To cancel a National Life Group life insurance policy, send a signed, dated surrender request to the company that actually issued your contract, either National Life Insurance Company of Montpelier, Vermont or Life Insurance Company of the Southwest of Addison, Texas. National Life Group is a trade name for a family of companies, not the insurer named on your policy. Include your policy number and the date you want coverage to end, then ask for written confirmation that the policy has terminated and billing has stopped.
National Life Group is a trade name of National Life Insurance Company, founded in Montpelier, Vermont in 1848, Life Insurance Company of the Southwest, chartered in 1955 and with its home office in Addison, Texas, and their affiliates, which together offer life insurance, annuity and investment products.
Surrender is only one of the two things that form does
National Life Group publishes its service forms openly, and the one most people end up on is titled Life Insurance Withdrawal/Surrender Request. The two words in that title are the whole decision. A withdrawal takes part of the cash value and leaves the policy in force. A surrender takes the value and ends the coverage permanently. Someone whose real problem is a premium they can no longer carry sometimes reaches for the second when the first was closer to what they actually meant. That distinction carries more weight here than it would on term coverage, because National Life Group is a large writer of indexed universal life, and an indexed policy is built to accumulate over decades. The company puts it plainly in its own customer FAQ: surrender charges may reduce the policy's cash value in early years. Those charges follow a schedule written into the contract when it was issued, and they are largest at the start. So before you sign anything, ask for two numbers: your current cash surrender value, and the policy year in which the surrender charge schedule ends. Those two figures will move the decision more than the monthly premium does.
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 company actually issued your policy. The first page of your contract names the insurer. National Life Group states that National Life Insurance Company is licensed in all states and the District of Columbia, while Life Insurance Company of the Southwest is licensed in 49 states and the District of Columbia and is not licensed in New York. Put the exact company name from your contract on your written request rather than the National Life Group trade name.
- Where you are in the surrender charge schedule. Universal life and indexed universal life policies commonly carry a surrender charge that declines over a set number of years and then stops. Your contract lists the schedule, and your statement shows the cash surrender value after the charge is applied. A policy near the end of its schedule is worth a very different amount than the same policy two years in.
- Whether something short of a full surrender solves the real problem. If the issue is the size of the premium rather than the coverage itself, a partial withdrawal or a reduction in face amount may bring the bill down without ending the contract. National Life Group also publishes a Request for Paid Up Insurance form for whole life owners. Ask which options exist on your specific policy, because the answer depends on the product and the contract language.
- Any outstanding policy loans or prior withdrawals. National Life Group states that life insurance policy loans and withdrawals reduce the policy's cash value and death benefit and may result in a taxable event. A loan balance comes off whatever you would receive at surrender, so confirm the current balance before you rely on a cash value figure from an older statement.
- Which riders are attached to the contract. National Life Group markets life insurance with Living Benefits, describing it as access to money during your lifetime when there is a qualifying event. The company notes these may be provided by optional Accelerated Benefits Riders, which are not available on all products or in all states. Check your rider schedule, because that access ends with the coverage and a cheaper replacement will not necessarily carry the same thing.
- Whether your health has changed since you applied. The policy was priced on the health you had on the day it was underwritten. If anything has changed since, replacing the coverage is priced on today instead, and it may cost meaningfully more or may not be available on the same terms.
When cancelling is the right answer
Cancelling can absolutely be the right answer. If the premium has become a genuine strain, if the need the policy was bought for has passed, or if you are carrying more coverage across several contracts than your situation calls for, ending one is a considered decision rather than a loss. The point of checking the surrender schedule first is only so the timing is yours to choose.
Common questions
How do I cancel a National Life Group life insurance policy?
Submit a signed, dated surrender request that includes your full name, policy number, and the date you want coverage to end. National Life Group publishes a Life Insurance Withdrawal/Surrender Request form in the service forms section of its website. Address it to the company named on your contract, and ask for written confirmation that the policy has terminated and that billing has stopped.
Who issued my policy, National Life Insurance Company or Life Insurance Company of the Southwest?
Your contract says. Both companies operate under the National Life Group trade name, so marketing material and even some correspondence may show only the group name while the actual insurer is one specific company. The company also states that Life Insurance Company of the Southwest is not licensed in New York, so that name will not appear on a New York contract. Read the first page of your policy and use the name printed there.
Will a surrender charge reduce what I get back?
On a policy with cash value it can, particularly in the early years. National Life Group states that surrender charges may reduce the policy's cash value in early years. The charge follows a schedule written into your contract that declines over time and eventually reaches zero. Ask for your current cash surrender value, which is the figure after the charge, rather than the account value, which is the figure before it.
Is there a way to lower the cost without giving up the policy?
Often, yes, and it is worth asking before you surrender. Depending on the product and the contract, options can include reducing the death benefit, taking a partial withdrawal from cash value, or changing how much premium you pay into a flexible premium policy. National Life Group also publishes a paid up insurance request form for whole life owners. None of these are guaranteed to be available on your contract, so ask the insurer what applies to your specific policy number.
Will I owe tax on the money I receive?
Possibly. In general, the portion of a surrender payout that exceeds the total premiums you paid into the policy is treated as taxable income, and outstanding loans can affect the calculation. National Life Group states that policy loans and withdrawals may result in a taxable event. We are not tax advisers, so ask yours before you surrender a policy with meaningful cash value.
What happens to my Living Benefits riders if I cancel?
They end when the policy does. Riders that let you access part of the death benefit during your lifetime are part of the contract, not a separate arrangement you keep. If you are replacing the coverage, ask specifically whether the new policy carries comparable access, because two policies with the same death benefit can differ a great deal on this point.
My cash value is not growing the way I expected. Should I cancel?
Ask for a current in force illustration before you decide anything. That document projects where the policy is heading based on how it is actually funded and performing today, rather than on the assumptions used when it was sold. Indexed policies are built to accumulate slowly at first and can look disappointing early even when they are on track. An illustration turns a feeling into numbers you can weigh.
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.