This bill expands eligibility for veterans' life insurance to nearly all veterans under age 81 and establishes new protections against the VA voiding policies due to administrative errors after one year.
Sheri Biggs
Representative
SC-3
The Veterans’ Life Insurance Expansion and Integrity Act of 2025 significantly broadens eligibility for a key VA life insurance program, removing the service-connected disability requirement so that most veterans under 81 can enroll. This bill also establishes new integrity measures, preventing the VA from easily voiding policies due to administrative errors made more than one year after issuance, provided the veteran is given due process. Furthermore, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs must submit a comprehensive report to Congress on the program's enrollment, claims, and financial stability within two years of enactment.
VA Life Insurance Opens to All Vets Under 81, Adds Protection Against VA Paperwork Errors
The Veterans’ Life Insurance Expansion and Integrity Act of 2025 is making two big changes to how the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) handles life insurance. Essentially, this bill is throwing open the doors to a specific VA insurance program and then making sure the VA can’t yank your coverage over a simple clerical error.
Expanding the Roster: Insurance for All
Currently, one of the VA’s life insurance options (under Section 1922B) is generally limited to veterans with a service-connected disability. This bill wipes that requirement off the books. Starting one year after this Act becomes law, eligibility for this program is simplified significantly: if you’re a veteran, you just need to apply before you hit 81 years old (SEC. 2). That’s it. If you’re a veteran who previously couldn’t get this coverage because your disability wasn't service-connected, or you had no disability at all, you’re now potentially eligible. This is a massive expansion, opening up a valuable financial safety net to a much wider pool of veterans.
Fighting Back Against Paperwork Blunders
If you’ve ever dealt with bureaucracy, you know mistakes happen. This bill tackles a major administrative headache by protecting veterans from having their life insurance policies canceled due to a mistake made by the VA itself. Under the new rules, the VA generally can’t cancel or void a policy because of an “administrative error” (meaning a clerical or processing mistake) if that error happened more than one year after the policy was issued or reinstated (SEC. 3). Think of it like a one-year warranty on the VA’s paperwork.
Even if the VA decides they must cancel a policy due to an error, they can’t just send a cancellation notice. They must first send the insured veteran advance notice explaining the specific error. The veteran then gets a minimum of 90 days to submit evidence proving the VA made a mistake in claiming an administrative error occurred. If you send in proof, the VA has up to 180 days to review it. This establishes a much-needed due process, ensuring veterans have a fighting chance to keep their coverage, even when the VA messes up the filing.
The Check-Up: Program Stability
While expanding eligibility is great news for veterans, it does raise questions about the financial health of the insurance program itself. To keep things transparent, the bill requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a comprehensive study and report back to Congress within two years of enactment (SEC. 2). This report must detail how many veterans are enrolled, how many claims have been paid, and—crucially—evaluate whether the program is financially stable and if the premiums are sufficient to keep it solvent. This provision acts as a vital safeguard, ensuring Congress keeps an eye on the fund’s sustainability, which is important because if the fund gets strained, future premiums could rise or the program could face restrictions, impacting everyone enrolled.