This is my experience with my whole life insurance company. YMMV. After I reached 80 my insurance leaped from $188 a month to over $500. My insurance company stated they sent me a notice of the increase before I reached 80. How ever, I never received it. After a few months, I received a notice that they had taken the value of the policy and used it to pay the increased premium. As a result I owed over $2000 to bring the policy up to date. Not going to happen. I tried researching other companies and I was always quoted over $500 for the amount of insurance I wanted. I also became aware that all insurance stops at age 85. This may not apply to your situation but someone may find it helpful.
So the policy isn’t paid-off yet? Who sold you this piece of garbage? Someone picked your pocket if they sold you a plan that wasn’t designed to be paid off until past 80.
I don’t see why an 80 yo person needs life insurance. It’s supposed to insure risks around how a surviving family continues living OK after a wage earner dies. I’d just drop it and try to harvest whatever value you can.
I guess some people view it as a lottery ticket… that if they die tomorrow then the family gets an estate. However, insurance companies are the Las Vegas table… you are the better who wandered in off the Strip. Who do you think will win?
The average 80 yo will pay more in premiums than they will ever collect in benefit… or later they reach a budgetary pain point (like maybe now for you), and they stop paying, and they get a crummy cash value because it wasn’t paid-off.
If I’m misquoting how it works, forgive me. I’m intentionally not an expert in their insurance terminology, because it’s all made-up nonsense. I share Clark’s view, and probably every on this forum, that cash value life insurance is the middle-class payday lending scheme. It’s atrocious. Sorry you bought it.