Part VIII Chapter 1 – Introduction

Part VIII Chapter 1 - Introduction

Publication Date: May 16, 2025

1.01 GENERAL

1. Government life insurance had its development during World Wars I and II and the Korean Conflict. Since inception, programs have included USGLI (United States Government Life Insurance) (World War I), NSLI (National Service Life Insurance) (World War II and later), S-DVI (Service-Disabled Veterans' Insurance) (1951-2023), VMLI (Veterans Mortgage Life Insurance) (1971-current) and VALife (Veterans Affairs Life Insurance) (2023-current).

2. All applications for life insurance are assigned policy numbers with alphabetic prefixes. These alpha prefixes serve as a ready identification of the program under which the insurance was granted. Descriptions of the programs and their prefixes are listed in M29-1, Part I, Chapter 1.

References:

• M29-1, Part I, Chapter 1: Introduction

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1.02 VETERANS' INSURANCE RECORDS

Veterans' Insurance records is a collective term referring to records established to contain all documents, customer service interactions, and information regarding a Veteran's insurance policy with VA. The rules and procedures outlined in this manual govern the establishment, maintenance and movement of records hereafter referred to as insurance records.

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1.03 INSURANCE RECORDS

1. Insurance records include both paper records (retired insurance folders) and electronic records:

   1. A retired insurance folder contains historical documents, such as beneficiary and optional settlement designation forms, award payments, and correspondence. It can be requested through the Insurance system. These requests are handled by Clerical Support. When a request is received in Clerical Support, Clerical Support then requests the folder from the National Archives Records Administration (NARA) Federal Records Center (FRC). Once the folder is received from NARA, Clerical Support provides the folder to the employee. Once an employee is done with the folder, they return it to Clerical Support. Clerical Support will image any noted pertinent historical information and then return the retired folder to NARA, via the station s Records Management Officer (RMO). However, the folder may not be returned to NARA immediately as Clerical Support waits until they have a full box of retired folders before sending anything to the RMO for return. The RMO sends the box via tracked mail and receives confirmation it has been received by NARA.

   2. An electronic record contains key insurance information, which may include the beneficiary and optional settlement designation, the application made by an individual Veteran for insurance and essential correspondence and/or related documents pertaining to the maintenance of the insurance account, claims for disability insurance benefits, all customer interactions with the Insurance Center, and disbursements of funds such as loans, surrenders, refunds and/or award payments. The electronic record also includes policy and award transaction listings.

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1.04 INFORMATION available IN iNSURANCE S ELECTRONIC SYSTEM OF RECORD

Electronic records in Insurance's current system of record contain a range of notations attached to both images and a historical notes feature. Types of electronic Insurance records, include:

1. Active Insurance Record - This record opens in the current Insurance system of records and shows current policy and policyholder information. It also includes notations/policy notes of actions taken and comments left by employees, as well as scanned images of all documents submitted to or sent by the Insurance Center.

2. Deactivated Insurance Record - This record opens in system of records and shows policy and policyholder information, with a flag that states deactivated or will show on the record as terminated. Deactivated means that the insurance is no longer in force. The insurance may have been deactivated for a variety of reasons, including, lapse, payment of a death claim, cash surrender, or insurance not desired. It also includes notations/policy notes of actions taken and comments left by employees, as well as scanned images of all documents submitted to or sent by the Insurance Center. The record can still be updated with any new information received after deactivation.

3. No Insurance Record - If there is no electronic record of insurance, when a search under name or social security number is completed, the record will be blank. This message only refers to the electronic insurance system. There may be a paper record at the appropriate FRC or an electronic record in Insurance's prior system of record, VICTARS. See M29-1, Part VIII, Chapter 4 on requesting retired folders and electronic records access.

References:

• M29-1, Part VIII, Chapter 4: Retirement and Recall of Paper Insurance Folders

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