FORT SILL, Okla. (Aug. 25, 2016) -- Severe weather that impacted operations on Fort Sill earlier this year, may have also caused damage to the personal property of many civilians and Soldiers in the Lawton-Fort Sill area.
Due to the higher risks in Southwest Oklahoma, Soldiers should give extra consideration to updating their insurance coverage to minimize potential losses and be proactive in filing appropriate claims. They should also be prepared for higher car and home insurance rates in Oklahoma.
Southwest Oklahoma, in particular, experiences high winds and severe thunderstorms on a regular basis, in addition to the entire state being located in what is widely known as "tornado alley," due to the high number of tornadoes. Severe hail (over 0.75 inches) is also roughly four times more likely to occur in this high-risk region of the Great Plains, concentrated in Oklahoma.
Damage to homes, vehicles and other personal property resulting from wind, hail, flash-floods, tornadoes and other severe weather can be covered by insurance.
However, insurance must be secured before the storm, carefully examined to ensure what it covers (or excludes), and kept up to date. For instance, customers usually must seek a separate policy for flood damage.
Most people know the insurance company through the agent who sells a policy to them, but few know how best to deal with the separate claims agents and private or independent adjusters who work for the insurance company's interests during a claim. Claimants may need to seek assistance from attorneys and/or public adjusters who work for their client's interests.
Insurance is the primary means through which Soldiers and Department of Defense civilian employees may seek recovery for property damage due to storms.
However, some storm damage to personal property or vehicles at on-post quarters, the place of duty or being used in the course of one's duties may be reimbursable through the Fort Sill Claims Office under the Personnel Claims Act. The amount of compensation for the damage would be the amount not covered by any private insurance policy, usually no more than the policy deductible.
All such claims are subject to a determination that the storm damage was not only tied to duty status, but also an unusual occurrence for the area as defined by Army Regulation (AR) 27-20.
Claims must be well documented as prior existing damage or normal severe weather for Oklahoma will not typically qualify.
The Fort Sill Claims office is co-located with the Fort Sill Legal Assistance office in the Welcome Center, Bldg. 4700 Mow-Way Road, fourth floor.
For further information, you may consult AR 27-20 and Department of the Army Pamphlet 27-162. You may also access more information, to include papers on claims-related questions and procedures for filing claims, on the Fort Sill public website.
To access the claims office go to sill-www.army.mil, select the Garrison tab then Office of the Staff Judge Advocate and finally under the Division Directory heading select Claims Office.
To make an appointment with claims personnel, call client services at 580-442-2317.
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