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Life insurance for military members: SGLI and private policies

SGLI covers service members up to $500,000 for about $26 a month, but it ends after you separate. When a private term policy makes sense alongside it.

4LifeInsurance · Published October 4, 2026

If you are on active duty or in the Guard or Reserve, you are probably covered by Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance), low-cost group term coverage of up to $500,000 that the military enrolls you in automatically. SGLI is a strong base, but it is not a complete plan: it ends after you leave service, the amount may not match your family's needs, and it does not follow you into a civilian career. Many service members add a private term policy early, while they are young and healthy.

What SGLI gives you

According to the VA's SGLI page (last updated September 2025, checked October 2026):

  • Amount: coverage up to $500,000, available in $50,000 increments. You can choose a lower amount or decline it.
  • Cost: a basic premium of 5 cents per $1,000 of coverage, plus $1 a month for Traumatic Injury Protection (TSGLI). The maximum $500,000 costs $26 a month in total; $250,000 costs $13.50. The premium comes out of base pay.
  • Free coverage after you leave: 120 days of free coverage from the date you leave the military, and up to two years of free extension if you are totally disabled at separation.
  • Conversion rights: you can apply for Veterans' Group Life Insurance (Veterans' Group Life Insurance (VGLI): eligibility, cost and conversion) within 1 year and 120 days after discharge, and convert to a permanent individual policy within 120 days of discharge without proving good health.
  • Family coverage: the family program (FSGLI) covers a spouse for up to $100,000, not exceeding the member's SGLI amount, and each dependent child for $10,000 at no charge. A spouse married on or after January 2, 2013 is not covered automatically; the service member enrolls the spouse in the online enrollment system.
  • Beneficiaries: you choose them and can change them online through milConnect. Review them after every marriage, divorce or birth.

Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance has the full rules, and Social Security survivor benefits for military families work as for civilians (see Social Security survivor benefits and the $255 death payment).

Where SGLI falls short

  1. It is temporary. SGLI stops after you separate or retire. You must act within the VGLI and conversion deadlines, or be left with whatever private coverage you bought.
  2. $500,000 can be too little. A service member with a spouse who does not work, young children and a mortgage can need well over that. The How much life insurance do I need? shows the gap.
  3. Price rises later. VGLI premiums are age-based. According to the VA, the monthly premium for $500,000 in VGLI (rates as of July 1, 2025) runs from $30 for ages up to 29 to $145 at 50 to 54, and more after that. A level private term bought young can stay the same for the full term.
  4. It does not stay with your health. Health conditions that develop during service can make private insurance later more expensive or unavailable, which is the argument for buying private coverage early.

Private term insurance alongside SGLI

A private policy that you own travels with you through every assignment and into civilian life, which is its main advantage. Military life raises a few questions that civilian applicants rarely need to ask:

  • War and hazardous-duty exclusions. Some policies exclude death from acts of war, or from military service in a war zone, or charge extra for combat deployment. Others have no such clause. Compare policies and read war, terrorism and aviation exclusions in life insurance before you buy.
  • Deployment and travel. Insurers ask about current or planned deployment. A pending deployment to a combat zone can delay or limit approval, so buying before orders arrive is usually easier.
  • Aviation and special duty. Pilots, divers, special operations and similar roles may be rated differently; see life insurance for pilots and life insurance for high-risk jobs.
  • Insurers focused on the military community. Some companies, such as USAA Life Insurance Company, market to service members and their families. That is a fact about whom they serve, not a recommendation; compare quotes from several insurers.
  • Reporting duty. Answer all medical and occupational questions truthfully. See what happens if you lie on a life insurance application.

Decide on the policy type using the usual trade-off. Term costs far less per dollar of coverage and fits a defined need such as raising children, while permanent insurance suits a lifelong need. term vs whole life insurance: which fits you lays out both sides.

Hypothetical example

Say a 27-year-old Army sergeant, married with a baby, carries the maximum $500,000 of SGLI and her spouse carries FSGLI. She and her spouse estimate that if she died, they would need about $900,000 to cover income and childcare until the child is grown. She buys a $400,000, 25-year level term policy now, at an age when rates are low. When she leaves the service in a few years, the SGLI ends, but the private policy continues at the same premium. She might also convert some SGLI to VGLI for the first years of civilian life if her health changes. The numbers here are assumptions, not quotes.

A checklist for service members

  1. Confirm your SGLI amount and beneficiaries in milConnect after every life event.
  2. Make sure your spouse is enrolled in FSGLI if you want the coverage.
  3. Calculate your real need and compare it with SGLI.
  4. Get private term quotes at a few amounts, and ask about war and deployment language.
  5. Name beneficiaries on the private policy and tell them where it is.
  6. Mark the separation deadlines (120 days, 240 days, 1 year and 120 days) on your calendar well before you get out. See Life insurance for veterans: VGLI, VALife and more.

Key takeaways

  • SGLI is automatic, covers up to $500,000 for about $26 a month at the maximum (VA, checked October 2026), and also covers spouses and children through FSGLI.
  • It ends after you leave service, so plan the transition early: VGLI, conversion or a private policy.
  • Many service members add private level term when young; read each policy for war, deployment and aviation clauses.
  • Keep beneficiaries current, especially after marriage, divorce or a birth.

Terms used in this guide

Term life insurance Life coverage for a set number of years, such as 10, 20 or 30, that pays a death benefit only if the insured dies within that period. Conversion privilege A term policy feature that lets the owner switch to permanent coverage with the same insurer without new medical underwriting, within set deadlines. Exclusion A provision listing causes of death or circumstances a policy will not pay for, such as suicide in the first two years or certain aviation deaths. Beneficiary The person, trust, charity or estate named to receive a life insurance death benefit or an annuity's remaining value when the insured or owner dies. Death benefit The money a life insurance policy pays to the beneficiaries when the insured dies, usually the face amount adjusted for loans, riders and dividends. Group life insurance Coverage issued under one master contract to members of a group, usually employees, often at one or two times salary with little or no underwriting.

Related insurers

USAA Life Insurance Company The life insurance arm of USAA, the military-focused insurer and bank. Term, whole and final expense life with military features; open to all U.S. citizens.

Related tools

How much life insurance do I need? Add up income replacement, debts, college and final costs, subtract what you already have, and see how much coverage is left to buy. How long a term do I need? Enter when your children become independent, your mortgage ends and you retire. The tool finds the shortest standard term that outlasts them.

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