Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance Traumatic Injury Protection (TSGLI) is a rider to Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (SGLI) that provides automatic traumatic injury coverage to all service members under the Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (SGLI) program. The TSGLI rider provides payment to service members who are severely injured (on or off duty) and suffer a loss as the result of a traumatic event. Effective October 1, 2011, the Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 2010 removed the requirement that injuries during the retroactive period must be incurred in Operation Enduring or Iraqi Freedom. Qualifying soldiers who receive a TSGLI payment can spend the money at their own discretion.

Expanded TSGLI Benefits

On April 14, 2023, TSGLI expanded benefits for these types of care:

• Limb reconstruction surgeries
• Inpatient hospital care at critical care facilities, rehabilitation facilities, and skilled nursing facilities 
• Care to help you transition from an inpatient facility to living at home (called a therapeutic pass)

If you are eligible for TSGLI for these types of care or if your claim was denied in the past, you can file a claim now.

For more information about expanded TSGLI benefits, review the TSGLI loss standards.

National Guard Soldiers on drill status who are covered under SGLI are also covered under TSGLI. Click here to see the SGLI fact sheet.

You may be able to get TSGLI if you were insured by SGLI when you experienced a traumatic injury, and you meet all of the requirements listed below.

All of these must be true. You: 

• Have a scheduled loss that is a direct result of the traumatic injury, and

• Suffered the traumatic injury before midnight on the day that you left the military, and

• Suffered a scheduled loss within two years (730 days) of the traumatic injury, and
  

• Have survived for a period of not less than seven full days from the date of the traumatic injury (the seven-day period begins on the date and time of the traumatic injury and ends 168 full hours later), and

• Were an active-duty military member, a Reservist, a National Guard member, on funeral-honors duty, or on one-day muster duty

TSGLI is also provided retroactively to service members who incurred a qualifying severe loss as a result of traumatic injuries incurred between October 7, 2001, and November 30, 2005, regardless of the geographic location where the injury occurred, and regardless of whether they had SGLI coverage at the time of their injury.

Injuries excluded from TSGLI

To qualify for TSGLI, none of the descriptions below can be true of your injury.

None of these can be true:

• Your injury can not be self-inflicted on purpose or the result of an attempt at self-injury, or

• Your injury can not involve the use of an illegal drug or a controlled substance that was given or taken without the advice of a medical doctor, or

• Your injury can not be the result of medical or surgical treatment of an illness or disease, or

• Your injury can not occur while you are committing or trying to commit a felony, or

• Your injury can not be the result of a physical or mental illness or disease (not including illness or disease caused by a wound infection; a chemical, biological, or radiological weapon; or accidentally swallowing a contaminated substance)

TSGLI Coverage Available : Service members covered under SGLI are also covered under TSGLI. The TSGLI coverage will pay a benefit of between $25,000 and $100,000 depending on the loss directly resulting from the traumatic injury. The list of injuries was expanded in 2008 to include, among other things, coverage of partial amputation of the foot and hands, improved coverage of injuries based on severe burns, and a payment of $25,000 to those injured members who are hospitalized for a period of 15 consecutive days as a result of a traumatic injury. The full schedule of losses is available at: https://www.benefits.va.gov/insurance/tsgli_schedule_Schedule.asp

The premium for TSGLI is a flat rate of $1 per month for most service members. Members who carry the maximum SGLI coverage of $500,000 will pay $31.00 (effective March 1, 2023) per month for both SGLI and TSGLI.

Applying for TSGLI: All service members who are covered by SGLI are eligible for TSGLI coverage, regardless of where their qualifying traumatic injury occurred. However, TSGLI claims require approval. To file a claim for TSGLI benefits, service members should download and complete form SGLV 8600 Application for TSGLI Benefits

Army TSGLI applications should be submitted via U.S. Mail: 

U.S. Army Human Resources Command
1600 Spearhead Division Avenue
Dept 420 PDR-C (TSGLI)
Fort Knox, KY 40122-5402

Submit via Email: usarmy.knox.hrc.mbx.tagd-tsgli-claims@army.mil 

Submit via Fax: 502-613-4513

The TSGLI Application has two parts:

• Part A is to be completed by the Servicemember or, if incapacitated, by the member's guardian, or the member's attorney-in-fact

• Part B is to be completed by the attending medical professional.

Once both parts of the application are completed, the application should be sent to the appropriate branch of service TSGLI office listed on the first page of the application.

To Reduce or Cancel SGLI Coverage: To reduce or cancel your SGLI, you must complete and file a form SGLV 8286 (Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance Election and Certificate). If you reduce or cancel SGLI on the first day of duty, your election will be effective immediately. If you make an election after the first day of duty, it will be effective at midnight of the last day of the month in which the form is received.

TSGLI website maintained by the Veterans Affairs (VA):
https://www.va.gov/life-insurance/options-eligibility/tsgli/

Online Resource for Americans with Disabilities:
https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/disability

Air Force Wounded Warrior (AFW2) TSGLI:
https://www.woundedwarrior.af.mil/About/Documents/Display/Article/1570841/sgli-traumatic-injury-protection-program-tsgli/