Life Insurance for Veterans: What You Need to Know
Updated: Oct 10
The Best Life Insurance for Veterans There are several options for veterans life insurance, including through the VA and private companies. Read on to see what each of them offers and which is the best life insurance for veterans.
VA The VA offers several types of life insurance programs for veterans and current servicemembers:
Servicemembers Group Life Insurance (SGLI) - Low-cost group term life insurance
Servicemembers Group Life Insurance Traumatic Injury Protection (TSGLI) - A feature of SGLI that provides payments to active service members who incur traumatic injuries like amputation, blindness, paraplegia, and more
Veterans Group Life Insurance (VGLI) - Allows veterans to convert SGLI to a civilian program of lifetime renewable term coverage
Family Servicemembers Group Life Insurance (FSGLI) - Offers insurance to spouses and children of servicemembers with SGLI coverage
Service-Disabled Veterans Life Insurance (S-DVI) - Life insurance coverage to veterans with a VA rating for service-related disability in the last two years. Veterans who are totally disabled are eligible for free coverage
Veterans Mortgage Life Insurance (VMLI) - Mortgage life insurance protection to disabled veterans who have been approved for a VA housing grant The VA is a great resource for veterans in general and has detailed information about each of its life insurance programs.
AAFMAA The AAFMAA (American Armed Forces Mutual Aid Association) is a membership-based non-profit association that exclusively serves the U.S. military community. For life insurance, it offers its members an alternative to VGLI, the VA life insurance program that follows SGLI for active service members. Once your active service is finished, you can convert your policy to VGLI or choose one of AAFMAs options. These include:
Level term II - Short and long term veterans life insurance, the premium never increases, also available for military spouses, up to $800K in coverage
Simple term - No medical exam, coverage up to $100K, available for military spouses, ages 45-75
Wealthbuilder life insurance - No medical exam, up to $1 million in coverage, long-term care settlement option included, also available for military spouses
Veterans survivor plan - Guaranteed acceptance, lifetime coverage, up to $25K in coverage. Available for military spouses, widows and widowers
USAAUSAA (United Services Automobile Association) is another member-based military-serving organization that offers different life insurance options for veterans. Members can get quotes for term and permanent policies. The term option allows you to insure your children for $8 a month, with the option to convert it into their own lifetime policy. Permanent options include:
Universal life accumulator - Up to $10 million in coverage, flexible payments
Simplified whole life - Up to $10 million in coverage, fixed payments
Guaranteed whole life - Up to $25K in coverage, no exam required