Life insurance in Virginia

Virginia's guaranty association has a slightly higher overall cap than most states, $350,000 per life, and the state requires insurers to pay interest on death benefits from the date of death. Here is how protection, policy rules and claims work for Virginia residents.

How your policy is protected if an insurer fails

The Virginia Life, Accident & Sickness Insurance Guaranty Association was created by the General Assembly in 1976. Every insurer licensed to sell life insurance, accident and sickness insurance or individual annuities in Virginia is a member. If a member is found insolvent and ordered liquidated, the association continues coverage, transfers policies to a healthy insurer, or pays claims, funded by assessments on the other members. The limits below are from the association's FAQ and Va. Code 38.2-1700, as checked on October 4, 2026.

Most states cap total protection at $300,000 per life; Virginia's $350,000 aggregate gives a little more room when one person has, say, a life policy and an annuity with the same failed company. The per-type limits still apply, so three $100,000 annuities with one insolvent insurer are covered only up to $250,000. Policies from insurers not licensed in Virginia, non-guaranteed or policyholder-risk parts of variable products, self-insured employer plans, fraternal benefit certificates, guaranteed investment contracts and unallocated annuities not owned through an employee benefit plan are not covered. Amounts above the limits become claims against the failed company's estate.

Guaranty protection is a backstop, not a reason to choose a weaker insurer. The association is a private entity made up of member insurers, not a state agency, and Virginia law prohibits agents and companies from using it in advertising or sales. Keep paying premiums if your insurer is in receivership. More in state life and health guaranty associations and what happens if your life insurance company fails.

Who regulates life insurance in Virginia

Insurance in Virginia is regulated by the Bureau of Insurance, part of the State Corporation Commission. It licenses insurers and agents, reviews policy forms, examines company finances and has a Life and Health Consumer Services section that handles complaints and appeals about life insurance and annuities.

Free look, grace periods and policy rules

• Free look: Va. Code 38.2-3301 requires every individual life policy to state that you can surrender it within 10 days of delivery, with a written request for cancellation, and receive a full refund; the policy is then void from the start. Insurers may offer a longer period if the policy says so. See the free-look period: returning a policy for a refund.
• Grace period: at least 31 days for each premium after the first, starting on the due date (38.2-3303). The insurer may charge interest of no more than 6% a year for the days of grace used, and may deduct an overdue premium from a claim that arises during the grace period.
• Interest on death claims: when no lawsuit is involved, insurers must pay interest on life insurance and annuity death proceeds from the date of death to the date of payment, computed daily at 2.5% a year or the rate they pay on proceeds left on deposit, whichever is greater (38.2-3115). If a beneficiary has to sue and wins, interest on the judgment runs at the legal rate from the date proof of death was presented. See interest on late life insurance claims.

Taxes, estates and community property

Virginia has no estate tax and no inheritance tax, so only the federal estate tax applies, with a $15,000,000 per-person exclusion in 2026, according to the IRS. Virginia is not a community property state. See state estate and inheritance taxes and life insurance.

Finding a lost policy or unclaimed benefits

Begin with the NAIC Life Insurance Policy Locator and the other steps in how to find a lost life insurance policy. Virginia law also lets a life insurer tell a qualifying funeral service provider whether a deceased person had a policy with it and who the beneficiaries are (38.2-3117.01), which can help when a funeral home is arranging payment. Benefits that go unclaimed are eventually turned over to the Virginia Department of the Treasury's unclaimed property program, searchable free at vamoneysearch.gov. If the insured lived in Maryland, the District of Columbia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee or North Carolina, search there too. More in unclaimed life insurance money and state unclaimed property.

Life insurers based in Virginia

Genworth, best known for long-term care insurance, is headquartered in Richmond.

Where to get help

• Virginia Bureau of Insurance: toll-free 800-552-7945, 804-371-9631; Life and Health Consumer Services 804-371-9691 or toll-free 877-310-6560; P.O. Box 1157, Richmond, VA 23218; office hours 8:15 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays; scc.virginia.gov.
• Complaints: contact the insurer first and get any denial in writing. Then file a complaint or appeal through the Bureau's online portal, or use the Life and Health complaint form by mail or fax, attaching copies of your documents. See how to file a complaint against a life insurer.
• Guaranty association: Virginia Life, Accident & Sickness Insurance Guaranty Association, P.O. Box 606, 534 Main Street, Hampden, MA 01036-9998, valifega.org.