SGLI (Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance) is the coverage you carry while serving: up to $500,000 of group term at a flat $30 a month plus $1 for traumatic injury protection, regardless of your age or health, per the VA. VGLI (Veterans’ Group Life Insurance) is the program that lets you continue that coverage as a civilian — same $500,000 maximum, no term end date, but priced by five-year age bands that rise for life, and gated by deadlines that start running the day you separate.
The differences that actually matter
| SGLI | VGLI | |
|---|---|---|
| Who has it | Active-duty and covered service members | Separated veterans who apply in time |
| Maximum coverage | $500,000 (raised from $400,000 effective March 1, 2023) | Capped at your SGLI amount at separation, up to $500,000 |
| Pricing | Flat $30/mo for $500,000, any age | $0.60/mo per $10,000 under 30, rising each 5-year band to $44 per $10,000 at 80+ |
| Health questions | None | None if you apply within 240 days of separation; required after that |
| When it ends | 120 days after leaving the military | Renews for life while premiums are paid |
Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, SGLI/VGLI program pages and published VGLI rate table, accessed 2026.
The three deadlines
- Day 120 after separation — free SGLI coverage ends. Until then you’re still insured at no cost while you decide.
- Day 240 — the no-health-questions VGLI window closes. Apply by here and enrollment cannot be denied for medical reasons.
- 1 year + 120 days — the final VGLI deadline, no extensions. Between day 241 and this date you must show evidence of good health, and the VA can decline.
The 240-day window is the strategic one: a veteran with a service-connected condition, a new diagnosis, or anything that would complicate private underwriting can lock $500,000 of lifetime-renewable coverage with no medical questions — an option the private market does not offer at that size. A healthy veteran, meanwhile, should price private term against the VGLI age bands before day 240, so the guaranteed option is still open if quotes come back worse than expected.
The full walk-through — VALife, the worked DIME example, and how South Dakota veterans compare all three against private term — is in What Happens to Your SGLI When You Leave the Military?.