Your SGLI Ended When You Signed Out. Here Is What Replaces It.
Our founder is a U.S. Army veteran. We help veterans and their families compare private life insurance against VGLI and the VA burial benefit, so you decide with the numbers in front of you instead of a brochure.
Innovations Financial is a private agency. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by the VA, the Department of Defense, or any government agency.
- Final expense, term, and permanent coverage
- No medical exam on many plans
- Options for service-connected conditions
- An honest comparison against VGLI, even when VGLI wins
Appointed with
- Mutual of OmahaAM Best A+ · Since 1909
- TransamericaAM Best A · Since 1904
- Foresters FinancialAM Best A · Since 1874
- Royal NeighborsAM Best A · Since 1895
- Corebridge FinancialAM Best A · Since 1926
- AflacAM Best A+ · Since 1955
- Chubb / CombinedAM Best A+ · Since 1922
Ratings are AM Best financial strength ratings as of October 2026 and can change. We are compensated by the carrier that issues your policy; you never pay us a fee.
What the VA Actually Pays When You Die.
What a national cemetery covers, what it does not, and what VGLI costs over time.
A national cemetery provides the grave, opening and closing, a headstone or marker, and a flag at no cost. It does not pay the funeral home, the casket, the service, or transportation. VA figures from va.gov for deaths on or after October 1, 2024; verify current amounts at va.gov. VGLI terms are published by the VA and can change.
How VGLI Actually Works.
The part the separation briefing skipped.
240 days
After separation, you can convert SGLI to VGLI with no health questions. After 240 days you answer health questions, and after 1 year and 120 days the window closes.
It climbs
VGLI is group term. The premium rises at each 5-year age bracket. The same coverage at 65 costs many times what it did at 35.
It covers you, not her
VGLI has no spouse coverage. If your family depends on her income too, or on her holding it together without you, she needs her own policy.
When VGLI wins
If your health would rate you up with a private carrier, VGLI's guaranteed acceptance may be the better deal. We will say so.
Three Options, Built From Your Numbers.
BRONZE
The basics covered
Final expense coverage sized to the funeral home bill the VA does not pay. Level premium for life.
SILVER
The full cost, with room
Final expenses covered plus a cushion for your spouse: a few months of bills while the VA claim and survivor benefits process.
GOLD
Covered, plus something left
Income replacement or the mortgage, with a permanent policy under it so there is never a gap again.
What Your Family Actually Receives.
Most agents send a policy number by text and disappear. Here is what leaves our office after your policy is approved.
- The Legacy CertificateA 3-page packet: the certificate of protection you see here, a page on why the carrier was chosen for you with your policy at a glance, and a security page. Printed, mailed, and sent to your phone.
- Your Security Code WordYou pick a word. It goes on your packet and wallet card. Anyone who calls about your policy and cannot say it is not us, so you hang up. It stops the replacement agents and the scam calls that follow every new policy.
- Legacy Safeguard Membership NO COSTA planning membership included with your coverage: tools to record your final wishes, help getting a will and power of attorney done, connections to funeral homes in your area, and survivor assistance for your family. You can share it with up to 5 people.
- One Agent, for the Life of the PolicyThe agent who writes your policy is the one who answers when you call 2 years later to change a beneficiary or add coverage. Direct line, not a call center.
How a Call With Us Goes.
1. Your why
Who picks up the pieces if something happens to you this week, and what would they face? We get that down first, in your words, because everything else is built on it.
2. The real cost
Burial or cremation, your area, your wishes. We walk the actual numbers so the coverage fits the bill instead of a guess.
3. What you have now
If you already have something, good. We write it down exactly as it is and tell you straight whether it does the job. Most of the time we add to it instead of replacing it.
4. Lock it in
Your health and budget decide which carrier and which plan. You pick Bronze, Silver, or Gold, we apply by phone, and many people hear back the same day.
Nobody explained any of this to me when I got out. I found out what VGLI really costs years later. You do not have to.Nathaniel Ruiz, U.S. Army veteran and founder, Innovations Financial
Questions Worth Asking Any Agent.
Is this a VA program?
No. These are private life insurance policies issued by insurance carriers. We are not part of the VA or any government agency, and buying a private policy does not change your VA benefits. Any agent who says they are with the VA is lying to you.
Does the VA pay for my funeral?
It pays a burial allowance by claim after the fact ($978 for a non-service-connected death, up to $2,000 if service-connected) and provides a grave, marker, and flag at a national cemetery. The funeral home bill is due up front and is not covered.
Should I drop my VGLI?
Not until a new policy is approved and in force. We show you both side by side and you make the call. Sometimes keeping VGLI is the right answer and we say so.
Can I qualify with a disability rating?
Often, yes. Many carriers cover veterans with service-connected conditions. It depends on the condition, so we match you with the carriers that fit before you apply.
Does my spouse need her own policy?
VGLI does not cover spouses. If your family depends on two incomes, or on her holding things together if you are gone, she needs her own coverage. Spouses can apply on the same call.
What is the free look period?
After the policy arrives you have a window, usually 10 to 30 days depending on your state, to read it and cancel for a full refund if it is not what you were told. We walk you through the packet before that clock matters, so there are no surprises in it.
What happens if I miss a payment?
Every carrier gives a grace period, typically 30 or 31 days, before a policy lapses. We set your draft on or after the day your money lands so it does not come to that, and we call before the draft when something changes.
What is the 2-year contestability period?
For the first 2 years the carrier can review your application if a claim is filed. That is why we record your health answers exactly as you give them. An honest application is a claim that pays.
Is the $9.95 plan on TV a real policy?
That price buys 1 unit of coverage, and a unit at 70 is a few hundred dollars, not a funeral. It is sold by unit so the ad can show a low number. We quote the real face amount and the real monthly price for your age.
How fast does my family get paid?
On a level policy, a clean claim with a death certificate usually pays within days to a couple of weeks. The code word and the packet exist so your beneficiary knows exactly who to call and what to send.
Benefits, rates, and eligibility vary by carrier, state, age, and health, and all coverage is subject to underwriting.
Get the Straight Answer.
A veteran-owned agency will compare your options against VGLI, no pressure. No cost, no obligation.
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