Obtaining life insurance for military members can prove very difficult and may even result in an outright decline by many civilian insurance companies because of the potential risk involved in this profession.

Most insurers have a variety of exclusions which apply directly to many actively serving military members. Some of the exclusions that will result in a company declining to make a payment for a life insurance claim that occur from the following:

  • Acts of war
  • Acts of terrorism
  • Active military deployment status

Another drawback found with civilian life insurance policies is that strong underwriting concerns also surround the risk involved in certain dangerous occupations. Such professional activities may result in a person being penalized in how they are rated and the premium charged for a traditional life insurance policy.

Other exclusions can also impact various individual occupations within the military such as those personnel that fly aircraft, scuba dive and other military functions which are considered as posing a potentially higher occupational risk for a company to insure.

Finding life insurance for military members may be exceedingly expensive or even prohibitive for those that serve in the military and can be declined altogether.

What are the health risks of military service?

Military service comprises a wide variety of professional activities which can pose a potential threat to a person’s health as some service activities are inherently and more obviously dangerous than others.

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Health risks can range from sustaining a serious injury or being killed while serving in certain theaters of operation. In serving in an overseas location there is also the added risk of exposure to local diseases not generally found here.

Other risks can entail potential exposure to biological, chemical agents and radioactive elements which pose a range of serious health risks. The variety of potential health risks are almost too varied to list.

Exposure to additional health risks can also come from a variety of sources during regular training exercises which are also too numerous to outline.

Finding life Insurance for military member

Finding life insurance for military members can be prohibitive for many active service personnel. Not all military personnel will be precluded from obtaining a traditional policy from civilian insurers as it depends on the occupation they perform within the military.

Those service personnel who are assigned to more sedentary military activities and are less likely to incur an injury can likely be approved in the same manner as any civilian.

However, there are companies, both private and federal government agencies that issue the same form of traditional life insurance polices and which cater exclusively to military personnel.

All manner of life insurance policies can be found through the Department of Veteran Affairs such as Veterans Group Life Insurance (VGLI) and Serviceman’s Group Life Insurance (SGLI). Some private companies also specialize in catering to the life insurance needs of military personnel.


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