If by cashing out you mean surrendering the policy (a permanent policy which has cash value), the owner of the life Insurance policy has the only authority to do so. If the policy is lapsed by not paying any premium, then there really is nothing to surrender.
A word of warning....if you do cash out or surrender the policy be aware this may cause a taxable event.
President, Lane Independent Agency, Southern California
Only the owner of a life insurance policy can cash it out, which of course means surrender it, and terminate its coverage. This leaves you with no life insurance. A far better thing to do would be to borrow against it, which you can only do with Whole Life Insurance, never term, whish has no surrender or cash out value. If you instead borrow against it, the policy stays in force, with a diminished death benefit, but you can always repay the loan and return to the full death benefit, which will have grown, since it grows even as if the loan had not taken place, due to accumulation. To get the major part of the death benefit however you do have to repay the loan when the emergency is past. Talk to an experienced agent. Gary Lane, Registered Representative and Agent, New York Life. 949 797 2424. Thank you.
Owner, Wright Insurance Agency, Great Pittsburgh Area
Like the other two gentleman posted, the owner and owner only. He / she is who the contract with the company is with. The best thing to do is not to cash out, but to let it accrue. It can really add up over time and can even supplement retirement income if done correctly.
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A word of warning....if you do cash out or surrender the policy be aware this may cause a taxable event.