FEGLI Program Booklet For U.S. Postal Service Employees

General Information

What If I Want to Change My Life Insurance Coverage?

If you waived Basic insurance or did not elect Optional insurance when you were first hired, or you simply want different coverage than you have now, you have three opportunities to make changes: during an Open Season, by providing medical information, or by experiencing a life event.

Open Season

An Open Season is relatively rare. Your local personnel office will give you more details about any upcoming Open Seasons whenever they're scheduled. The 1999 and 2004 Open Seasons are the most recent.

Providing Medical Information

As long as at least one year has passed since the effective date of your last waiver of life insurance coverage, you may provide satisfactory medical information at your own expense using the Request for Life Insurance (SF 2822). The SF 2822 is available only on the FEGLI website. You can download the form at www.opm.gov/insure/life. You and your local personnel office must complete part of the form. Then you take the form to your physician or other medical professional. He or she will examine you, complete the rest of the form, and send the form to the Office of Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (OFEGLI). If OFEGLI approves your request, you will automatically get Basic insurance (unless, of course, you already have Basic). You will have 31 days from the approval date to elect Option A and/or elect Option B or increase your Option B multiples (up to a total of 5) by completing a Life Insurance Election (SF 2817) and submitting it to your local personnel office.

You cannot elect Option C or increase your Option C multiples by providing medical information-you can get Option C based on a life event, as described on page 12.

However, even if you previously elected Option C- Family and are changing other Optional coverage, you must sign for Option C again in order to keep it. If you do not sign for it, you have waived/cancelled it. For example, let's assume you already have Basic and three multiples of Option C and you want Option A. You complete the SF 2822 and provide medical information, and OFEGLI approves your request. Then you complete the SF 2817. You must sign for Basic, Option A, and ALSO three multiples of Option C even though you're not newly electing Option C. If you don't sign for your current Option C coverage again, you have waived/cancelled it.

Your Basic insurance coverage will be effective on the first day you are in a pay and duty status, on or after the date OFEGLI approves your request. Your Option A and/or Option B coverage will be effective on the first day you are in a pay and duty status, on or after the date OFEGLI approves your request and your local personnel office receives your Life Insurance Election (SF 2817) electing such coverage. You must be in a pay and duty status within 31 days after OFEGLI approves your request for the coverage to be effective; otherwise, OFEGLI's approval is void, and you will have to start over.

Life Event

If you already have Basic, you may elect Option B and/or Option C, or increase your multiples of Option B and/or Option C, within 60 days of experiencing a qualifying life event. A qualifying life event means marriage, divorce, the death of your spouse, or the birth or adoption of a child. You must complete a Life Insurance Election (SF 2817) and submit it to your local personnel office. The charts below show the types and amounts of coverage you can elect based on life events. You cannot elect Basic or Option A based on a life event.

If you waived your Basic coverage and subsequently experience a qualifying life event less than a year after the waiver took effect, you must still wait a year from the effective date of your previous waiver before you can provide satisfactory medical information to elect Basic insurance. If approved, you automatically are enrolled in Basic, and you have 31 days to elect Option B and /or Option C.

* Acquiring a foster child does not count as a life event. See page 9 of this Booklet for more information about eligible children.

* You must have or elect Basic to elect Optional.

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