How you cancel ReliaStar coverage depends on how you bought it. Coverage you bought yourself was issued by ReliaStar Life Insurance Company, or ReliaStar Life Insurance Company of New York, and you end it with a signed, dated written request naming your policy number and the date you want coverage to stop. If the premium instead comes out of your paycheck, it is workplace coverage, and your employer's benefits team is where it ends rather than a letter to the insurer.
Voya states that its insurance products are issued by ReliaStar Life Insurance Company (Minneapolis, Minnesota) and ReliaStar Life Insurance Company of New York (Woodbury, New York), that both are members of the Voya family of companies, and that Voya Employee Benefits is a division of both companies.
A pay stub and a premium bill lead in opposite directions
ReliaStar Life Insurance Company and ReliaStar Life Insurance Company of New York both sit inside the Voya family of companies, and Voya Employee Benefits is a division of both. That one arrangement is why two people holding something called ReliaStar coverage can need two completely different processes to end it. Voya's business today is centered on workplace and institutional clients, so much of what carries the ReliaStar name is coverage an employer offers and payroll deduction pays for: group life, disability and supplemental benefits. With workplace coverage the employer holds the master contract and you hold a certificate underneath it. The deduction lives in your employer's payroll and benefits system, which means a letter mailed to the insurer usually cannot stop it. Your benefits administrator can, and plan rules may limit when. Coverage you bought yourself and pay for out of your own bank account is the other path. Those individual policies were issued in ReliaStar's name, and Voya sold its in-force individual life business to Resolution Life, which said it would take over administering it. So the first job is not writing the letter. It is working out which ReliaStar you have, and a pay stub answers that faster than anything else in the file.
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.
- Whether the premium leaves a paycheck or a bank account. This one detail decides where your request goes. A payroll deduction points to workplace coverage handled through your employer benefits team or your enrollment portal. A bank draft or a bill in the mail points to an individual policy you own directly.
- Which company services the policy today. Resolution Life asks policyholders and beneficiaries to locate the company name printed on the policy document and enter that name on its policyholder page. Pull out your original contract or a recent statement and use the exact entity shown there, rather than a name you find by searching online.
- Whether you live in New York. Voya states that within New York, only ReliaStar Life Insurance Company of New York is admitted and its products issued, which makes it a separate company from ReliaStar Life Insurance Company in Minneapolis. Use the entity named on your own paperwork, since that is the actual party to your contract.
- What your certificate says about portability and conversion. Some coverage sold at work can be continued after you leave the employer by paying the insurer directly, and some can be converted to an individual policy. Those rights carry deadlines. Dropping the coverage voluntarily does not always trigger the same rights that leaving the job does, so read the certificate before you decide.
- Whether the policy has any cash value. Term coverage generally has no cash value to recover. Permanent coverage, whole life or universal life, builds value over time, and surrendering releases it. Any amount above what you paid in premiums can be taxable, so it is worth reading the figure off your statement before you decide.
- Whether your health has changed since you applied. Coverage issued years ago was priced on the health you had then. Workplace coverage in particular is often issued with limited or no health questions, which can make it easier to hold than to replace. If your health has changed, the same benefit elsewhere can cost meaningfully more.
When cancelling is the right answer
Cancelling is a fair decision when the coverage no longer fits: the debt it was bought to cover is paid off, the children it protected are grown, or you are paying for a workplace policy and an individual policy that do the same job. It is a weaker decision when the only real problem is that you cannot tell which of the two you are holding. Workplace coverage is often easier to keep than to replace, so ten minutes with a pay stub and a statement is worth spending before anything gets cancelled.
Common questions
How do I cancel a ReliaStar life insurance policy I bought myself?
Send a signed, dated written request that includes your full name, policy number, and the date you want coverage to end, addressed to the servicing company shown on your policy documents or a recent statement. Ask for written confirmation that the policy has terminated and billing has stopped, and keep that confirmation with your records.
Is ReliaStar the same company as Voya?
They are related but not identical. Voya states that ReliaStar Life Insurance Company and ReliaStar Life Insurance Company of New York are members of the Voya family of companies and that Voya Employee Benefits is a division of both. Voya Financial is the parent brand. ReliaStar is the insurer whose name is on the contract, and that is the name your cancellation request should use.
Why does my older paperwork say ING?
The parent company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission as ING U.S., Inc. and changed its name to Voya Financial, Inc. in 2014, a change recorded in its own EDGAR filing history. If your folder holds documents under one name and your recent mail carries another, that is usually why. A parent company renaming itself does not change your policy number, your beneficiary, or your death benefit.
Why is Resolution Life servicing my ReliaStar policy?
Voya agreed in December 2019 to sell substantially all of its in-force individual life business to Resolution Life, and Voya reported that the transaction closed on January 4, 2021. Resolution Life said it would assume responsibility for administering the acquired business. If your individual policy was part of that block, Resolution Life is who services it now. Your policy number, your terms and your beneficiary did not change. The company that answers did.
My ReliaStar coverage comes out of my paycheck. How do I stop it?
Start with your employer, not the insurer. Workplace coverage is arranged through your employer, and the deduction is set up in their payroll and benefits system. Depending on the plan, changes may only be allowed at open enrollment or after a qualifying life event. Your benefits administrator can tell you what window applies and what form they need.
If I leave my job, does my ReliaStar workplace coverage end on its own?
Often it does, but not always, and the difference matters. Some workplace life coverage simply ends when employment ends. Some can be continued by paying the insurer directly, and some can be converted to an individual policy. Those rights carry deadlines, usually short ones. Read your certificate of coverage, or ask your benefits administrator, before you assume the coverage is already gone.
I live in New York. Does anything change for me?
Yes. Voya states that within New York, only ReliaStar Life Insurance Company of New York is admitted and its products issued, so it is a separate insurer from ReliaStar Life Insurance Company in Minneapolis. Use the entity named on your own contract along with your policy number, since that company, not its affiliate, is the party to your agreement.
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.