Leaving Service? Convert SGLI to VGLI Before the Clock Runs Out
Your military life insurance does not follow you out the door. It ends about four months after you separate, and if you miss one window you can lose the right to keep coverage without a medical exam, sometimes forever.
The simple version
While you serve, you have SGLI (Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance), usually the max $500,000, taken straight out of your pay. When you separate, that coverage runs out roughly 120 days later. VGLI (Veterans' Group Life Insurance) is how you carry it forward as a veteran. The single most important thing to understand is the clock. If you convert within 240 days of your separation date, VGLI takes you with no health questions at all. No exam, no "are you disabled," no chance of being turned down. Nobody cares how banged up you got in service. Miss that 240-day window and you can still get VGLI up to one year and 120 days out, but now you have to prove you are in good health, and that is exactly the door that slams on a lot of rated vets. Blow past one year and 120 days and the VGLI option is gone for good. Here is exactly how to lock it in.
Do this today
1. Find your separation date and count your days (2 minutes).
Pull out your DD-214 and look at your separation date. That date starts every clock. Two numbers matter: 240 days (the no-health-questions deadline) and 1 year and 120 days (the final deadline, after which VGLI is gone). If you are inside 240 days, do this now while it is easy. If you already separated a while ago, keep going, you may still qualify with a health review.
2. Go to the official OSGLI application and apply online (about 20 minutes).
VGLI is run for the VA by Prudential through the Office of Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (OSGLI). Start from the VA's own page, va.gov/life-insurance/options-eligibility/vgli, and click through to "Apply online," or go directly to the Prudential OSGLI portal. You will enter your name, date of birth, Social Security number, and branch of service, then pick your coverage amount. You can carry anywhere from $10,000 to $500,000, in $10,000 steps, but you can never choose more than the SGLI amount you had in service. Most people match what they carried before.
3. Have your documents ready to upload.
Keep your DD-214 (or other separation orders) and your most recent Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) handy, since the application asks you to confirm your prior SGLI coverage. If you would rather do it on paper, the mail/fax form is the Application for Veterans' Group Life Insurance, form SGLV 8714, sent to OSGLI, PO Box 41618, Philadelphia, PA 19176-9913.
4. Pay your first premium, or the application does not count.
This is the step people forget. Your VGLI is not active until OSGLI receives your first premium payment. Pay it right there in the application. Set it to auto-pay from a bank account or your VA benefit so an unpaid month never quietly cancels your coverage.
5. If you are leaving totally disabled, use the free SGLI Disability Extension first.
If you are separating totally disabled (a disability that keeps you from being gainfully employed, or loss of use of both hands, feet, or eyes, or loss of speech), you can keep your full SGLI at no cost for up to two years using the SGLI Disability Extension, form SGLV 8715. Apply before your SGLI expires at 120 days, and attach a copy of your Medical Board findings or your VA rating decision. Near the end of that free extension OSGLI mails you a notice, and that is your cue to roll into paid VGLI without a health review. This is free money on the table for a lot of rated vets. Do not skip it.
6. Confirm it is in force, then set a calendar reminder.
A few weeks after applying, log back into your OSGLI account and confirm your policy shows active and your payment posted. Then set a reminder for your renewal, because VGLI premiums are age-banded and step up every five years (for example roughly $76 a month for $400,000 at age 45, but several hundred a month by your mid-60s). Knowing the jump is coming lets you plan instead of getting surprised.
The catch
VGLI is not cheap forever, and that is the honest trap. It never asks about your health, which is priceless if you are unhealthy or heavily rated, but the price climbs at every five-year age band and gets expensive later in life. If you are in genuinely good health, a level-term policy from a private insurer (where the rate is locked for 20 or 30 years) is often far cheaper than VGLI at the same coverage. The smart move for a healthy veteran is frequently to grab VGLI first to protect the guarantee, then shop private term, and only drop VGLI once a private policy is fully approved and in force. Never cancel the coverage you have until the replacement is signed, paid, and active. This is general information, not a recommendation about your specific policy, so run the actual numbers for your age and health before you decide.
Anything about your rating or a claim (you think your rating should be higher, you want to file for a new condition on your way out, you are unsure if you count as totally disabled) is claims work, and you should never pay for it. A free accredited VSO (DAV, VFW, American Legion, or your county VSO, find one through VA.gov) helps at no cost. If a personal money decision comes out of this, like how much coverage your family actually needs or which policy to buy, take that to a fee-only fiduciary or a licensed insurance agent you trust, not a commission salesperson chasing your separation.