Title 50War and National DefenseRelease 119-73

§3977 Premiums and interest guaranteed by United States

Title 50 › Chapter CHAPTER 50— - SERVICEMEMBERS CIVIL RELIEF › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER IV— - LIFE INSURANCE › § 3977

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The United States guarantees it will pay premiums and the interest at the rate set in section 3976 for policies covered by this program. If the guaranteed amount isn’t paid to the insurer before the insurance protection ends, the insurer must treat that unpaid amount as a loan against the policy. If the policy’s cash surrender value is less than what’s due when protection ends, the policy ends and the United States pays the insurer the difference. Any payment the United States makes becomes a debt the insured owes to the United States. The government can collect that debt by subtracting it from money it owes the insured or by other legal ways, and the debt cannot be wiped out in bankruptcy. Repayments go back into the fund used to pay these claims.

Full Legal Text

Title 50, §3977

War and National Defense — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)Payment of premiums, and interest on premiums at the rate specified in section 3976 of this title, which become due on a policy under the protection of this subchapter is guaranteed by the United States. If the amount guaranteed is not paid to the insurer before the period of insurance protection under this subchapter expires, the amount due shall be treated by the insurer as a policy loan on the policy.
(2)If, at the expiration of insurance protection under this subchapter, the cash surrender value of a policy is less than the amount due to pay premiums and interest on premiums on the policy, the policy shall terminate. Upon such termination, the United States shall pay the insurer the difference between the amount due and the cash surrender value.
(b)(1)The amount paid by the United States to an insurer under this subchapter shall be a debt payable to the United States by the insured on whose policy payment was made.
(2)Such amount may be collected by the United States, either as an offset from any amount due the insured by the United States or as otherwise authorized by law.
(3)Such debt payable to the United States is not dischargeable in bankruptcy proceedings.
(c)Any amounts received by the United States as repayment of debts incurred by an insured under this subchapter shall be credited to the appropriation for the payment of claims under this subchapter.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Section was formerly classified to section 547 of the former Appendix to this title prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.

Prior Provisions

A prior section 407 of act Oct. 17, 1940, ch. 888, art. IV, 54 Stat. 1185; Oct. 6, 1942, ch. 581, § 13, 56 Stat. 775; Pub. L. 85–857, § 14(76), Sept. 2, 1958, 72 Stat. 1272; Pub. L. 102–12, § 9(17), Mar. 18, 1991, 105 Stat. 40, related to

Regulations

and finality of determinations, prior to the general amendment of this Act by Pub. L. 108–189. See section 3978 and 3979 of this title.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section applicable to any case not final before Dec. 19, 2003, see section 3 of Pub. L. 108–189, set out as a note under section 3901 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

50 U.S.C. § 3977

Title 50War and National Defense

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73