You typed “VA life insurance” and got five acronyms. That is not your fault. The VA does not run one policy, it runs several, and each one is built for a different moment in a veteran’s life.
VA life insurance means SGLI while you serve, VGLI for the first year or so after you leave, and VALife if you have a service-connected disability rating. TSGLI, FSGLI and S-DVI fill in the rest, and VMLI covers a mortgage. According to the VA, you do not keep coverage automatically once you leave, so the sections below start with who qualifies for what.
Every VA life insurance program at a glance
Seven programs are in use today. The table shows who each one is for, how much it covers and how you get it. Only three of them are ones a veteran applies for after leaving service: VGLI, VALife and, for a narrow group, VMLI.
| Program | Who qualifies | Amount | How you get it |
|---|---|---|---|
| SGLI | Service members: active duty, plus Ready Reserve and National Guard members scheduled for at least 12 inactive training periods a year | Up to $500,000, in $50,000 steps | Automatic through your branch while you serve. You can lower or refuse it. Free for 120 days after you leave. |
| TSGLI | Service members covered by SGLI who have a qualifying traumatic injury | $25,000 to $100,000 | Built into SGLI for $1 a month. You apply after the injury. |
| FSGLI | Spouses and dependent children of service members covered by SGLI | Spouse up to $100,000 (never more than the member’s SGLI). $10,000 per child, at no cost | Tied to the member’s SGLI. A spouse has 120 days to convert to a whole life policy after the member separates. |
| VGLI | Veterans who had SGLI and are within 1 year and 120 days of leaving, plus some Reserve, Guard and disability cases | $10,000 to $500,000 of term coverage | You apply. No proof of health if you sign up within 240 days of leaving. |
| VALife | Veterans age 80 or younger with a VA service-connected disability rating, 0% included | Up to $40,000 of whole life, in $10,000 steps | You apply online. No health questions. No deadline if you are 80 or younger. |
| S-DVI | Service-disabled veterans who enrolled before it closed | Whatever your existing policy holds | Closed to new applications after December 31, 2022. If you hold it, you keep it. |
| VMLI | Veterans with a severe service-connected disability, a Specially Adapted Housing grant, a mortgage on a home in their name, and under age 70 | Up to $200,000, never more than the mortgage balance | Decreasing term coverage paid to your lender. It ends when the mortgage is paid off. |
Do veterans automatically have life insurance?
No. SGLI is automatic while you serve, and it keeps going free for 120 days after you leave. After that, VGLI and VALife are both coverage you have to apply for.
Here is a pattern we see often. A veteran assumes the coverage he carried in uniform followed him home. It did not, and the window to convert it came and went without anyone explaining the options. The fix is simple when you catch it in time, which is why the next section starts with dates.
Which door do I use?
Find the line that sounds like you. If two fit, the first one that is still open is usually the one that matters most.
01 · If this is you
You are serving now
Use: SGLI, with TSGLI inside it and FSGLI for your family. You are enrolled automatically. The job now is to confirm the amount and your beneficiary, and to know what happens at separation.
02 · If this is you
You left service recently and had SGLI
Use: VGLI. You have 1 year and 120 days to apply, and no health proof is needed in the first 240 days. This window is the one that closes.
03 · If this is you
You have a service-connected rating, even 0%, and you are 80 or younger
Use: VALife. It does not depend on your health and has no application deadline. The rate is set by your age when you apply, so every birthday before you apply costs a little more.
04 · If this is you
You are 81 or older and just received a rating
Use: VALife, on a special rule. You qualify only if you applied for disability compensation before you turned 81, were rated after 81, and apply within 2 years of that notice.
05 · If this is you
You already hold S-DVI
Use: Keep S-DVI, or move to VALife on purpose. You do not have to do anything to keep it. Applying for VALife on or after January 1, 2026 ends S-DVI the day the VA approves the new policy.
06 · If this is you
You own a home with a mortgage and have a severe service-connected disability
Use: Ask the VA about VMLI. It pays your lender up to your balance, to a cap of $200,000, but it needs a Specially Adapted Housing grant and you must be under 70.
07 · If this is you
None of the above fits
Use: Private coverage. No rating, outside the VGLI window, or you need more than the VA offers. That is a normal place to be, and it is a shopping question, not a dead end.
Veterans have more options than they are usually told. If you qualify for both VGLI and VALife, the two are priced and built differently, and VALife vs VGLI sets them side by side.
Each program in plain terms
SGLI, TSGLI and FSGLI: coverage during service
SGLI, Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance, covers up to $500,000 in $50,000 steps. The VA lists the premium at 5 cents per $1,000 of coverage, plus $1 a month for TSGLI, which pays $25,000 to $100,000 to a service member with a qualifying traumatic injury. FSGLI adds spouse and child coverage. Our SGLI guide covers the amounts and the exit in detail.
VGLI: the term bridge out of service
VGLI, Veterans’ Group Life Insurance, is term coverage from $10,000 to $500,000 that you can take up to the amount you held in SGLI. The VA says coverage lasts your whole life as long as you keep paying premiums. Sign up within 240 days of leaving and you skip the health proof. What VGLI is explains it in more depth.
