#MiddleburyCT #Veterans #LifeInsurance #VALife
VETERANS POST
By Freddy Groves
For the first time in 50 years, the Department of Veterans Affairs has opened up enrollment in Veterans Affairs Life Insurance, aka VALife. Veterans who are age 80 or under, with any level of service-connected disabilities, are guaranteed to be accepted to receive up to $40,000 in whole life insurance.
A bonus is that there is no requirement for medical underwriting, meaning that no one is going to squint at the health details of your application and try to decide whether or not to offer you insurance. The VALife changes are to the existing Service-Disabled Veterans Insurance (S-DVI):
- You’ll be able to apply online and get a fast decision.
- There is no time limit to apply (the existing insurance requires you to sign up for life insurance within two years). There
- There is no good-health requirement (the existing insurance requires you to be healthy, except for conditions that are service connected).
- You can now apply for $40,000 in insurance (the existing insurance limits you to $10,000).
Before you sign up, read about whole life insurance versus term insurance. Whole life can stay with you for your lifetime as long as you keep paying the premiums, and it accumulates a cash value that you can withdraw or borrow from. Term insurance is for a specific period of time and doesn’t accrue cash value. BUT whole life costs more, sometimes a lot more. Do your homework and know what you’re getting if you sign up for the VA’s whole life.
A fact to notice: With the VALife policy, it will build cash value for two years and then convert to face value. If the veteran dies during the two years, beneficiaries will get back the premiums paid, plus interest.
If you currently have the old S-DVI, you’ll be able to switch over to the VALife, should you choose to do so. To see the fine print, go to www.benefits.va.gov/insurance/valife.asp. Click on the Cost link to see a chart showing the premiums.
© 2022 King Features Synd., Inc.
