Benefits & Policies

Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance

Filing a Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) Claim

When a Federal employee has died or been dismembered, or when an eligible member of an employee's family has died, please contact the employee's Federal agency to learn whether the employee had coverage under the FEGLI Program. The agency maintains the FEGLI records of its employees.

If a Federal retiree or eligible family member has died, contact OPM at 1-888-767-6738. OPM will provide the appropriate claim forms and information about any FEGLI coverage.

The FEGLI Program has had experience with other emergency situations. If and when necessary, the FEGLI Program will apply expedited procedures used successfully in the past.

Please call the Office of Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (OFEGLI) at 1-800-633-4542 to file a FEGLI claim. When making the call, mention the emergency situation. Specially designated personnel will take your claim over the phone. OFEGLI will follow special procedures in an emergency and will expedite all life insurance claims related to the emergency and pay them as soon as possible. If you prefer, you may submit a paper claim form, which can be found on the Healthcare & Insurance site or obtained from any Federal agency. If submitting a paper claim, please mail it to the address shown on the form as soon as possible. Do not wait for a death certificate or agency certification.

FEGLI Coverage

Unless they waive coverage, most Federal employees have Basic Life Insurance under the Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance Program. Basic Life Insurance is equal to the actual rate of annual basic pay (rounded to the next $1,000) plus $2,000, or $10,000, whichever is greater. In addition, there is an Extra Benefit for employees under age 45: double life insurance benefits until age 36, decreasing at 10 percent per year until age 45, at which time the extra coverage will end.

Some employees also may have FEGLI optional insurance coverage. Optional coverage for employees may be $10,000 (Option A - Standard, which doubles in case of accidental death), and/or one to five multiples of pay (Option B - Additional). Option C - Family, insures an employee's eligible family members from one to five multiples of coverage, with each multiple equal to $5,000 upon the death of a spouse and $2,500 upon the death of an eligible child.

Federal retirees may have FEGLI coverage if they met the requirements to carry FEGLI into retirement. The OPM Retirement Office will be able to verify whether a retiree is enrolled in the FEGLI Program.

Life insurance benefits are paid under a statutory order of precedence, as follows:

• First, to the designated beneficiary;
• Second, if none designated, to the surviving spouse;
• Third, if none of the above, to the child or children and descendants of deceased children, by representation;
• Fourth, if none of the above, to any surviving parents;
• Fifth, if none of the above, to the duly appointed executor or administrator of the estate;
• Sixth, if none of the above, to the next of kin as determined by the laws of the state where retiree lived.

There are exceptions to this order if the insurance coverage has been assigned to someone or if there is an eligible court order specifying a different order.

FEGLI Accidental Death and Dismemberment Benefits (Employees Only)

Basic Life Insurance also includes Accidental Death and Dismemberment coverage for employees (not for retirees). Accidental death benefits under Basic are equal to the amount of Basic Insurance, without the Extra Benefit. Accidental death benefits are also available with Option A coverage, providing an additional $10,000 of coverage. Accidental death benefits under Basic and Option A are paid in addition to any other payable FEGLI coverage.

If you are an employee enrolled in the FEGLI program and you lose a limb or your eyesight (in one or both eyes), you may be eligible for Accidental Dismemberment benefits. These benefits are available under Basic Insurance and Option A, for Federal employees only.

Life insurance benefits under the FEGLI program would be paid in addition to any workers' compensation, Social Security, Civil Service Retirement System or Federal Employees Retirement System survivor benefit, or savings plan payment. Visit the Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance Program homepage for more information about life insurance.

Please contact FEGLI at fegli@opm.gov, your employing agency, or OPM at 1-888-767-6738 if you have questions.