No FEGLI open season? How to add coverage anyway
Every fall, Federal Benefits Open Season lets you change your health, dental, vision and flexible spending choices. Life insurance is not on that list. According to OPM, the Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) Program does not have an annual open season; FEGLI open seasons are infrequent, and the most recent one ran in September 2016.
So if you want more FEGLI coverage, waiting for November will not help. Here is what you can do instead.
What Federal Benefits Open Season covers
Open Season, November 9 to December 14, 2026, covers FEHB or PSHB health plans, FEDVIP dental and vision, and FSAFEDS flexible spending accounts. It does not reopen FEGLI, and it does not reopen the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program. See our Open Season 2026 checklist.
Three ways to add FEGLI outside an open season
1. Your first 60 days as a new employee
Most new employees are enrolled in FEGLI Basic automatically. You can add Option A, Option B and Option C within 60 days of becoming eligible, with no health questions. See the new federal employee life insurance checklist.
2. A qualifying life event
According to OPM, marriage, divorce, the death of a spouse or acquiring an eligible child lets you elect Basic, Option A, up to five multiples of Option B and up to five multiples of Option C. File form SF 2817 with your human resources office within 60 days of the event. See adding FEGLI after a marriage or a new baby.
3. Proof of good health
At any other time, you can apply with form SF 2822, Request for Insurance, which requires a physical exam at your own expense. The insurer decides whether to approve it. Keep in mind:
- At least one year must have passed since you last waived the coverage you are applying for.
- If you are approved, Basic starts automatically, and you can then elect Option A and Option B within 60 days.
- Option C cannot be added this way. For family coverage you need a qualifying life event.
What you can do at any time
You can cancel or reduce FEGLI coverage at any time with form SF 2817. Before you do, remember that adding it back later means a qualifying life event or a physical exam, and that coverage you cancel after you retire cannot be restarted. See keeping FEGLI after you retire.
If FEGLI does not fit your needs
FEGLI is one option among several. Option B and Option C premiums rise every five years with your age (see FEGLI premiums at each age), while many private term policies keep the same premium for 10 to 30 years. Private life insurance is separate from FEGLI; it is not a government program and its terms vary by insurer, state and underwriting. Many federal employees keep FEGLI and add a private policy, or compare the two before a big life change.
Sources
- OPM Guide Me: When is the next FEGLI Open Season?, checked October 7, 2026
- OPM FAQ: Do I have to wait for a life insurance Open Season to enroll in FEGLI?, checked October 7, 2026
- OPM, Request for Insurance (SF 2822), checked October 7, 2026
- OPM, September 2016 FEGLI Open Season questions and answers, checked October 7, 2026