Vietnam Vets' Government Life Insurance: What's Covered?

Vietnam Veterans may be eligible for a wide variety of benefits, including disability compensation, pension, education and training, health care, home loans, insurance, vocational rehabilitation and employment, and burial.

The US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) offers life insurance to veterans, service members, and their spouses and dependent children. This includes Veterans' Group Life Insurance (VGLI), which allows veterans to convert their Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (SGLI) to a civilian program of lifetime renewable term coverage after separation from service.

VA also offers Veterans Affairs Life Insurance (VALife), a guaranteed acceptance whole life insurance program for service-connected veterans aged 80 and under. This program offers coverage of up to $40,000, with lesser amounts available in increments of $10,000.

Agent Orange exposure

During the Vietnam War, the U.S. military sprayed a blend of herbicides, including Agent Orange, to remove foliage that provided cover for opposition forces. Agent Orange was contaminated with the most toxic form of dioxin. It was sprayed from 1962 to 1971, and it is presumed that veterans who served in Vietnam between January 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975, were exposed. The VA has also determined that there is evidence of exposure for Air Force and Air Force Reserve members who served from 1969 through 1986 and regularly operated, maintained, or served on C-123 aircraft.

The VA presumes that certain diseases are a result of exposure to Agent Orange, and veterans with these diseases are eligible for disability compensation. The list of diseases includes:

• Ischemic heart disease
• Lung and trachea cancers
• Prostate cancer
• Multiple myeloma
• Hodgkin's disease
• Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
• Parkinson's Disease
• Type 2 diabetes
• Peripheral neuropathy
• AL amyloidosis
• Chronic B-cell leukemia
• Chloracne
• Early-onset peripheral neuropathy
• Porphyria cutanea tarda
• Soft tissue sarcomas

Veterans who believe they have a disease caused by Agent Orange exposure that is not on this list can still apply for service-connection but must provide medical and scientific evidence of a link to Agent Orange.

In addition to disability compensation, Vietnam veterans may be eligible for other benefits, including monthly pension payments, home loans, life insurance, burial services, and more.

Burial services

The VA also offers a burial allowance to cover the burial, funeral, and transportation costs. This is available to veterans who, at the time of death, were entitled to receive VA pension or compensation, were hospitalised by VA, or were en route to/from approved hospitalisation. The burial allowance is also available to veterans who die from a non-service-connected condition while properly hospitalised by VA, or under certain other circumstances.

The VA also offers a plot allowance for veterans who are buried in a private cemetery. This is available if the veteran was discharged from active duty under conditions other than dishonourable and is buried in a cemetery that is not owned by the federal government.

The VA offers burial benefits to spouses and dependents of veterans, even if the veteran is not buried in a national cemetery. This includes burial at no cost in a national cemetery, a burial flag, a Presidential Memorial Certificate, and the opening and closing of the grave.

Health care

Vietnam War Veterans are eligible for a wide range of health care benefits, which are also available to all US military veterans. These include disability compensation for service-connected disabilities, such as post-traumatic stress disorder and amputations.

Veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange, an herbicide used to clear trees and plants during the war, may be eligible for disability compensation. Agent Orange exposure is presumed for veterans who served in Vietnam between January 9, 1963, and May 1975, or in or near the Korean Demilitarized Zone between April 1, 1968, and August 31, 1971. Veterans who served outside these time periods or locations may still be eligible for service-connected exposure.

Veterans may also be at risk of Hepatitis C, an infectious disease that affects the liver, and hearing problems caused by noise from weapons, jets, and other machinery. They can also suffer from illnesses or injuries caused by occupational hazards, such as chemicals, paints, and radiation.

To access these benefits, veterans can apply online using eBenefits, work with an accredited representative or agent, or go to a VA regional office for assistance.

Home loans

Vietnam War Veterans may be eligible for a wide variety of benefits available to all US military veterans. These benefits include home loans.

VA home loans are provided by private lenders such as banks and mortgage companies and are guaranteed by the VA. This means that the VA will compensate the lender if you fail to repay the loan.

VA home loans have many benefits, including:

• No down payment required
• Competitively low-interest rates
• Limited closing costs
• No need for private mortgage insurance

The VA home loan is a lifetime benefit and can be used multiple times. There are several types of VA home loans:

• Purchase Loans: Help you purchase a home at a competitive interest rate, often without requiring a down payment or private mortgage insurance.
• Cash-Out Refinance Loans: Allow you to take cash out of your home equity for concerns like paying off debt, funding school, or making home improvements.
• Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan (IRRRL): Can help you obtain a lower interest rate by refinancing your existing VA loan.
• Native American Direct Loan (NADL) Program: Helps eligible Native American Veterans finance the purchase, construction, or improvement of homes on Federal Trust Land, or reduce the interest rate on a VA loan.
• Adapted Housing Grants: Help veterans with permanent and total service-connected disabilities purchase or build an adapted home or modify an existing home to account for their disability.

To be eligible for a VA home loan, you must have satisfactory credit, sufficient income to meet the expected monthly obligations, and a valid Certificate of Eligibility (COE).

Life insurance

Vietnam veterans may be eligible for a wide variety of benefits available to all US military veterans. These include disability compensation, pension, education and training, health care, home loans, insurance, vocational rehabilitation and employment, and burial.

VA life insurance can offer financial security for veterans, service members, and their spouses and dependent children. Veterans Affairs Life Insurance (VALife) is a new guaranteed acceptance whole life insurance program for all service-connected veterans aged 80 and under. It offers coverage of up to $40,000, with lesser amounts available in increments of $10,000. The elected coverage takes effect two years after enrollment as long as premiums are paid during the two-year period.

Other life insurance options include:

• Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (SGLI): a low-cost group term life insurance program for servicemembers. Coverage can be extended for up to two years if the servicemember is totally disabled at separation.
• Veterans' Group Life Insurance (VGLI): allows veterans to convert their SGLI to a civilian program of lifetime renewable term coverage after separation from service.
• Family Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (FSGLI): insures spouses and children of servicemembers with SGLI coverage. Spousal coverage may not exceed the servicemember's coverage. Dependent children are automatically covered at no charge.
• Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance Traumatic Injury Protection (TSGLI): an automatic feature of SGLI that provides payments to servicemembers who suffer losses, such as amputations, blindness, and paraplegia, due to traumatic injuries that occur in service.
• Veterans' Mortgage Life Insurance (VMLI): provides mortgage life insurance protection to disabled veterans who have been approved for a VA Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) grant.
• Service-Disabled Veterans' Life Insurance (S-DVI): closed to new enrollment after December 31, 2022.

Frequently asked questions