If you're separating from active duty, one deadline rarely makes it onto the out-processing checklist next to your DD-214 and final pay: what happens to your life insurance. It's automatic, it's fast, and missing it can mean a gap in coverage for your family. Here's exactly how it works.
SGLI Ends 120 Days After You Separate — Automatically
Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (SGLI) is the coverage you've had on active duty, up to $500,000 for a low monthly cost. It is not something you keep after you leave. SGLI coverage automatically terminates 120 days after your separation date, whether you take action or not.
Your Conversion Option: VGLI
Veterans' Group Life Insurance (VGLI) is the path to keep coverage after SGLI ends, and it comes with a critical timing rule:
| When you apply | Health questions? |
|---|---|
| Within 240 days of separation | None — guaranteed approval |
| 240 days to 1 year + 120 days after separation | Yes — you must show good health |
| After that window | Not eligible for VGLI |
That 240-day, no-health-questions window is the single most important date on this page. If your health has changed since you enlisted — an injury, a diagnosis, anything — applying inside that window locks coverage no civilian insurer could turn you down for.
The Catch: VGLI Gets More Expensive Every 5 Years
⚠️ Read this before you assume VGLI is your only option
VGLI premiums are age-banded and increase automatically every five years as you get older — the same coverage that's affordable at 30 can cost significantly more at 50 and more still at 65. It never expires and it never requires new health questions once you're in, but it is not a fixed, locked-in rate the way many civilian term policies are.
So Which Should You Do?
- Your health has changed since enlisting? Apply for VGLI inside the 240-day window regardless of what else you're considering. It's your safety net, and it costs nothing to hold it while you shop other options.
- You're healthy? A civilian term or permanent policy, medically underwritten while you're young and healthy, can often lock a level rate for 20–30 years — cheaper over time than VGLI's rising cost. You can always let VGLI lapse once new coverage is in force.
- Either way — never let SGLI lapse into a gap. Get new coverage approved and in force before dropping anything.
What This Isn't
This article is educational, not a benefits office. We are not affiliated with the VA, the Department of Defense, or any branch of service, and we don't process VGLI applications — that's handled directly through the VA's insurance office. What we do is help you compare what a civilian policy would look like next to VGLI, so you separate with your eyes open instead of guessing.
Compare Your Options Before the Window Closes
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