Insurance FAQs Life

If you disagree with the plan’s decision on your claim, the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program provides for an appeal process.  Check your plans FEHB brochure to see if the service is covered, limited, or excluded. Review and follow the directions in the disputed claims section (Section 8) of the brochure. This section will tell you how to ask the plan to reconsider your claim. You must explain why (in terms of the applicable brochure coverage provisions) you feel the services should be covered. If the plan again denies the claim, read the plan's decision letter carefully. Then, check your plan's brochure again. If you still disagree with the plan's decision, the disputed claims section of the brochure will tell you how to write to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to ask us to review the claim.   If you have a complaint that is not related to a disputed claim, email your complaint to FEHB@opm.gov.

"Assignment" means that you give ownership and control of your Basic, Option A, and/or Option B life insurance coverage to someone else. This means that the money goes to the assignee, or the assignee's beneficiary(ies) when you die. The insurance is still on your life and you must continue to pay for the coverage, but someone else "owns" and controls your coverage. You may assign your life insurance coverage to an individual, a corporation, or an irrevocable trust. Your decision to assign your life insurance coverage is irrevocable; you cannot cancel your assignment if you change your mind. You cannot assign Option C.

The legal age or age of adulthood for the FEGLI Program is 18, unless the state in which the minor lives has established a lower age of adulthood. In that case, the legal age is the lower age.

Yes, Public Law 110-417, the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act allows new opportunities for certain employees. The new election applies if you are a civilian employee in the Department of Defense eligible for FEGLI who is designated as "emergency essential" under section 1580 of Title 10. You may elect Basic, Option A and Option B (up to the maximum of 5 multiples). You must make the election on the SF 2817  [278 KB] (or its electronic equivalent) within 60 days of the date of the notification of the designation as an emergency essential employee. Contact your employing agency human resources office for more information. See more details in BAL 08-204  [45 KB].

Life insurance proceeds are not considered taxable income for the recipients for personal income tax purposes. Interest paid on FEGLI proceeds is reportable as income for Federal Income tax purposes. You may wish to consult your tax advisor for further advice.

Living Benefits payments received on or after January 1, 1997, are not subject to Federal income tax. However, some states have laws, regulations, or rulings concerning the taxability of Living Benefits (also called accelerated death benefits). You should consult a tax advisor or your State's tax department for specific information concerning State income tax laws. Qualified payments from viatical settlement firms received on or after January 1, 1997 are also not subject to Federal income tax provided the companies meet certain tax exemption qualifications. If you are considering assigning your insurance to a viatical settlement firm, you should consult a tax advisor to determine if you and the viatical settlement firm meet the tax exemption qualification standards.

When you return to work after a break in service of less than 180 days, your human resources office will automatically enroll you in the same coverage that you had before you left your prior position. You will have to qualify to elect other coverage (Open Season, physical exam or life event). When you return to work after a break in service of 180 days or more, your human resources office will automatically enroll you in Basic and the same Optional insurance that you had in your prior position. You will have this coverage the first day you are in pay and duty status. Any previous waiver of insurance is automatically cancelled. Unless you file a new waiver, Basic insurance becomes effective your first day in pay and duty status in a position in which you are eligible for coverage. You may elect more insurance (if you don't already have the maximum) within 31 days of returning to service in an eligible position, regardless of the coverage you had during previous employment. If you do not make a new election, you will automatically get back whatever Optional insurance you had immediately before your separation. Any coverage that you had previously waived will be waived again.

No. If you receive an SF 2819, that means that you are eligible to convert your insurance, but you don't need to — the choice is yours. IF you qualify to carry your coverage into retirement, you may want to do that and not convert. Just because you receive an SF 2819 does not mean that you do not qualify to carry your coverage into retirement. All employees whose current coverage as an employee is terminating (other than by voluntary cancellation) receive a copy of that form — whether or not they qualify to carry coverage into retirement.

Only Basic insurance is available for a Living Benefit. The Office of Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance cannot pay Optional insurance as a Living Benefit. A Living Benefit election has no effect on your Optional insurance. Your Optional insurance will not change and you will continue to pay your Optional insurance premiums.

It takes the Office of Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (OFEGLI) an average of one week to process an election to enroll or increase coverage by getting a physical. If more than one week has passed since your doctor sent your request to OFEGLI and your human resources office has not yet received a decision, you can check on the status by calling OFEGLI at 1-800-633-4542.

No. When you receive a partial Living Benefit, the amount of your remaining Basic insurance is frozen. It does not increase due to a salary increase, nor does it decrease due to a salary reduction. If you receive a full Living Benefit, your remaining Basic Insurance Amount equals zero, and this also is unchanged due to changes in salary.

Yes. If you owe money to the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund, such as an overpayment of annuity, you may assign your life insurance. You cannot assign your insurance, however, to pay a deposit or redeposit to get credit for time during which you did not have retirement deductions withheld from your salary or for a period of service for which you received a refund of your retirement contributions. You must make a deposit and/or redeposit before you can get credit for the service in the computation of your annuity. When you assign your life insurance coverage, the assignee does not receive the money until you die.

Yes, two Federal employees who are married may BOTH elect Option C life insurance coverage. Any eligible children would be covered under both policies.

If you are put in a nonpay status while on military duty, you can keep your Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) coverage for up to 12 months. This coverage is free. Being called-up to active duty does not affect the amount of your FEGLI coverage. At the end of 12 months in nonpay status, the coverage terminates. Employees get a free 31-day extension of coverage and have the right to convert to an individual policy. You also get the 31-day extension of coverage and the right to convert. Public Law 110-181, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, enacted January 28, 2008, authorizes the continuation of FEGLI coverage for an additional 12 months for Federal employees called to active duty whose coverage terminated after the law's enactment. The law allows employees who enter on active duty or active duty for training in one of the uniformed services for more than 30 days to continue their FEGLI for up to 24 months. FEGLI coverage is free for the first 12 months. However, employees must pay both the employee and agency share of the premiums for their Basic coverage, and also pay the entire cost (there is no agency share) for any Optional insurance they may have for the additional 12 months of coverage. See more details in BAL 08-203 [30 KB]. Being called up to active duty status or being sent to a combat zone does NOT cancel FEGLI coverage. Nor does it automatically make an employee ineligible for accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) coverage. All FEGLI coverage remains in effect for the period of time described above. If a Federal employee with FEGLI is called-up to active military duty and is killed, "regular" death benefits are payable to the employee's beneficiaries. Accidental death benefits are also payable under Basic insurance (and Option A, if the employee had that coverage) unless the employee was in actual combat (or unless nuclear weapons were being used) at the time of the injury that caused the employee's death. The determination is made on a case by case basis after a thorough review of the facts and documentation surrounding the death. Accidental death benefits are in addition to regular death benefits. Even if accidental death benefits are not payable, regular death benefits ARE payable.