To cancel your Liberty National life insurance policy, call the customer service line at 800-300-0637 or mail a signed cancellation request to the Liberty National Division at 7677 Henneman Way, McKinney, TX 75070.1Globe Life. Contact Globe Life Liberty National Division Customer Service The steps themselves are simple. What’s worth more of your attention is what you’ll get back, what you might owe in taxes, and whether canceling outright is actually the best move for the type of policy you hold.
If You Just Bought the Policy, Use the Free Look Period
Every life insurance policy carries a free look period after delivery, typically 10 to 30 days depending on your state. Return the policy within that window and you get a full refund of any premiums paid. The policy is treated as though it never existed.
The exact deadline is set by your state and spelled out in your policy documents. If you’re inside that window, call customer service or return the policy to the agent who sold it. You don’t need the rest of this article.
What to Have Ready Before You Contact Them
Gather this information before you call so the request doesn’t stall:
- Your policy number, printed on the original policy documents
- The full legal name on the policy
- Date of birth
- The Social Security number associated with the account
If your policy includes riders or covers multiple family members, be clear about what you want to cancel. Canceling the base policy typically terminates any attached riders. Dropping only a rider while keeping the main policy is a different request, and the representative can tell you what’s bundled under your specific contract.
The Three Ways to Submit the Cancellation
By Phone
Calling is the fastest way to start. Reach the Liberty National Division at 800-300-0637 or 205-325-4979.2Globe Life. Globe Life Liberty National Division FAQs Ask the representative to walk you through their cancellation process and confirm whether they also need a written request. Get a reference number for the call and write it down. Then ask specifically when future premium drafts will stop. Premiums that keep pulling from your bank account after you’ve asked to cancel are a common frustration, and a documented stop date gives you something to point at if that happens.
By Mail
Most insurers require a signed written request to finalize cancellation, even after a phone call. Send your letter or completed cancellation form to the Liberty National Division at 7677 Henneman Way, McKinney, TX 75070.1Globe Life. Contact Globe Life Liberty National Division Customer Service Use certified mail with return receipt requested so you have proof of the date the company received it.
The letter should include your policy number, full name, date of birth, a clear statement that you want to cancel the policy, and your signature. Keep a copy of everything you send. If you hold a whole life policy and want the cash surrender value, say so explicitly and include your preferred payment method.
Through the Online Portal
Globe Life runs a policyholder portal where you can manage your account, pay bills, update beneficiaries, and file claims.3Globe Life. Globe Life Insurance – Policyholder Login Whether a full cancellation can be submitted through the portal isn’t confirmed on the site, so don’t assume logging in and clicking through will finish the job. Call first, then use the portal for anything the representative directs you to complete online.
Why You Shouldn’t Just Stop Paying
Letting the policy lapse by ignoring premium notices will eventually end coverage, but it’s a messy approach, and with whole life policies it can quietly cost you money.
After a missed payment, your policy enters a grace period, typically 30 to 31 days. Coverage stays active during that window. If the grace period expires without payment, the policy lapses and coverage ends.4Globe Life Insurance. What Happens if You Stop Paying Life Insurance Premiums?
Whole life policies add a complication. Many whole life contracts include an automatic premium loan provision. If you miss a payment and have accumulated enough cash value, the insurer borrows against that cash value to pay the premium for you. The policy stays active, interest accrues on the loan, and your cash value erodes. You can think you’ve walked away from the policy while it’s still running and racking up loan interest. Submit a formal cancellation instead of letting it drift.
Term life is simpler. There’s no cash value at stake, so the policy just lapses after the grace period. But you also lose any chance of recovering prepaid premiums that might have been refundable under a formal cancellation.
What You Get Back
Term Life Policies
Term life has no savings component, so there’s no cash value to collect. If you paid premiums in advance, say for a full year, you may be entitled to a pro-rated refund for the unused portion after your cancellation date. Whether you actually get that refund depends on the terms of your contract. Check your policy language or ask the representative.
