Veterans’ Mortgage Life Insurance (VMLI)

Veterans’ Mortgage Life Insurance (VMLI) offers mortgage protection insurance to the families of Veterans with severe service-connected disabilities who’ve adapted a home to fit their needs. Find out if you qualify—and how to apply and manage your coverage.

Am I eligible for Veterans’ Mortgage Life Insurance?

You may be eligible for VMLI if you meet all of these requirements.

All of these must be true:

• You have a severe disability that we’ve concluded was caused—or made worse—by your service, and
• You received a Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) grant to buy, build, or make changes (like installing ramps or widening doorways) to a home so you can live more independently, and
• You have the title of the home, and
• You have a mortgage on the home, and
• You’re under 70 years old

Who’s covered?

• Service members
• Veterans

What kind of life insurance benefits can I get with VMLI?

Up to $200,000 in mortgage life insurance—paid directly to the bank or other lender that holds your mortgage.

Important details about VMLI:

• The money will be paid directly to the bank or other lender that holds your mortgage—not to a life insurance beneficiary (a person chosen to receive the money from a policy when the insured dies).
• The amount of coverage will equal the amount you still owe on your mortgage, but won’t be more than $200,000.
• VMLI is a decreasing-term insurance. This means your coverage amount goes down as your mortgage balance goes down. If you pay off your mortgage, your VMLI coverage will end.
• VMLI has no loan or cash value—and it doesn’t pay dividends (cash payments made to policy holders when the company makes a profit).

How do I get these benefits?

First, you’ll need to apply for an SAH grant. If you get the SAH grant, your loan guaranty agent will tell you if you qualify for VMLI. If you already have an SAH grant, ask your agent about VMLI.

Your agent will help you fill out a Veterans’ Mortgage Life Insurance Statement (VA Form 29-8636).
Get VA Form 29-8636 to download

Note: Remember, you must apply for VMLI before your 70th birthday.

How much will I pay for these benefits?

Your VMLI premium will be based on all of these factors:

• Your age, and
• The current balance of your mortgage loan, and
• How many more mortgage payments you need to make to pay off your mortgage, and
• The amount of VMLI coverage you need

Use our VMLI Premium Calculator to figure out what your premium may be.
Go to the VMLI Premium Calculator

What happens if I move, refinance, or make other changes to my mortgage?

The home covered by VMLI must be your primary residence (the home where you live most of the time).

To keep your VMLI coverage, you’ll need to let us know if you make any of these changes:

• Move, or
• Transfer your mortgage from one lender to another, or
• Liquidate your mortgage (such as giving up the home through foreclosure or bankruptcy liquidation because you can’t pay the mortgage), or
• Refinance your home (take out a new mortgage loan under different terms), or
• Sell your property

Send notice of any changes to:

Department of Veterans Affairs
Regional Office and Insurance Center
PO Box 7208 (VMLI)
Philadelphia, PA 19101

What to know if you refinance your home

If you refinance your home after getting VMLI, your VMLI premium may increase if any of these are true for you:

• You’re older, or
• You have a higher mortgage loan, or
• You have a longer mortgage loan term than you did before you refinanced your home, or
• You have more VMLI coverage

Before you refinance, use our VMLI Premium Calculator to check what your new premium will be.