It's not uncommon for people to allow their payment towards their insurance policies to lapse. Insurance companies actually hope this happens because when it does the insured loses money even after it's been paid over a period of months or even years.
Before this happens, it's a smart idea to cash in on your life insurance if you can. A convenient choice would be to just go to your insurance company and cash in on your policy itself. You'll be able to recoup a surrender value, which is the amount which has already been paid on top of interest.
A better option would be to sell your insurance policy to an investor or some kind of financial firm. When a third party purchases a life insurance policy, this is referred to as a life settlement, or life insurance settlement. This is the best option to take, since the settlement amount can be over and above the cash surrender amount.
The return an investor can realize from life insurance settlements is going to be a much larger amount than the surrender value (or price above) at which is was originally purchased. When you're looking to buy into life insurance settlements, look for a policy for senior citizens age 65+. These policies hold the most value, but only if they are maintaining proper health.