Whole Life Policies
Whole life insurance builds cash value over time. When you cancel, formally called “surrendering” the policy, you receive the cash surrender value: the accumulated cash value minus any outstanding policy loans and minus any surrender charges.
Surrender charges are where people get an unpleasant surprise. In the early years of a whole life policy, these charges can eat up most or all of the cash value, leaving you with little or nothing. They typically decrease over time and eventually disappear, so a policy held for 15 years will return far more than one held for 3. Your policy includes a schedule showing what you’d receive at each anniversary. Review that schedule before you cancel so you know what to expect.
Once the company processes the surrender, expect payment within 30 to 60 days, by check or electronic transfer depending on what you arrange.
Taxes on a Surrender Payout
If you surrender a whole life policy for cash, the IRS treats any gain as ordinary income. The gain equals what you receive minus your “investment in the contract,” which is generally the total premiums you paid over the life of the policy, reduced by any dividends, refunds, or untaxed distributions you received along the way.5Internal Revenue Service. For Senior Taxpayers 1 The portion of the payout up to that total is tax-free; only the excess is taxable.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 72 – Annuities; Certain Proceeds of Endowment and Life Insurance Contracts
For example, if you paid $20,000 in total premiums and your cash surrender value is $25,000, you’d owe income tax on the $5,000 gain. If you receive less than you paid in, there’s no taxable event. The company issues a 1099-R reporting the distribution and the taxable amount if there’s a gain.7Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1099-R and 5498 (2025) For large payouts, a tax professional can help you plan for the liability before you file.
Alternatives Worth Considering First
Canceling isn’t always the right move, especially with a whole life policy that has built up meaningful cash value. A few options let you stop or reduce premiums without surrendering everything.
Reduced Paid-Up Insurance
If your whole life policy has enough cash value, you may be able to convert it to a reduced paid-up policy. You stop paying premiums entirely, and the policy continues with a smaller death benefit that your existing cash value can support for life.8Globe Life Insurance. What is Paid Up Life Insurance? You keep coverage, your beneficiaries still receive a payout, and there’s no taxable event. Not every policy offers this. Check your contract or ask customer service.
Extended Term Insurance
Another nonforfeiture option converts your whole life policy into a term policy for the same death benefit, lasting as long as your cash value can fund it. Once the term runs out, coverage ends. This fits when you need the full death benefit for a specific period but can’t keep paying premiums. If you never elected a nonforfeiture option and simply stop paying, extended term is typically the default.
1035 Exchange
If you want out of your Liberty National policy but still want life insurance or an annuity, a 1035 exchange moves the cash value directly into a new policy with another company without triggering tax on the gain.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 1035 – Certain Exchanges of Insurance Policies Federal tax law permits tax-free exchanges from a life insurance policy to another life insurance policy, an endowment, an annuity, or a qualified long-term care contract. The entire surrender amount must transfer directly; if the money passes through your hands, the tax-free treatment is lost. Any outstanding loans on the original policy need to be resolved before the exchange. This is worth considering when you’d otherwise face a large taxable gain on surrender.
Policy Loan
If you need cash but don’t necessarily want to end coverage, you can borrow against your whole life policy’s cash value. The policy stays in force, and the loan isn’t taxable as long as the policy stays in force. Interest accrues, and any unpaid balance reduces the death benefit. Call Liberty National for your current loan availability and interest rate.
Getting Confirmation and Keeping Records
After the company processes your cancellation, you should receive written confirmation that the policy has been terminated and coverage has ended. If nothing arrives within a few weeks of the expected processing date, follow up by phone using the reference number from your original call. Don’t assume silence means success.
Hold on to the confirmation letter, copies of anything you mailed, your certified mail receipt, and the 1099-R if you received a surrender payout. Future insurance applications sometimes ask about prior coverage, and the 1099-R will be needed for the tax return covering the year of the payment.