If you are separating, the date to put on the wall is 240 days from your separation date — that is the window in which you can enroll in Veterans’ Group Life Insurance with no health questions asked. Apply after 240 days and you can still get in for up to one year and 120 days from separation, but you must submit evidence of good health, which for a veteran with service-connected conditions can mean the door closes entirely. Nothing else in this decision is as unforgiving as that date.
Two other clocks run alongside it. Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance continues at no cost for 120 days after separation, and that same 120-day period is the window to convert SGLI to an individual commercial policy at standard rates without a health review. Veterans who are totally disabled at separation may qualify for an extension of free SGLI coverage for up to two years, which changes the timeline considerably and is worth confirming with the Office of Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance directly.
The longer-run problem for most veterans is not the enrollment deadline — it is VGLI’s price curve. VGLI is group term insurance whose premiums step up as you move into each new five-year age bracket, and by the seventies and eighties the cost per month becomes difficult to sustain on a fixed income. This page maps the deadlines, prices the alternatives, and explains honestly what can and cannot be done with these coverages in the secondary market. Pine Lake Life Solutions provides education and a free policy review; nothing here is legal, tax, or investment advice.
In This Article
What SGLI and VGLI Actually Are
SGLI is group term life insurance for active-duty servicemembers, administered for the Department of Veterans Affairs by the Office of Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance, a unit of Prudential. Maximum coverage rose to $500,000 effective March 1, 2023, available in $50,000 increments, at a premium of six cents per $1,000 of coverage per month plus a separate monthly charge for traumatic injury protection. At the maximum, that is a little over $30 a month — a price no commercial market can match.
VGLI is the post-service continuation. It is also group term insurance, capped at the amount of SGLI you held at separation up to $500,000, with no cash value, no loan value, and no maturity. Premiums are set by age bracket and increase each time you enter a new one. Veterans under 60 may increase VGLI coverage by $25,000 every five years, up to the program maximum, without evidence of insurability.
Neither program builds anything. There is no account value to borrow against and nothing returned if you stop paying. That is not a criticism — it is what term insurance is — but it defines what your options look like later.
The Conversion Right Most Veterans Never Use
Both SGLI and VGLI carry a right to convert to an individual commercial policy at a participating insurance company, at that company’s standard premium rates for your age, with no health review. For SGLI the application must be made within 120 days of separation. VGLI can generally be converted at any time while it is in force.
What you get is an ordinary individual permanent policy issued by a commercial carrier and governed by state insurance law — whole life or a similar permanent product, not term. That distinction is the whole reason conversion matters. A converted commercial permanent policy has cash value, has no expiration, and is a transferable asset. VGLI has none of those properties.
Obtain the current list of participating companies from the Office of Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance rather than a third party; the list changes. Then ask two questions of each company you consider: what is the premium at my attained age for the full amount and for smaller amounts, and which permanent products are available under the conversion program right now. Partial conversion — converting $100,000 of $400,000 and letting the rest go — is usually permitted and is the option most veterans do not know to ask for. Our overview of how group life conversion works covers the mechanics.
The Accelerated Benefit and the Other VA Programs
If the insured is terminally ill, look here before anywhere else. SGLI and VGLI both offer an Accelerated Benefit Option: an insured with a written medical prognosis of nine months or less to live may receive up to 50 percent of the face amount in $5,000 increments, paid directly by the program. There is no buyer, no broker, no commission, and no ownership change. The remaining benefit is paid to beneficiaries at death. The VA established this option specifically so that terminally ill servicemembers and veterans would not need to look to the commercial viatical market.
Two other VA programs are worth knowing. Service-Disabled Veterans Insurance, the older program often referred to by its RH policy numbers, closed to new enrollment at the end of 2022. It was replaced by Veterans Affairs Life Insurance, effective January 1, 2023, which offers guaranteed-acceptance whole life coverage of up to $40,000 to veterans with a service-connected disability rating, with a two-year waiting period before the full death benefit is payable and an application age limit. Coverage at that size is meaningful for final expenses and is far below any secondary-market threshold.
Finally, some older veterans and surviving family members hold legacy government policies from the National Service Life Insurance or United States Government Life Insurance programs. Unlike VGLI, several of those legacy contracts do build cash value and permit policy loans. If a veteran in your family has a policy with a V, K, or J prefix on the number, find out what it is before assuming it has no value.
| Coverage | Type | Cash Value | Key Deadline | Secondary Market |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SGLI | Group term, active duty | None | Ends 120 days after separation | Not applicable |
| VGLI | Group term, veterans | None | 240 days to enroll without health questions | Not what the market buys; confirm rules with OSGLI |
| Converted commercial policy | Individual permanent | Yes | 120 days from separation for SGLI conversion | Possible at roughly $100,000+ death benefit |
| VALife | Guaranteed acceptance whole life | Builds over time | Two-year waiting period; age limit to apply | Too small at up to $40,000 |
| Legacy NSLI or USGLI policies | Permanent | Often yes, with loan value | None | Depends on face amount and terms |
Can SGLI or VGLI Be Sold?
Here is where it is important to separate what is settled from what is not.
What is clear: VGLI is term insurance with no cash value that terminates when premiums stop. Institutional buyers in the secondary market purchase policies that will pay a death benefit whenever the insured dies, which is why they buy permanent coverage and convertible term rather than expiring term. As a matter of economics alone, unconverted VGLI is not what that market buys.
