Declined or rated: what veterans should do next

Getting turned down for life insurance, or approved at a price far above the quote, feels final. It usually is not. Companies weigh the same facts differently, records contain errors more often than people expect, and federal and state law give you specific rights that most applicants never use. This page is the sequence to work through.

First, know which one happened

Declined. No offer was made.

Rated. An offer was made, above standard price. The insurer will cover you. The question is the cost.

Postponed. Not now, come back later. Common after a recent diagnosis, surgery, or hospitalization. Usually the letter states how long.

Here is something most people do not know. Under federal guidance, being rated up counts as an adverse action, not just an outright decline. So do a postponement and a change in terms. That matters because adverse actions come with rights attached, and if you assumed those rights only apply to a flat no, you have been leaving them on the table.

Step 1: Get the reasons in writing

Request the specific reasons for the decision in writing. Do not settle for a general category.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, when a decision is based even partly on information from a consumer reporting agency, the notice you receive must include:

• The name, address, and phone number of the agency that supplied the report

• A statement that the agency did not make the decision and cannot explain it

• Notice of your right to dispute the accuracy or completeness of the information

• Notice of your right to a free copy of the report within 60 days if you ask

That requirement applies even when the report played only a small part in the decision.

Many states go further, having adopted a model act that requires the insurer to give you the specific reasons in writing, identify the specific items of information supporting those reasons, and name the sources that provided them. Under that model, the insurer generally must respond to a written request within 30 business days, and you have the right to request a correction. If they refuse to correct it, you can file your own statement of what you believe is accurate, and the insurer must keep it with the record and include it in later disclosures.

Ask for all of it. In writing.

Step 2: Pull the records they used

Now go get the underlying files yourself. They are free, and each is a consumer reporting agency subject to the same law.

Your MIB file

MIB holds coded notes from individually underwritten life, health, disability, or long-term care applications you made in the last 7 years. Not a full medical record, just coded flags. Request it at mib.com or by phone at 866-692-6901. You get one free copy a year, plus an additional free copy if you received an adverse decision citing it. They must provide it within 15 days.

If you have only ever had SGLI, you may not have an MIB file at all.

Your prescription history

Insurers pull a report of what you have filled at a pharmacy. Request yours at rxhistories.com or by phone at 877-211-4816. Free, same 15-day rule.

Your driving record

Order it from your state motor vehicle department.

Your VA medical records

Download them at va.gov/health-care/get-medical-records/.

Then read all of it carefully. Look for:

• Conditions listed that you do not have

• Medications shown as current that you stopped taking

• Wrong dates, especially diagnosis dates

• Someone else's information in your file

• A note that reads worse than the situation actually was

Errors are more common than people assume, and a single wrong entry can drive an entire decision.

Step 3: Correct what is wrong

If you find an error, dispute it with the agency that holds the record, and separately ask the insurer to correct its own file. Get the correction in writing, then confirm it has been propagated. A correction that lives in one system and not the other has not solved your problem.

One useful detail: MIB's own rules say a carrier cannot base an underwriting decision on the MIB record alone without further investigation. If a decline appears to rest solely on an MIB code, that is worth raising directly.

Step 4: Ask for reconsideration

If the records are accurate but the picture is stale or incomplete, ask the insurer to look again. What actually supports a reconsideration:

• A statement from your treating doctor describing your current status, your treatment, and your stability. This is the strongest single document you can supply.

• New lab results showing a corrected or improved number, if a reading drove the decision.

• Evidence of stability over time. Same medication for two or more years, consistent care, no acute events, steady employment.

• Documentation of a completed treatment or a resolved condition.

Reconsideration is a request, not an appeal in the legal sense. There is no formal process to invoke. What moves it is new evidence, not a better argument.

Step 5: Try elsewhere, but fix the cause first

Different companies weigh the same conditions very differently. A rating from one is not the market's verdict. Applying elsewhere is reasonable.

But do not shotgun applications. Every application creates an MIB entry that the next company will see. Applying repeatedly without addressing the reason for the first decision produces a record of declines, and that record makes the next application harder, not easier.

Fix the cause. Then apply once, deliberately, to a company whose guidelines fit your situation.

On timing, there is no industry-mandated waiting period. If your letter states a postponement period, that governs. Otherwise the right time to reapply is when the underlying facts have actually changed. One 2026 consumer guide suggests roughly 3 to 6 months for minor health issues and 12 to 24 months for major health changes as a rule of thumb, but the real test is whether anything is different.

Step 6: Take the coverage you can get now

While you work the problem, do not sit uninsured.

If you separated within the last 240 days, this is the most important paragraph on this page. Veterans' Group Life Insurance requires no health questions at all inside that window. A decline from a private insurer is completely irrelevant to it. If that window is still open and you have been declined, use it. Details in SGLI timeline and deadlines and VGLI vs term life.

If you were declined outright and you have any service-connected disability rating, including zero percent, Veterans Affairs Life Insurance may be open to you without health questions. Coverage is capped at a modest amount and there is a waiting period before the full benefit applies, so read the terms in coverage with a VA disability rating and VALife eligibility.

If you were rated rather than declined, this is not your first move. A rating means you are insurable and an offer exists, and a term policy will almost always buy your family far more coverage per dollar than the capped VA program will. Work the reconsideration above first.

If you have coverage through work, confirm the amount and keep it while you sort this out.

Partial coverage now beats perfect coverage later. Get something in force, then keep working the problem.

Frequently asked questions

Is a table rating the same as being declined?

No. A rating is an offer at a higher price. You are insurable. A decline means no offer was made. Both count as adverse actions with rights attached.

Can I find out exactly why I was declined?

Yes. Request the specific reasons in writing. Federal law requires the notice to identify the reporting agency and your dispute rights, and many states require the insurer to give specific reasons and name its sources.

How do I get my MIB file?

Request it at mib.com or call 866-692-6901. It is free once a year, and free again after an adverse decision that cited it. They must respond within 15 days.

How long should I wait before reapplying?

There is no industry-mandated period. If your letter names a postponement period, follow it. Otherwise reapply when the underlying facts have genuinely changed, not just when time has passed.

Should I apply to several companies at once?

No. Each application creates a record the next company can see. Address the reason for the decline first, then apply once to a company whose guidelines fit your situation.

What if I think the decision was unfair?

State insurance regulators take complaints. Model rules adopted across states say an insurer may not refuse or rate solely because of a physical or mental impairment unless the decision rests on sound actuarial principles or actual experience.

Your next step

Take the quiz, Which Coverage Fits You? It accounts for health history and points you to the options actually open to you, including the VA programs. Or get the free guide, "Leaving the Service: Your Life Insurance Decision Guide".

Sources: FTC, Consumer Reports: What Insurers Need to Know (ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/consumer-reports-what-insurers-need-know); MIB Group, Request Your MIB Consumer File (mib.com/request_your_record.html); CFPB, consumer reporting company list (consumerfinance.gov); NAIC, Insurance Information and Privacy Protection Model Act, Model 670 (content.naic.org); MoneyGeek, What to Do if You Are Denied Life Insurance (moneygeek.com), August 12, 2026; VA, Veterans' Group Life Insurance (va.gov/life-insurance/options-eligibility/vgli/). Accessed August 15, 2026.