If you’ve been putting off the conversation about life insurance, you’re not alone. For many families, the subject sits somewhere between “I should deal with that” and “I’ll get to it eventually.” But the reasons to apply for coverage are more concrete and more immediate than most people realize.
Whether you’re active duty, a veteran, a federal employee, or a family member of someone who qualifies, The Uniformed Services Benefit Association® (USBA®) sponsors group life insurance coverage designed specifically for people like you. Here are ten reasons it may be worth applying sooner rather than later.
1. It Protects the People Who Depend on You
If your family, your spouse, or anyone else relies on your income, or on the contributions you make to the household, life insurance can help ensure they’re not left financially vulnerable if something happens to you. When a covered death occurs, your named beneficiary may receive the death benefit from your policy, which can provide critical support during an already difficult time.
For military families, this protection matters in ways that go beyond the numbers. Deployments, transitions, and time away from home can create financial uncertainty. Having coverage in place means your family has a measure of stability no matter what.
2. It Can Help Cover Immediate Costs After a Death
When a loved one passes away, the financial demands don’t pause for grief. Funeral and burial expenses, outstanding medical bills, and other immediate costs can place real strain on a family that’s already struggling. A life insurance death benefit can help address those expenses quickly, giving your family room to focus on what matters most.
USBA-sponsored policies have a streamlined claims process. For eligible claims of $250,000 or less, the claims process may be completed after just a phone interview with the beneficiary and funeral home, eliminating the need for paperwork. Although certain qualifications must be met before this option is available—such as the cause of death, how long the beneficiary designation has been in place, and other claim-specific factors—each claim is individually reviewed to determine whether it qualifies for the expedited payment process. Today, approximately 45% of USBA claims are paid through this method.
3. It Can Replace Lost Income
Think about what your family would need to manage if your income suddenly disappeared. Life insurance coverage can help replace that lost income so your family can continue to:
- Pay the mortgage or rent
- Cover childcare, healthcare, and everyday household expenses
- Fund education for children
- Address outstanding debts or financial obligations
USBA Group Level Term coverage is available in amounts from $25,000 to $750,000, depending on the policy, so you can apply for the level that reflects what your family would actually need.
4. The Death Benefit Is Generally Federal Income Tax-Free
When benefits are paid to your named beneficiary following a covered death, that payment is generally not subject to federal income tax. This means the coverage amount you’ve applied for is the amount your family may receive, without deductions eating into it when they need it most.
Tax laws can change, and individual circumstances vary. Consulting a tax advisor about your specific situation is always a good idea.
5. Whole Life Coverage Builds Cash Value Over Time
If you’re looking for coverage that does more than pay a death benefit, USBA’s Group Whole Life, Children’s Group Whole Life and 50+ Group Whole Life options accumulate cash value over time. Once your policy has built up a cash value, you may be able to:
- Surrender the policy for its cash value
- Exchange the cash value for a smaller amount of paid-up insurance that requires no further premium payments
- Request a loan at the current USBA interest rates
Keep in mind that outstanding loans reduce the death benefit and available surrender cash value by the loan amount plus any accumulated interest. Complete details are available in your Certificate of Insurance.
6. Coverage Can Be Tailored to Your Family’s Needs
Your family’s situation is specific to you, and your life insurance coverage can be too. USBA offers a range of policy types, term coverage in 5-, 10-, 15-, and 20-year options, whole life, and coverage for spouses and children, so you can build a coverage structure that fits your life’s circumstances.
Optional riders are also available for an additional cost to many policies, including:
Our TWO for ONE® Group Level Term policy is another option worth knowing about: it covers both you and your spouse under a single policy, with one premium and equal coverage for each person, and pays on the first to pass away. The surviving spouse can choose to continue coverage with USBA without additional underwriting. If you and your spouse die within 15 days of each other due to the same accident, the full benefit will be paid for each, effectively doubling your chosen coverage amount.
7. No War Exclusion—Coverage That Honors Your Service
This is one of the most meaningful differences between USBA-sponsored coverage and many other life insurance programs. USBA life insurance pays benefits for combat-related death. There is no war exclusion, and there hasn’t been one since USBA was founded in 1959.
For service members, veterans, and National Guard and Reserve members, this matters. If your SGLI coverage ends when your active duty does, or if your VGLI rates have become difficult to maintain, USBA-sponsored coverage can provide a portable alternative that doesn’t exclude the risks that come with military service.
8. Coverage Is Portable—It Goes Where You Go
One of the realities of military and federal service is that your employment status can change. Separation, retirement, a PCS move, or a career transition can all affect the coverage you hold through an employer or through your service.
USBA-sponsored group life insurance is designed to stay with you. If you retire or separate from military or federal service, your coverage can continue, with no increase in premium and no decrease in coverage amount simply because your employment status changed.
9. It Can Support Estate and Charitable Goals
Life insurance can play a role in how you plan to transfer assets and care for the people and causes that matter to you. You can name virtually any person, trust, or organization as your beneficiary, including a charity.
Naming a charitable organization as a beneficiary (or a partial beneficiary) allows you to leave a meaningful contribution to a cause you care about as part of your overall financial intentions. You can update your beneficiary designation at any time, so this kind of arrangement can evolve as your situation changes.
For broader estate planning considerations, speaking with a financial advisor or attorney is always advisable.
10. It Provides Peace of Mind When It Matters Most
Knowing that your family has financial protection in place, regardless of what happens, is meaningful. For military families especially, the unpredictability of service life can make that kind of certainty hard to come by. Life insurance is one of the more direct ways to create it.
With USBA-sponsored coverage, that peace of mind includes knowing your policy was designed for people in your situation, that it won’t exclude combat-related death, that it can follow you through career transitions, and that the coverage amount you’ve applied for is the one your family can count on.
Should You Apply for Life Insurance?
If people depend on you financially, or if you want to ensure your obligations are covered, life insurance coverage is worth applying for sooner rather than later. Rates are based on your age, gender, and tobacco use at issue2, which means waiting typically means higher premiums.
To explore your coverage options or apply, contact a USBA Product Specialist at 877-297-9235, Monday–Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Central time, or visit our Life Insurance Overview page.
1This material is not intended for use with residents of New Mexico with respect to AD&D Insurance.
2To qualify for Non-Tobacco rates, you must not have used tobacco or nicotine in any form, including nicotine patches, nicotine gum or e-cigarettes, in the last 24 consecutive months.