FAMILYVA program

VA Life Insurance (VALife)

Whole life insurance of up to $40,000 for veterans with any service-connected disability rating; guaranteed acceptance with no health questions required.

Available to veterans with any service-connected disability rating (0% to 100%) within 2 years of rating

View on VA.gov

Example value

Up to $40K coverageWhole life for service-disabled vets

Step-by-step guide

What you get

Whole life insurance from VA for veterans with a service-connected disability rating, with no health review. Full coverage starts 2 years after you apply, as long as you pay the premiums.

Who can apply: a service-connected rating, age 80 or under

A VA service-connected disability ratingAny service-connected rating from 0 to 100 percent counts.
Age 80 or younger when you applyVA uses your age at your last birthday before the date you apply. There is no time limit to apply after you get the rating.
A valid application and the first premiumThe policy starts on the date VA has both a valid application and a premium payment. Paying by deduction from VA compensation, pension, or military retired pay takes two months of premiums up front; paying through pay.gov billing or a checking account takes one.

Source: VA.gov: Veterans Affairs Life Insurance (VALife) (opens in new tab); VA Life Insurance: VALife (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 8.0(f) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 8.6(c) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 8.1(b) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 8.0(g) (opens in new tab); VA Life Insurance: VALife questions (opens in new tab)

Which of these fits you?

Applying with a service-connected rating, age 80 or under
VALife is whole life insurance from VA for veterans with a service-connected disability rating, even 0 percent. There is no health review: VA approves every applicant who meets the rules. At 80 or younger there is no deadline after the rating. Full coverage starts 2 years after you apply.
Source: VA.gov: Veterans Affairs Life Insurance (VALife) (opens in new tab); VA Life Insurance: VALife (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 8.0(f) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 8.6(c) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 8.1(b) (opens in new tab)
Applying at 81 or older after a new rating
At 81 or older, VALife is open only after a new service connection. The rating must be for a condition you claimed before turning 81, and the VALife application has a 2-year limit.
1. A compensation claim filed before age 81You applied for VA disability compensation for a new or secondary condition before you turned 81, and VA granted service connection for it after. An increase in an existing rating, a grant of individual unemployability, or a finding of incompetency does not count.
2. VALife application within 2 years of the rating noticeApply for VALife within 2 years of getting notice of that rating. VA does not issue a VALife policy to a veteran over age 95.
Source: 38 CFR 8.6(d) (opens in new tab); VA.gov: Veterans Affairs Life Insurance (VALife) (opens in new tab); VA Life Insurance: VALife (opens in new tab)
Moving from S-DVI to VALife
If you have Service-Disabled Veterans Life Insurance (S-DVI), you can keep it or apply for VALife. For a VALife application on or after January 1, 2026, the S-DVI policy, including any premium waiver, ends the day VA approves VALife. You then pay only VALife premiums during the 2-year waiting period, but full VALife coverage does not start until it ends.
1. A signed statement ending S-DVIThe rule asks an S-DVI holder to cancel the S-DVI policy, take any cash value it has built as a payment from VA, and sign a statement saying they want to end it to apply for VALife and start the 2-year waiting period.
2. A choice that cannot be undoneOnce S-DVI ends, it cannot be reinstated. An S-DVI premium waiver 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: Veterans Affairs Life Insurance (VALife) (opens in new tab); VA.gov: Service-Disabled Veterans Life Insurance (S-DVI) (opens in new tab); VA Life Insurance: VALife questions (opens in new tab)
When an insured veteran dies: the beneficiary's claim
The beneficiaries the veteran named file a claim with the VA Insurance Center. For a death in the first 2 years, VA pays back the premiums plus interest. For a death after that, VA pays the full coverage amount.
1. A beneficiary on recordThe insured names principal and contingent beneficiaries and can change them at any time without their knowledge or consent, online in the policy portal or in writing on VA Form 29-336.
2. A claim with the death certificateThe beneficiary files VA Form 29-4125, Claim for One Sum Payment, with the veteran's death certificate showing the date and cause of death. A contingent beneficiary also sends the death certificate of each principal beneficiary.
Source: VA.gov: Veterans Affairs Life Insurance (VALife) (opens in new tab); VA Life Insurance: file a death claim (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 8.1(a) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 8.19(a) (opens in new tab); VA Life Insurance: update your beneficiary (opens in new tab); VA Form 29-336 (opens in new tab); VA Form 29-4125 (opens in new tab)

Time limits

At 80 or younger, there is no deadline after your rating. At 81 or older, apply within 2 years of the notice of a new rating. The full coverage amount is paid only for a death 2 years or more after the policy starts.

