Two deadlines cost separating service members more coverage than anything else in the VA system — and one of them is only 240 days long.
There’s also a program that accepts any veteran with a service-connected rating, including a 0% rating, with no health questions and no application deadline at all. Most veterans have never heard of it.
The Three Programs
| SGLI | VGLI | VALife | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who it’s for | Active duty, Guard and Reserve | Veterans converting from SGLI | Veterans with any service-connected rating, 0%–100% |
| Type | Group term | Group term | Whole life |
| Health questions? | No | No, if you enroll within 240 days | Never — guaranteed acceptance |
| Deadline to apply | Automatic while serving | 240 days for guaranteed issue | No time limit |
| Age limit | n/a | n/a | 80 or younger |
| Waiting period | None | None | Two years for full benefit |
The 240-Day Window
This is the deadline to write down the day you separate.
Your SGLI continues free for 120 days after separation at the same amount you carried in service. After that it ends.
You have 240 days from separation to convert to VGLI with no medical questions and no proof of good health — regardless of any condition you have. Coverage can’t exceed the SGLI amount you held at separation.
Apply after day 240 and you can still get VGLI, but you’ll have to prove good health. For a veteran who separated with a service-connected condition, that’s often the difference between having coverage and not.
The Mistake Healthy Veterans Make
Young, healthy service members separate, feel fine, and skip VGLI because private term insurance is cheaper at that age. Often that’s the right call financially.
The problem is that the guaranteed-issue window doesn’t come back. A veteran who develops a serious condition at 45 can’t return to that no-questions-asked option — it closed at day 240, decades earlier.
If you’re separating with a known condition, or a family history that worries you, the calculus changes considerably.
VGLI Compared With Private Term Insurance
| Factor | VGLI | Private term policy |
|---|---|---|
| Medical exam | None within 240 days | Almost always required |
| Cost when young and healthy | Higher than a comparable private policy | Usually cheaper |
| Cost as you age | Premiums rise with age brackets | Level for the term, then jumps sharply |
| Can you be turned down later? | No, if you enroll in the window | Yes — underwriting applies at every renewal or new policy |
| Coverage cap | Up to your SGLI amount at separation | Whatever you qualify for |
| Best fit | Any known health condition, or you want certainty | Healthy, young, comparing on price alone |
Plenty of veterans do both — a private term policy for the bulk of the coverage, VGLI at a smaller amount as an uninsurable-later backstop. Nothing stops you from carrying both.
VALife: The Program Nobody Mentions
VALife replaced the older S-DVI program, and it removed the single biggest barrier in it.
Any veteran with a service-connected disability rating — including 0% — who is age 80 or younger can get VALife. There are no health questions and no deadline to apply.
That 0% detail matters enormously. A 0% rating means the VA acknowledges a service connection but assigns no compensable percentage. Veterans with 0% ratings often assume it’s worthless. It isn’t — it’s the key to guaranteed-acceptance life insurance.
Coverage goes up to $40,000 in $10,000 increments. The Congressional Research Service overview of VALife summarizes the program’s structure.
The Two-Year Waiting Period
The trade-off for guaranteed acceptance is a two-year waiting period before the full death benefit takes effect.
If you die during those two years, your beneficiaries receive all premiums you paid, plus interest — not the face value. After two years, the full amount applies.
That waiting period is what replaces medical underwriting. It’s the mechanism that lets the program accept everyone, and it’s the reason to apply now rather than when you think you need it. The clock only starts when you enroll.
What to Do, and When
- If you’re separating: mark day 240 on your calendar before you leave. Decide on VGLI before it passes.
- If you have any service-connected rating: look at VALife, and start the two-year clock sooner rather than later.
- If you don’t have a rating but think you should: filing a claim may open VALife eligibility. See our guide to free VA claim help.
- If you’re past 240 days without VGLI: you can still apply with proof of good health, and VALife remains open if you have a rating.
- Review your beneficiaries whenever your family situation changes.
Don’t Forget the Family Coverage
SGLI includes spouse and child coverage — FSGLI — and it works differently from your own policy.
Spouse coverage ends when you separate, but it can be converted to an individual commercial policy from a participating company. That conversion has its own short window, and it is not the same paperwork as VGLI. Child coverage is provided at no cost while you serve and simply ends at separation.
The practical point: if your family is covered under FSGLI, separating removes that coverage too. Handle it in the same sitting as your own decision rather than discovering the gap a year later. The VA life insurance program pages list the current forms and conversion rules for each.
How This Fits With Other VA Benefits
Life insurance is separate from VA survivor benefits, and families often conflate them.
Insurance pays a beneficiary regardless of cause of death. DIC is a monthly benefit tied to service-connected death or a long-held total rating. Burial benefits and a headstone are separate again, and CHAMPVA health coverage may follow for surviving family in some situations.
A family can be eligible for several of these at once. None reduces the others.
Your disability rating is the hinge for VALife specifically, which is one more reason a 0% rating is worth having on paper even when it pays nothing. If you’ve never filed, you’ll need your DD-214 to start.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to convert SGLI to VGLI?
240 days from separation for guaranteed issue with no health questions. After that you can still apply, but must prove good health.
Does SGLI end the day I separate?
No. It continues free for 120 days after separation at the same coverage amount.
Can I get VALife with a 0% disability rating?
Yes. Any service-connected rating from 0% to 100% qualifies, provided you’re age 80 or younger.
Is there a deadline to apply for VALife?
No. Unlike VGLI, VALife has no application time limit.
What is the VALife waiting period?
Two years before the full death benefit applies. If you die during that period, beneficiaries receive premiums paid plus interest.
How much VALife coverage can I get?
Up to $40,000, available in $10,000 increments.
Check Your Dates
If you separated recently, count the days. If you carry any service-connected rating, VALife is worth a look regardless of how long ago you served. A free accredited service officer can walk through it — or call Post 51 at (541) 451-1351.