top of your statement. Long term care coverage is described in terms of a daily or monthly maximum benefit, a benefit coverage period, an elimination period and often inflation protection. Life insurance is described in terms of a death benefit and a named beneficiary. Genworth also keeps the two on separate customer service tracks with separate form libraries, so the section of the site your letter points you to is another clue.
My Genworth long term care premium went up. Do I have to cancel?
No. Genworth sets out three options for policyholders who receive a rate increase notice: keep your current coverage and pay the new premium, adjust your coverage so the premium comes down, or pay nothing more and take a paid-up policy. Adjusting can mean a lower daily or monthly maximum, a shorter benefit coverage period, a longer elimination period, less inflation protection, cancelling an optional rider, or a combination. Most people who call us about this are surprised there is a middle setting at all.
What is the paid-up option Genworth mentions?
It is the choice to stop paying premiums without losing everything. Genworth says that in most situations a policyholder who pays nothing more receives a paid-up policy with benefits approximately equal to the total premium paid. Availability and the exact calculation depend on your policy form and your state, so ask for your own figure in writing. It is often the better answer for someone whose real problem is the monthly cost rather than the coverage itself.
Can I just replace my Genworth long term care policy with a new one?
Treat that as a much bigger step than replacing life insurance. Genworth began selling an individual long term care insurance product through CareScout Insurance Company in October 2025, and other insurers write coverage too, but any new policy is underwritten at your current age and health, and long term care underwriting is strict. If you decide to look, never end the Genworth coverage until the replacement has been issued, paid and confirmed in force.
Does Genworth still sell new life insurance?
Not through its legacy insurance companies. Genworth has reported that it has not actively sold life insurance or fixed annuity products since 2016, and that its legacy subsidiaries now service and manage the policies already in force rather than writing new ones. Practically, that means there is no internal upgrade to move into. If your Genworth life coverage no longer fits, comparing it against what another insurer would offer at your current age is the way to find out where you stand.
I moved to another state. Why did my long term care premium still increase?
Because the increase follows the state where the policy was issued, not the state you live in now. Genworth has reported that in general it implements rate increases on its long term care policies in accordance with the laws of the state in which the policy was issued. Moving does not move your contract into a different state filing. It surprises a lot of people, and it is not an error on your bill.
Will my coverage end the day I ask to cancel?
Not usually. Most life insurers end coverage on the next premium due date or on the date they process a signed request, whichever the contract specifies. That gap matters, because until the policy actually terminates you are still covered. Never treat a phone call as the end of it: confirm the termination date in writing and keep the confirmation.
Should I just stop paying instead of cancelling?
It is simpler than it looks to do this badly. Stopping payment starts the grace period, and if the policy has cash value the insurer may keep it in force by taking loans against that value, which can quietly drain it. A written request creates a clean, dated record of what you asked for and when. Cancelling on purpose is always tidier than lapsing by accident.
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This guide is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Cancellation terms, refunds, and free-look windows depend on your contract and your state. Policy Review Center is a free comparison and referral service, not an insurance agency, insurer, or producer, and it connects you with independent licensed agents. Carrier names are used for reference only and do not imply any endorsement or affiliation.