Life insurance for military members: What you need to know

Service members qualify for military group life insurance and can get private life insurance as well, depending on job responsibilities and station of duty for those with orders to deploy.

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Katherine MurbachEditor & Licensed Life Insurance AgentKatherine Murbach is a life insurance and annuities editor, licensed life insurance agent, and former sales associate at Policygenius. Previously, she wrote about life and disability insurance for 1752 Financial, and advised over 1,500 clients on their life insurance policies as a sales associate.&Amanda ShihEditor & Licensed Life Insurance ExpertAmanda Shih is a licensed life, disability, and health insurance expert and a former editor at Policygenius, where she covered life insurance and disability insurance. Her expertise has appeared in Slate, Lifehacker, Little Spoon, and J.D. Power.

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Antonio Ruiz-CamachoAntonio Ruiz-CamachoAssociate Content DirectorAntonio is a former associate content director who helped lead our life insurance and annuities editorial team at Policygenius. Previously, he was a senior director of content at Bankrate and CreditCards.com, as well as a principal writer covering personal finance at CNET.
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Maria FilindrasMaria FilindrasFinancial AdvisorMaria Filindras is a financial advisor, a licensed Life & Health insurance agent in California, and a member of the Financial Review Council at Policygenius.

Updated|4 min read

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The risk involved in military service makes a life insurance policy especially important for active duty service members. You can get coverage through Veterans Affairs with Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI). However, some families might need an additional policy. 

Private life insurance companies will use your deployment status, job responsibilities, station of duty, and physical location to evaluate your application. Here’s how to find the best life insurance plan to protect your family. 

Key Takeaways

  • If you’re an active service member, you’ll have access to group life insurance through the military.

  • SGLI only provides up to a maximum of $500,000 in coverage, so you may want a private, supplemental policy.

  • Private insurance companies assess risk factors such as your job duties, your rank, and your deployment station to determine your premiums.

What is Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI)?

Full-time service members can enroll in SGLI, which is offered through the military. 

  • SGLI offers coverage in increments of $50,000 up to a maximum of $500,000. [1]

  • It includes traumatic injury protection so military members receive a payment if they experience amputations, paraplegia, and blindness.

  • You can make changes to your policy, including changes to your coverage amount and beneficiaries.

  • You have the option to opt out of coverage, continue your SGLI policy, or convert your coverage into a civilian policy after you’re discharged.

  • Like other group life insurance plans, SGLI plans might not offer enough life insurance coverage for your family, depending on your income, debt, and expenses. We recommend buying private life insurance to fill any coverage gaps.

→ Figure out how much life insurance you need

How much does SGLI cost?

SGLI premiums are taken out of your pay. Base premiums are $0.06 per $1,000 of coverage you purchase, plus $1 per month for traumatic injury protection.

If you bought the maximum amount of coverage, you’d pay $31 per month for a $500,000 death benefit

Can military members buy private life insurance?

Yes, military personnel can buy private life insurance policies, but there may be a few additional considerations to be mindful of during the application process. Your duties, your rank, and where you’re stationed will factor into what life insurance policy is best for you. You’ll also need to be in the U.S. to apply for and purchase a U.S. life insurance policy.

Primary questions life insurance companies ask military personnel

Military personnel applying for life insurance need to be aware of two circumstances that could automatically disqualify them from coverage. The two primary questions you can expect from an insurer are:

  1. Do you have orders for deployment? If you’re deploying to a country with a State Department-issued warning or can’t disclose the location, your application is more likely to be declined. If you’re deploying to a country not on that list, you’ll be able to continue the application process.

  2. What is your job title, and can you describe your job duties? If you’ll be doing office work, recruiting, or other non-life-threatening work, you’ll likely have no problems applying for a policy. But if you’re likely to see combat or are a member of Special Forces, Rangers, SEALS, Marine Force Recon, Marine Raiders, Delta Force, Air Force Pararescue, or a similar unit, you could be declined a private policy.

→ Learn more about how where you live can affect your life insurance options

How does military rank affect your life insurance coverage?

