Changes made to traumatic injury program expand benefits Published Jan. 21, 2009 By 2nd Lt. Lynn Aird 71st Flying Training Wing Public Affairs VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- The recent expansion to the Traumatic Servicemember's Group Life Insurance's Traumatic Injury Program has increased coverage for many servicemembers. The changes to the program increased the number of traumatic injuries covered by TSGLI, as well as liberalizing the criteria for several other injuries. These changes are retroactive to Dec. 1, 2005, provided that the member suffered a qualifying loss as a direct result of injuries incurred during Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom from Oct. 7, 2001 to Nov. 30, 2005. TSGLI payments are designed to help traumatically-injured service members and their families with the financial burden of recovering from a severe injury. TSGLI payments range from $25,000 to $100,000 based on the qualifying loss suffered. Coverage is available to service members - active duty, Reserve, National Guard, funeral honors duty and one-day muster duty - insured under SGLI, but is not available for spouses or children. The premium for TSGLI is a flat rate of $1 per month for most service members. Members who carry the maximum SGLI coverage of $400,000 will pay $29 per month for both SGLI and TSGLI. A "Year-One Review" of the Traumatic Injury program, conducted by the Office of Veterans' Affairs and Services, brought about these changes. The review assessed whether or not the program was serving its intended purpose, whether new injuries or losses should be added and if improvements could be made in how the program is administered. The schedule of losses listed under the Traumatic Injury program outlines 20 injuries covered under TSGLI and the amount payable for each injury. New additions to the loss schedule include uniplegia, limb salvage and facial reconstruction. Meanwhile several other losses on the schedule, such as burns or loss of sight, have received updates in criteria or in the amount payable. The injuries on the schedule of losses are now divided into two parts. Those injuries listed on Part I of the schedule may be combined with other Part I injuries as a single loss, increasing the amount payable for an incident. Injuries listed on Part II, however, cannot be combined as a single loss with injuries on Part I - the member will receive the highest paying amount out of the injuries listed. Each base's casualty assistance representative is the primary point of contact for assisting potentially eligible SGLI members with certification paperwork. The CAR must verify that the member has SGLI coverage in effect, particularly at the time the injury took place, and that benefit awareness counseling was given to the member. Once verification is complete the member must complete Part A of the new Application for TSGLI benefits form and have a medical professional complete Part B. The completed form is then sent to the Air Force Personnel Center Casualty Services Branch, where it is certified and forwarded to the office of SGLI for final claim processing. The new claim form can be found at http://www.insurance.va.gov/sgliSite/TSGLI/ExpandedBenefits.htm. Airmen can contact the Casualty Services Branch at afpc.casualty@randolph.af.mil or call 800-433-0048.