#Middlebury #Veterans
Nobody wants to think about it, but the need for life insurance is a fact of life. And now the cost of life insurance for veterans is dropping, opening the door for more of us to be able to afford it.
After separation, we’ve had 240 days to apply and hand over the initial premium to transfer from Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance to Veterans’ Group Life Insurance without having to provide proof of good health. After that deadline we had one year plus 120 days to file and pay, but needed to submit proof of good health in the form of a questionnaire about our medical conditions.
Now, with COVID, the Department of Veterans Affairs has extended the application time by an additional 90 days for both categories. This will expire in June, but it does buy a little more time to get insurance.
To learn more about VA life insurance, go to www.benefits.va.gov/insurance. Follow the Eligibility links to see if you qualify for any of the whole menu of VA insurance. Consult the rates chart to see what your premiums would be. As an example, a $300,000 policy for a 50-year-old veteran would run you $99 per month. Rates across all categories jump significantly once you hit the age 55 column, so if you’re considering it, don’t delay. A $100,000 policy at age 30 will cost you a mere $9 per month.
At that same webpage you can apply to convert your SGLI policy to VGLI, apply for service-disabled insurance, update your beneficiary, file an insurance claim and more, as well as getting forms for all of these.
On the right side of the screen you’ll see Assessing Your Life Insurance Needs. Click that to use the calculator to zero in on how much you should have. It might be more than you think.
© 2021 King Features Synd., Inc.
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