Some life insurance policies allow the surrender option wherein you can surrender the life insurance policy before death or maturity and get a surrender value or cash value. So, you can cash your life insurance policy before death if the policy allows the surrender feature subject to specified terms and conditions. Moreover, in some plans, like ULIPs, there might be a surrender charge if you surrender the policy during the lock-in period of 5 years.
Though available, surrendering the life insurance policy is usually not preferred. This is because the cash value of the policy may be low and you may also lose out on the coverage benefits.