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Bill would clarify state statute for National Guard state-sponsored life insurance
Summary
Senate Bill 803 would align Oregon statute with federal rules to clarify availability and payroll-deduction mechanics for the state-sponsored life insurance program for National Guard members, including a $1,000 automatic policy and rapid partial payout provisions.
Senate Bill 803, discussed Thursday by the House Committee on Emergency Management, General Government, and Veterans, would update Oregon law to clarify the availability and administration of the state-sponsored life insurance program for National Guard members.
Russell Gibson, government legislative affairs director for the Oregon Military Department, told the committee the bill aligns state statute with federal rules for payroll-deduction insurance programs. He said the program in question—state sponsored life insurance, or SSLI—is similar to the federal Service Members’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI) but has distinctions: “First, all national guard members are provided a simple $1,000 policy at no cost. Second, up to $26,000 of the death benefit is paid within 24 to 72 hours of notification,” Gibson said.
Gibson added that some benefits differ from SGLI: certain SSLI policy amounts can be purchased without regard to preexisting medical conditions (he cited a $10,000 policy for service members and a $5,000 policy for dependents). The bill would expressly permit the adjutant general to make the state-sponsored program available and allow representatives of the program to provide information at National Guard training events. Legislative staff told the committee the bill carries no fiscal or revenue impact and passed the Senate unanimously.
Committee members asked whether members could carry both SSLI and SGLI; Gibson confirmed they could, and discussed cost and conversion differences between the programs.
