Background
The basic purpose of life insurance is to bridge any potential gap between your survivors’ financial needs
and their available resources. This fact sheet covers basic information about life insurance and provides
specific information about life insurance options available only to active duty USPHS Officers, their spouses,
and dependents.
Life insurance policies purchased through a group (usually employment-based) have two advantages over
policies purchased by an individual: they are less expensive and require no medical exam. There are two
basic types of life insurance:
Term Insurance pays only if death occurs during policy term (usually 1—30 years). Benefit amounts
remain constant but the premiums may increase with age. It is usually purchased by comparison
shopping on cost and is lower initially than Whole Life (see below). About half of all life insurance
policies, including those available through the Commissioned Corps, are Term Insurance.
Whole Life (or Permanent) Insurance combines death benefits covering an entire lifetime with a
cash value accumulation feature. Premiums are fixed with early premiums being higher than actual
protection costs in order to build cash value redeemable before death. Whole Life policies, which
are more complex than Term, are not available through the Commissioned Corps.
Eligibility
Active duty PHS Officers, their spouses, and dependents are eligible for Commissioned Corps Term Life
Insurance.
Active duty officers and their civilian spouses are automatically covered ($400,000 SGLI for officers,
$100,000 FSGLI for spouses). A specific request must be made to decline or reduce coverage.
Request forms are available at www.benefits.va.gov/INSURANCE/resources-forms.asp. Use SGLV
Form 8286 for officers and SGLV Form 8286A for spouses who are not members of the Uniformed
Services.
Dependent coverage of $10,000 is free and automatic and cannot be declined or reduced.
To manage the amount of SGLI and spouse coverage and designate and update beneficiaries,
officers should use the SGLV Form 8286 or 8286A. The Commissioned Corps is planning to migrate
to the SGLI Online Enrollment System (SOES), which will enable online enrollment for SGLI and
FSGLI. As of April 2018, the timeline for this migration was unknown.
Insurance Options
Eligibility
Limits
Cost
Further Info
SGLI (Servicemembers'
Group Life Insurance)
Active Duty (AD)
USPHS
Up to $400K in $50K
increments
$3.50/$50K/month
(plus $1/month trauma
protection)
www.insurance.va.gov
see SGLI
FSGLI (Family
Servicemembers' Group
Life Insurance)
Spouses and
children of AD
with SGLI
Spouse: up to $100K or AD
officer coverage, whichever
is less
Dependent: $10,000
Spouse: $2.50—
25/$50K/month
(depending on age)
Dependent: Free
www.insurance.va.gov
see FSGLI
FACT SHEET
Life Insurance for Active Duty Public Health Service Officers
Highlights
Officers should consider estimating life insurance needs for themselves and their family:
Use the basic formula: Life insurance amount = financial obligations (plus) net income to support
survivors (minus) other assets. Consider all of your survivors’ financial needs, including debts (e.g.,
medical, funeral, and estate taxes), life income needed for spouse, mortgage and car payments,
and children’s education and expenses until independent.
- Online calculator at http://www.benefits.va.gov/INSURANCE/introCalc.asp
- Rough estimate is 10 times your gross salary
While SGLI is a good value for many PHS Officers, it may not be enough to meet your specific life
insurance needs.
Certain companies (e.g., Navy Mutual Aid Association www.navymutual.org or United Services
Automobile Association www.usaa.com) cater specifically to insurance needs of those on active
duty. Consult other sources of information — such as a financial advisor or insurance agent — for
additional details about your insurance needs. Using your existing connections, like your financial
advisor or investment firm, may help simplify or lower costs. Many reputable companies exist, but
do your homework before purchasing additional coverage.
Remember that:
− Even with life insurance coverage, you should have a legally valid and available will
− Any lapse in paying your premium could result in cancellation of your policy
Resources
Life Insurance Buyer’s Guide from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners —
http://www.naic.org/index_consumer.htm
Consumer Report information on life insurance — https://www.consumerreports.org/life-
insurance/how-to-choose-the-right-amount-of-life-insurance/
Note: Feedback and suggestions for this fact sheet are welcome and may be sent to PPACBenef[email protected]m.
Disclaimers: This fact sheet is provided for informational purposes only and is not an official policy document. The presence of external hyperlinks
(or the information, products or services contained therein) in this fact sheet does not constitute endorsement by the USPHS or the Physician
Professional Advisory Committee (PPAC). In addition, the information provided here is based on publicly available information as of the date this
fact sheet was last reviewed and might not reflect the most recent or emerging changes on the topic covered. When researching a topic, the
reader should also be aware that some publicly available USPHS documents on benefits are outdated and contain information that will require
verification.