What to gather, and what it shows VA

Documents for this benefit: what each is, what it shows VA, and how VA gets it
Document	What it shows	How VA gets it	Have it?
VA rating decision letter The letter VA sent with your disability rating, or a benefit summary letter that shows your service-connected rating.	A service-connected rating, and the date of the rating notice	VA holds it. Download decision letters and a benefit summary letter on VA.gov.	Yes
Record of your compensation claim VA's record of when you applied for disability compensation for the new or secondary condition.	That the claim came before your 81st birthday	VA holds it in your claim file.
VALife application VA's online VALife application, where you choose a coverage amount and a payment method.	Your request for coverage and your age when you apply	Apply online through the link on the VA.gov VALife page. A power of attorney, legal guardian, or VA fiduciary can apply for a veteran who cannot manage their own affairs, with a copy of their authority.
First premium payment The premium paid with the application: one month when you pay through pay.gov billing or a checking account, or two months when premiums will come out of VA compensation, pension, or military retired pay.	The payment that, with the application, starts the policy	You pay VA with the application. Later premiums can come out of VA compensation, military retired pay, or a checking account each month, or be paid through pay.gov billing.
Statement ending your S-DVI policy The statement the rule asks of an S-DVI holder: that you want to end S-DVI to apply for VALife and start the 2-year waiting period.	Your choice to end S-DVI for VALife	It goes to VA in the form VA sets for it. The online VALife application tells S-DVI holders the date their S-DVI ends.
Your S-DVI policy Your S-DVI policy, with a number that starts with RH: the coverage amount, the premium, any premium waiver, and any cash value.	What ends with S-DVI, and any cash value VA pays you	See it in VA's life insurance portal, linked from the VA.gov access your policy page.	Yes
Designation of Beneficiary (VA Form 29-336) The paper form to name or change VALife beneficiaries. Changes can also be made online in the policy portal.	Who the insured chose to receive the insurance	The insured signs it and sends it to the VA Insurance Center, or makes the change online.
Claim for One Sum Payment (VA Form 29-4125) The beneficiary's claim for the insurance payment.	Who is claiming and how to pay them	The beneficiary files it online through the electronic form linked on VA.gov, or mails it to the VA Insurance Center at the address on the VA.gov VALife page.
Death certificate The insured veteran's death certificate showing the date and cause of death.	The date of death, which sets whether the full amount is paid	The beneficiary sends a copy to VA with the claim. VA does not need an original.	Yes

Your application and premium go to VA through its VALife application. A beneficiary's claim goes to the VA Insurance Center. BeneVets does not ask for any of them.

