Service-Disabled Veterans' Life Insurance (S-DVI): Legacy

What you get

Life insurance for veterans with service-connected disabilities. S-DVI is closed to new applicants; existing policies stay in force.

Keeping S-DVI: what the policy asks of you

1. 1Premiums paid on timeThe premium depends on your age, the amount of insurance, your plan, and whether you pay monthly or yearly. VA's rate pamphlet is linked from the VA.gov S-DVI page. Each premium has a 31-day grace period; a later premium is accepted only up to 61 days after the due date, while the insured is alive.
2. 2A premium waiver for total disabilityBasic S-DVI premiums can be waived when a mental or physical disability keeps you from holding a job, it began before age 65 and after the policy started, and it has lasted at least 6 months in a row. In most cases, premiums can be waived back no more than 1 year before VA gets the claim. VA can ask for proof that the disability continues, and the waiver stops if VA finds it has ended.
3. 3Supplemental S-DVI premiumsIf you have supplemental S-DVI, its premiums are due even when your basic S-DVI premiums are waived.

Source: VA.gov: Service-Disabled Veterans Life Insurance (S-DVI) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 8.2(d) (opens in new tab); VA.gov: premium waivers for total disability (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 8.17(a) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 8.23 (opens in new tab)

Keep S-DVI or move to VALife?

• Keeping an existing S-DVI policy

  S-DVI is closed to new applicants: it stopped taking new applications after December 31, 2022, and so did supplemental S-DVI. If you already have S-DVI, you can keep it, and you do not have to do anything to keep it. Veterans with a service-connected rating who need new coverage apply for VALife.

  Source: VA.gov: Service-Disabled Veterans Life Insurance (S-DVI) (opens in new tab); VA.gov: Veterans Affairs Life Insurance (VALife) (opens in new tab); VA.gov: premium waivers for total disability (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 8.2(d) (opens in new tab)

• Choosing VALife instead

  You can apply for VALife at any time. For a VALife application on or after January 1, 2026, your S-DVI policy, including any premium waiver, ends the day VA approves VALife. You then pay only VALife premiums during its 2-year waiting period, but full VALife coverage does not start until that period ends.

  1. 1A signed statement ending S-DVIThe rule asks you to cancel the S-DVI policy, take any cash value it has built as a payment from VA, and sign a statement that you want to end it to apply for VALife.
  2. 2A choice that cannot be undoneOnce S-DVI ends, it cannot be reinstated. A waiver of S-DVI premiums does not carry over: VALife has no premium waivers, no paid-up insurance, and no loans. VA pays you any S-DVI cash value when S-DVI ends.

  Source: 38 CFR 8.35 (opens in new tab); VA.gov: Service-Disabled Veterans Life Insurance (S-DVI) (opens in new tab); VA.gov: Veterans Affairs Life Insurance (VALife) (opens in new tab); VA Life Insurance: VALife questions (opens in new tab)

Time limits

S-DVI stopped taking new applications after December 31, 2022. For a VALife application on or after January 1, 2026, S-DVI ends the day VA approves VALife.

What to gather, and what it shows VA

Policy papers and a waiver claim go to the VA Insurance Center. BeneVets does not ask for them.

Steps, in order

1. Get free help from a VSO

   Free help: an accredited VSO can file this with you. Find one near you in the BeneVets VSO directory at Find an accredited VSO near you.

   Source: VA.gov: accredited representatives (opens in new tab)

2. Check your policy

   Sign in to VA's life insurance portal, linked from VA.gov, to see your coverage, premium, and beneficiaries. S-DVI policy numbers start with RH.

   Source: VA.gov: access your life insurance policy online (opens in new tab)

3. Keep premiums current

   Pay each premium by its due date; there is a 31-day grace period. Premiums can come out of VA compensation or pension each month, or be paid by check, money order, or bank debit.

   Source: 38 CFR 8.2(d) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 8.2(b) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 8.4 (opens in new tab)

4. Totally disabled? Ask for a waiver

   If a disability keeps you from holding a job, file VA Form 29-357 as soon as possible. In most cases, premiums can be waived back no more than 1 year before VA gets the claim.

   Source: VA Form 29-357 (opens in new tab); VA.gov: premium waivers for total disability (opens in new tab)

5. Weigh S-DVI against VALife

   VA lists what to weigh: how much coverage you need, the premiums for each, whether your S-DVI premiums rise over time, any premium waiver, a paid-up policy, and loans. VALife has no waivers, no paid-up option, and no loans.

   Source: VA Life Insurance: VALife questions (opens in new tab); VA.gov: Service-Disabled Veterans Life Insurance (S-DVI) (opens in new tab)

6. If you choose VALife, apply online

   Apply through VA's online VALife application, linked from the VA.gov VALife page. Time limits says when your S-DVI ends, and once it ends it cannot be reinstated.

   Source: VA.gov: Veterans Affairs Life Insurance (VALife) (opens in new tab); VA.gov: Service-Disabled Veterans Life Insurance (S-DVI) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 8.35 (opens in new tab); VA Life Insurance: VALife questions (opens in new tab)

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