VALife: whole life for veterans with a rating
VALife, the Veterans Affairs Life Insurance program, offers up to $40,000 of whole life in $10,000 steps. The VA describes it as guaranteed acceptance, so there are no health questions. Full coverage starts 2 years after you apply. If a veteran dies in that window, the VA pays the premiums paid plus interest. The VA also says your premium rate never increases while you keep the policy. See the VALife guide for eligibility, and the VALife rate chart for the monthly cost at your age.
S-DVI: the older disability program
S-DVI, Service-Disabled Veterans Life Insurance, stopped taking new applications after December 31, 2022. The VA says holders may keep their coverage, and that the basic policy still carries a premium waiver for veterans who are totally disabled under certain conditions. VALife has no premium waivers, which is a real difference to weigh. The S-DVI guide walks through a switch.
The dates that close doors
Most of the confusion is timing, not eligibility. These are the VA’s own dates, in one place.
| What | The date or window |
|---|---|
| SGLI after you leave | Free coverage for 120 days from the date you leave, and up to 2 years at no cost if you are totally disabled |
| VGLI, no health proof | Apply within 240 days of leaving |
| VGLI, last day to apply | 1 year and 120 days after you leave, with proof of good health after day 240 |
| VALife, age 80 or younger | No deadline |
| VALife, age 81 or older | Within 2 years of your rating notice, and only under the special rule |
| S-DVI, new applications | Closed after December 31, 2022 |
| VALife and S-DVI together | Apply for VALife on or after January 1, 2026 and S-DVI ends the day VALife is approved |
Rule of thumb: the only door that closes on a clock for most veterans is VGLI. If you are inside that window, handle it first, then come back to VALife at your own pace. For disability-specific questions, our disabled veterans guide goes further.
When not to call us
You do not need us to get VA coverage. SGLI comes through your branch, VGLI and VALife are applications to the VA, and the VA page for each lets you check eligibility and apply online. If one row above fits and the amount and price work for your family, apply and move on. A review that ends in “you are set” is a successful review.
Call if you want another view. Common questions are whether $40,000 or a VGLI amount is enough on its own, how a VA program sits beside a private policy, and who should be named beneficiary. We also see veterans who need private coverage because no VA program fits, and our life insurance for veterans page covers that side. The call is free, and the decision stays yours.
Free help for veterans
Find the right VA program, or keep what you have.
A licensed professional will look at your service dates, your rating and any coverage you hold today, then tell you plainly which door fits. If the VA program is the better one, you will hear that. Free, no obligation, no pressure.
- Finding which VA program you qualify for
- Checking your VGLI dates before they close
- VALife next to VGLI or private coverage
- Beneficiary changes and pointing you to the right VA office
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Questions veterans ask about VA life insurance
01Does the VA offer life insurance to veterans?
Yes, through several programs. The VA’s life insurance page lists SGLI, FSGLI and TSGLI for people in service and their families, VGLI for veterans leaving service, VALife and S-DVI for service-disabled veterans, and VMLI for a mortgage. Which one applies depends on whether you serve, when you left and whether you have a service-connected rating.
02Do veterans automatically have life insurance?
Not after service. SGLI enrolls service members automatically while they serve, and it continues free for 120 days after you leave. After that, VGLI and VALife are both coverage you apply for. Nothing carries over on its own, which is why the VGLI window matters.
03What is VA life insurance for disabled veterans?
It is VALife today. VALife is whole life coverage of up to $40,000 for veterans age 80 or younger with a VA service-connected disability rating, including 0%, with no health questions. S-DVI served this group before it stopped taking new applications after December 31, 2022.
04Is S-DVI still available?
Not for new applicants. The VA says S-DVI stopped taking new applications after December 31, 2022, and existing policyholders can keep their coverage. If you apply for VALife on or after January 1, 2026, your S-DVI ends the day the VA approves it, so decide that switch on purpose.
05What happens to my SGLI when I leave the military?
You get 120 days of free coverage from the date you leave, and up to 2 years at no cost if you are totally disabled. To keep coverage after that, you can apply for VGLI within 1 year and 120 days of leaving, for up to the amount you held through SGLI.
06Does VA life insurance cover my spouse and children?
FSGLI does, while the service member is covered by SGLI. A spouse can have up to $100,000, never more than the member’s own SGLI, and each dependent child has $10,000 at no cost. After separation, a spouse has 120 days to convert to a whole life policy.
07How do I apply for VA life insurance?
It depends on the program. SGLI comes through your branch of service. VGLI and VALife are applications to the VA, and the VA page for each one lets you check eligibility and apply online. Our team does not issue VA coverage, and applying with the VA directly is a fine path.
08Which VA life insurance program is best?
There is no single best one, because each serves a different group. SGLI is for people serving, VGLI for veterans in the first year or so after service, and VALife for veterans with a rating. The right one is whichever you qualify for that matches the amount, price and timing you need.