Insurance Program Assists Severely Injured

Congress established the Traumatic Servicemembers Group Life Insurance (TSGLI) program in 2005 to aid former and current military members who find themselves financially strapped after suffering severe injuries. Since Dec. 1, 2005, every service member with Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance automatically has been covered for TSGLI. The benefit is retroactive to members who experienced severe financial losses due to traumatic injury suffered between Oct. 7, 2001, and Nov. 30, 2005. Coverage ranges from $25,000 to $100,000, depending on the loss caused by the traumatic injury, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs, a co-administrator of the program. Within the Defense Department, “a total of 2,261 retroactive claims have been approved as of Aug. 25, 2006,” Michael Dominguez, principal DoD deputy for personnel and readiness, told the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Sept. 7. He noted that 403 claims had been paid as of late August.