my insurance company contacted me concerning a lump sum settlement and were offering me their bottom line i.e. below half of what I would draw over in the future. please, Help!

may be they are calculating the present value of your policy, and subtracting a certain amount for profit.
Depending upon your policy terms, you may be able to arrange a buy-out through a third party means there are some financial services which purchase annuities and structured payments, offering a lump sum to the seller. try to find such a company, and compare its offer to that made by your insurance company.