Can You Cash Out A Variable Life Insurance Policy? 
The short answer is yes . However , they often have surrender charges that may last up to 10 or even 15 years . Your most recent statement should have a column marker ` surrender value ' which will show you the amount of money you get if you cash that policy out . Keep in mind that if you cash out a life insurance policy for more than you paid in it could create a taxable event . You should discuss this with your tax professional . The bigger question is why are you cashing in the policy . There are alternatives to do so . You could transfer -LRB- 1035 exchange -RRB- the cash value to another policy that will better fit your needs . You could leave the cash value in the policy to help offset premium costs and expenses . You could take a loan against the cash value in order to keep the policy in place and not create a taxable event but there are interest charges for having a loan . If you want to explore other options I recommend you talk to an independent insurance specialist who can help you evaluate these different options with your situation to see which one fits best . You may need to obtain a couple of inforce illustrations from the insurance company to show how the policy is currently performing and how making changes to the policy may affect performance . 