Some insurance companies have specific coverage limits based on your rank, regardless of military branch. The exact coverage limits vary across insurance companies. 

Here’s an example of coverage limits by military pay grade, with those with enlisted status having lower limits and commissioned officers having the highest:

  • $250,000 for pay grades E1 to E5

  • $500,000 for pay grades E6 to E9 and W1 to W5

  • $1,000,000 for pay grades O-1 to O-10

However, some insurers will follow the same income guidelines that apply to civilians. These guidelines allow you to buy up to a certain multiple of your income, depending on your age — for example, you can get up to 25 times your income if you are under age 40.

Insurers will apply civilian income guidelines to applications from Reserve or Guard members who are not alerted or mobilized.

How does your military rank affect your insurance risk?

The higher the risk that you’ll die while covered by your life insurance policy, the more expensive your premiums will be and the more likely you might be declined for coverage.

High-ranking officials are often considered lower risk because they’re less likely to see the same sort of combat dangers as lower-ranking service members. 

As mentioned above, Special Forces, Rangers, SEALS, Marine Force Recon, Marine Raiders, Delta Force, Air Force Pararescue, and other similar units are more likely to be declined even if they don’t have active deployment orders. 

If you’re already approved for coverage, many of Policygenius’ life insurance partners don’t have exclusions within individual policies that void life insurance coverage if the insured is killed while deployed, while in combat, or during a time of war.

Beneficiaries of military members will still get death benefits in this case.

Ready to shop for life insurance?

Flat extra fees for pilots and aviation crew members

Flat extra fees are an additional charge per $1,000 of coverage you purchase that insurers charge in circumstances that involve higher insurance risk, like if someone has a hazardous occupation or hobby.

Common examples of flat extras include an extra $2 or $5 per $1,000 — so, if you have a $500,000 policy, you could pay an extra $1,000 to $2,500 per year.

Most pilots get higher life insurance rates due to the occupational hazards involved, but it depends on the insurer, your job duties, and what type of aircraft you fly. Military pilots and crew members are typically required to pay a flat extra fee, ranging from $2 to $12 per $1,000 of coverage. 

Non-frontline aviation crew members, including flight nurses and instructors, may get flat extras too, but are unlikely to be charged more than $2 per $1,000 of coverage.

Life insurance for military spouses

Spouses of military personnel who are not service members themselves have the same life insurance options available as other civilians.

The military sponsors Family Servicemembers’ Group Life insurance (FSGLI) policies for spouses and dependent children of those covered with SGLI policies. Spouses should compare FSGLI rates with those from private insurers.

The bottom line

Getting private life insurance coverage involves a few more considerations for military personnel than it does for the average citizen, but getting a policy is well within reach if you’re living in the U.S. when you apply.

Working with an independent broker like Policygenius can be particularly helpful when comparing different private insurance companies.

Life insurance for other occupations

References

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Policygenius uses external sources, including government data, industry studies, and reputable news organizations to supplement proprietary marketplace data and internal expertise. Learn more about how we use and vet external sources as part of oureditorial standards.

  1. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

    . "

    Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI)

    ." Accessed October 17, 2023.

Authors

Katherine Murbach is a life insurance and annuities editor, licensed life insurance agent, and former sales associate at Policygenius. Previously, she wrote about life and disability insurance for 1752 Financial, and advised over 1,500 clients on their life insurance policies as a sales associate.

Amanda Shih is a licensed life, disability, and health insurance expert and a former editor at Policygenius, where she covered life insurance and disability insurance. Her expertise has appeared in Slate, Lifehacker, Little Spoon, and J.D. Power.

Editor

Antonio is a former associate content director who helped lead our life insurance and annuities editorial team at Policygenius. Previously, he was a senior director of content at Bankrate and CreditCards.com, as well as a principal writer covering personal finance at CNET.

Expert reviewer

Maria Filindras is a financial advisor, a licensed Life & Health insurance agent in California, and a member of the Financial Review Council at Policygenius.

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