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Life Insurance

Update Your Insurance Beneficiary

Your VA Life Insurance Beneficiary is the person you have designated to receive your insurance proceeds in the event of your death. It is very important to make sure your beneficiary information is always up to date. This will make it much easier on your family members to file a claim and receive the benefit quickly.

You should review your beneficiary information at least once a year to make sure everything is current. Even though you may have the same beneficiary, they might have changed addresses. A regular beneficiary review each year will make sure you capture these changes.

Certain life events such a marriage or the birth of a child or divorce should also trigger a review of your beneficiary information. This will save your family members a lot of unnecessary grief in the future

Click on your VA Life Insurance program below to learn how to update your beneficiary:

Updating Your Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (SGLI) Beneficiary

If you are in any uniformed service, except the Public Health Service, and have full-time SGLI coverage…

You no longer need to use the SGLV 8286 to update your SGLI beneficiary! You can now manage your Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI) coverage using the SGLI Online Enrollment System (SOES). SOES allows Servicemembers with full-time SGLI coverage to make fast and easy changes to their life insurance coverage and beneficiary information at any time without completing a paper form or making a trip to their personnel office. To access SOES, sign into www.dmdc.osd.mil/milconnect and go to the Benefits Tab, Life Insurance SOES- SGLI Online Enrollment System.

If you are in the Public Health Service...

Use the SGLV 8286  to make SGLI coverage and beneficiary changes and submit your completed form to your branch of service personnel office.

If you are in any uniformed service and have part-time SGLI coverage…

Use the SGLV 8286  to make SGLI coverage and beneficiary changes and submit your completed form to your branch of service personnel office.

Note: You may name anyone as your SGLI beneficiary without his/her consent. However, your spouse will be notified if you name a beneficiary other than your spouse.

Updating Your Veterans' Group Life Insurance Beneficiary

The quickest way to update your VGLI beneficiary is to access your VGLI Policy online.

You may also:

Updating Other VA Life Insurance Policies

Online Update is Available!

If your VA Life Insurance policy number beginning with V, RH, J, RS, K or W, the fastest and easiest way to update your beneficiary is through our Online Policy Access website.  After creating an online account and logging in, you can update your beneficary online.  Your update will be immediately sent to our office to be made a part of your records. 

You may aslo download 29-336, Designation of Beneficiary and Optional Settlement. Complete the form and mail to us at:

VARO&IC (B&O)
P.O. BOX 8638
PHILADELPHIA, PA 19101

If You are Assisting a Competent Veteran with Changing a Beneficiary Designation

In order to change a beneficiary designation for a competent Veteran, please do one of the following:

If You Wish to Change a Beneficiary Designation for an Incompetent Veteran

If the Veteran is incompetent, only a court appointed guardian can change the beneficiary designation for the veteran. In addition, the court appointed guardian must obtain a specific court order authorizing them to change the beneficiary designation.

Please have the court appointed guardian complete form 29-336, Designation of Beneficiary and Optional Settlement. Also, include a copy of the guardianship documents and the specific court order with the form.

For information on how to become a court appointed guardian and obtain a specific court order contact your state court system.