Steps, in order

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); VA Life Insurance: VALife questions (opens in new tab)
Start from your rating
VALife starts from a VA service-connected rating. Without one, the first step is a disability compensation claim.
Source: VA.gov: Veterans Affairs Life Insurance (VALife) (opens in new tab); VA Life Insurance: VALife (opens in new tab)
At 81 or older, apply in time
Apply for VALife by the deadline under Time limits. The rating must be for a condition you claimed before turning 81.
Source: VA.gov: Veterans Affairs Life Insurance (VALife) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 8.6(d) (opens in new tab)
If you have S-DVI, compare first
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, and S-DVI cannot be reinstated once it ends.
Source: VA Life Insurance: VALife questions (opens in new tab); VA.gov: Service-Disabled Veterans Life Insurance (S-DVI) (opens in new tab)
Choose a coverage amount
Pick an amount in set increments up to the maximum. The premium depends on your age when you apply and the amount, and it does not go up later. VA.gov lists the rates.
Source: VA.gov: Veterans Affairs Life Insurance (VALife) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 8.6(b) (opens in new tab)
Choose how to pay
Pay monthly or once a year through pay.gov billing, or monthly by deduction from VA compensation, military retired pay, or a checking account. Paying once a year carries a 2.5 percent discount.
Source: VA Life Insurance: VALife questions (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 8.2(b) (opens in new tab)
Apply online and pay the first premium
Apply through VA's online VALife application, linked from the VA.gov VALife page, and pay the first premium. There is no health review.
Source: VA.gov: Veterans Affairs Life Insurance (VALife) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 8.1(b) (opens in new tab); VA Life Insurance: VALife (opens in new tab)
Get your policy
After approval, VA sends an email or text, based on what you chose, with a link to its life insurance portal. From there you can see and print your policy.
Source: VA.gov: Veterans Affairs Life Insurance (VALife) (opens in new tab); VA.gov: access your life insurance policy online (opens in new tab)
Name your beneficiaries
Name or change beneficiaries online in the policy portal, or on VA Form 29-336. You can change them at any time without their consent.
Source: VA Form 29-336 (opens in new tab); VA Life Insurance: update your beneficiary (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 8.19(a) (opens in new tab)
Keep paying through the first 2 years
Full coverage depends on premiums paid for the first 2 years. Each premium has a 31-day grace period. Missing payments can lapse the policy.
Source: 38 CFR 8.1(a) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 8.2(d) (opens in new tab); VA.gov: Veterans Affairs Life Insurance (VALife) (opens in new tab)
Beneficiary: file the claim
After the insured dies, the beneficiary files VA Form 29-4125 online or by mail, with a copy of the death certificate. A death in the first 2 years pays back the premiums plus interest; after that, the full coverage amount.
Source: VA Form 29-4125 (opens in new tab); VA.gov: Veterans Affairs Life Insurance (VALife) (opens in new tab); VA Life Insurance: file a death claim (opens in new tab)

Good to know

Full coverage starts after 2 years

VALife pays its full amount only for a death 2 years or more after the policy starts, and premiums must be paid during those 2 years. For a death in the first 2 years, VA pays the beneficiaries the premiums paid plus interest. VA.gov gives the interest rate for a death in 2026 as 4.23 percent.

Source: 38 CFR 8.1(a) (opens in new tab); VA.gov: Veterans Affairs Life Insurance (VALife) (opens in new tab); VA Life Insurance: VALife questions (opens in new tab)

Premiums are set when you apply

The premium depends on your age when you apply and the coverage amount. VA uses the nearest birthday: more than 6 months past a birthday counts as the next age. The rate does not go up while you keep the policy. VA.gov lists monthly and yearly rates.

Source: 38 CFR 8.6(b) (opens in new tab); VA.gov: Veterans Affairs Life Insurance (VALife) (opens in new tab); VA Life Insurance: VALife questions (opens in new tab)

No premium waivers or loans

VALife has no premium waivers and offers no loans. Cash value starts to build 2 years after VA approves the application.

Source: VA.gov: Veterans Affairs Life Insurance (VALife) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 8.11(j) (opens in new tab); VA Life Insurance: VALife questions (opens in new tab)

Missed premiums and lapse

Each premium has a 31-day grace period. A premium paid after that is accepted up to 61 days after the due date if the insured is alive when it is mailed; otherwise the policy lapses. A lapsed policy can be reinstated within 2 years of the lapse by paying the missed premiums plus interest, before age 81.

Source: 38 CFR 8.2(d) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 8.7(e) (opens in new tab); VA Life Insurance: VALife questions (opens in new tab)

Cancelling during the first 2 years

Cancel within 31 days of enrolling and VA refunds the premiums. Cancel later in the 2-year waiting period and the premiums are not returned. Starting over means a new policy and a new 2-year waiting period.

Source: VA Life Insurance: VALife questions (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 8.2(e) (opens in new tab)

Adding coverage later

Coverage comes in set increments up to the maximum. A policyholder with less than the maximum can buy more later. Each added amount has its own 2-year waiting period.

Source: 38 CFR 8.36 (opens in new tab); VA.gov: Veterans Affairs Life Insurance (VALife) (opens in new tab)

BeneVets is informational and is not an accredited representative. Free help: an accredited VSO can work through VA benefits with you at no cost. Find an accredited VSO near you