What is also clear: a commercial permanent policy obtained through the SGLI or VGLI conversion program is an ordinary individual policy governed by state insurance law. Once issued and in force, it is subject to the same analysis as any other permanent policy — and if the death benefit is roughly $100,000 or more and the insured is older or health-impaired, it can be reviewed for secondary-market value like any other. Pine Lake works with policies at or above that range.
What is not something to assume: whether SGLI or VGLI coverage itself may be assigned or transferred is governed by title 38 of the United States Code and VA regulation, and the program’s benefits carry federal protections that do not attach to commercial insurance. Do not take a company’s word on this in either direction. Ask the Office of Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance directly, in writing, before anyone begins a process. Any company that tells a veteran it will buy their VGLI without addressing that question is not doing careful work; see what other red flags look like.
When Selling Is the Wrong Answer for a Veteran
For most veterans reading this, it is.
- You still hold VGLI and have not converted. The asset that could have value does not exist yet. Converting is a decision with its own cost, and converting purely in the hope of selling is speculative.
- You are terminally ill. The Accelerated Benefit Option pays up to half the face amount directly with no intermediary, no commission, and no ownership change. That is almost always better than a commercial transaction on the same facts.
- The converted amount would be under roughly $100,000. Institutional buyers underwrite each policy individually and small policies rarely clear the threshold. A $40,000 VALife policy or a $50,000 conversion has no market.
- Your spouse depends on the benefit. Survivor benefit arrangements vary and Dependency and Indemnity Compensation is not automatic. Know what your survivor would actually receive before giving up coverage.
- You are healthy and in your sixties. Offers are driven by life expectancy underwriting, and good health at that age produces thin pricing. VGLI, expensive as it feels, may still be the better value.
- You have not asked OSGLI the assignment question. Proceeding on an assumption about a federal program is not a plan.
A Decision Path by Stage of Life
At separation. Calendar the 120-day SGLI expiration and the 240-day VGLI no-questions enrollment deadline the week you out-process. If you have any service-connected condition, enroll in VGLI inside 240 days even if you are unsure — you can drop it later, but you cannot get back in without evidence of good health. If you are totally disabled at separation, ask about the SGLI disability extension.
In your forties and fifties. Price commercially underwritten term insurance against VGLI. Healthy veterans frequently do better on the open market, because VGLI is priced for a pool that includes people who could not qualify elsewhere. Do not drop VGLI until the replacement policy is issued and in force.
In your sixties. This is the decision point. VGLI premiums escalate at each bracket and the conversion right is still available. Price a partial conversion to a right-sized permanent policy against continuing VGLI for another fifteen years. Get both numbers in writing.
In your seventies and eighties. If VGLI has become unaffordable and no conversion was ever done, the realistic choices are to reduce coverage, keep paying, or let it end. If you did convert years ago and now hold a permanent policy of $100,000 or more that you cannot sustain, that policy is an asset and should be reviewed before it lapses rather than after.
For a free, no-obligation review of a converted commercial policy, send the policy cover page or call (305) 209-7183. For questions about SGLI, VGLI, VALife, or a legacy government policy, contact the Office of Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance or your VA benefits counselor directly — those programs are administered by the government and their rules come from the government. Pine Lake Life Solutions provides educational information only and does not provide legal, tax, or investment advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to enroll in VGLI after leaving service?
You may enroll within 240 days of separation with no health questions. After that, you can still apply up to one year and 120 days from separation, but you must submit evidence of good health, which can be a barrier for veterans with service-connected conditions. Calendar the 240-day date at out-processing.
Can I convert SGLI or VGLI to a commercial policy?
Yes. Both carry a right to convert to an individual permanent policy at a participating commercial insurer at standard rates with no health review. SGLI conversion must be applied for within 120 days of separation; VGLI can generally be converted while it is in force. Get the current participating company list from OSGLI.
Is there help if I am terminally ill?
Yes, and it should be your first call. SGLI and VGLI both offer an Accelerated Benefit Option paying up to 50 percent of the face amount in $5,000 increments to an insured with a written medical prognosis of nine months or less. No broker, no commission, and no ownership change is involved.
Can I sell my VGLI coverage?
VGLI is term insurance with no cash value that ends when premiums stop, which is not what secondary-market buyers purchase. Beyond the economics, whether these federal coverages may be assigned at all is governed by title 38 and VA regulation. Ask OSGLI directly in writing before anyone starts a process.
Why do VGLI premiums keep going up?
VGLI is priced by five-year age bracket, and the rate resets on the entire coverage amount each time you enter a new bracket. There is no level-premium option and no cash value to offset it. That escalation is what pushes many veterans toward conversion in their sixties, while the conversion right is still usable.
What replaced Service-Disabled Veterans Insurance?
Veterans Affairs Life Insurance, effective January 1, 2023, after the older program closed to new enrollment at the end of 2022. VALife offers guaranteed acceptance whole life of up to $40,000 for veterans with a service-connected disability rating, with a two-year waiting period before the full death benefit is payable.
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Related Reading
- Can I Sell Sgli Or Vgli Coverage
- What Is Group Life Conversion
- Can I Sell A Group Life Insurance Policy
- Va Aid Attendance Policy
- Portability Vs Conversion Group Life
- Life Settlement Scams Red Flags
- Policy Too Small To Sell
- What Is An Accelerated Death Benefit Rider
Pine Lake Life Solutions does not purchase life insurance policies and does not provide legal, tax, or investment advice. Information provided is for educational purposes only. Eligibility for any option, including life settlements, is not guaranteed and depends on individual circumstances, policy terms, underwriting, and market conditions. Consult independent legal, tax, or financial professionals before making decisions regarding a life insurance policy.