Family Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (FSGLI), is a life insurance coverage option offered by the Department of Veterans Affairs to military spouses and dependent children of service members who are covered under full-time Servicemembers Group Life Insurance or SGLI.
Basic FSGLI Benefits
This life insurance plan offers coverage up to a maximum of $100,000 for the spouse and $10,000 of life insurance coverage for each dependent child. The FSGLI coverage for children is free.
What does free coverage for dependents entail? FSGLI is provided for dependent children at no cost until the child is 18 years old. Coverage can be extended under certain circumstances which may include the child becoming a full-time student after age 18, or in cases where a dependent child has become permanently and totally disabled before the age of 18.
Who Is Eligible For FSGLI
Spouses and/or dependent children of service members who meets one of the requirements listed below may be eligible for FSGLI. The service member must be:
- On active duty and covered by full-time SGLI, or
- A member of the National Guard or Ready Reserve covered by full-time SGLI
The VA official site advises dual-military couples that a spouse may qualify to get FSGLI “as the spouse of someone with SGLI coverage no matter if your own status is active duty, retired, or civilian.”
Signing Up For FSGLI
- For civilian spouses, the VA automatically insures you under FSGLI with the life insurance premiums deducted from the service member’s pay.
- For military spouses married on or after January 2, 2013, the service member must sign up the spouse–no automatic enrollment applies.
The VA official site advises that service members in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, Marines, Coast Guard, or National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, signups must be accomplished through the SGLI Online Enrollment System which is accessed via milConnect. The service member can log in with their CAC or DS Logon.
Signing up with a spouse who is part of the Public Health Service, requires the service member to fill out a Spouse Coverage Election and Certificate (SGLV 8286A). This form should be turned into the unit Personnel Officer.
Making FSGLI Claims
To make a claim for a death benefit under FSGLI, the service member is required to submit a Report of Death of Family Member, SGLV Form 8700 and file a Claim for Family Coverage Death Benefits, SGLV form 8283A.
Claims may also be made to request an advance payment for a spouse who is terminally ill. This is known as a Claim For Accelerated Benefits, SGLV form 8284A.
All these forms should be completed and submitted to the address below:
OSGLI
PO Box 70173
Philadelphia, PA 19176-0173
Converting Spouse FSGLI To An Individual Policy
Under FSGLI the spouse is permitted under qualifying circumstances to convert to “a permanent, individual insurance policy” within 120 days from the date of the service member’s separation from the military, a divorce, death, or a written statement announcing a desire to end FSGLI or the service member’s own SGLI coverage.
The VA advises that if any of those conditions apply, the spouse becomes “solely responsible for all aspects of the policy, including premium payments.”
Converting requires a series of steps beginning with selecting a participating life insurance company from the VA’s list of companies you can select to convert FSGLI.
You will also need to do the following:
- Apply at the local sales office of the company you selected from the VA list
- Give a copy of the most recent Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) to the agent, showing the deduction for spousal SGLI
- Provide proof of coverage
What kind of proof is acceptable? Any of the following:
- The servicemember’s separation document (Form DD214 or equivalent)
- The Certificate of Dissolution of Marriage between spouse and service member
- The service member’s FSGLI spousal declination
- The service member’s SGLI declination
- The service member’s proof of death (DD1300: Report of Casualty, or a civilian death certificate)
Joe Wallace is a 13-year veteran of the United States Air Force and a former reporter for Air Force Television News
