Photos, documentation help in disaster recovery

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Julie Weckerlein
  • Air Force News Service
WASHINGTON (AFPN) --  Taking photos of knick-knacks and furniture may not seem like a fun way to spend a weekend, but it could save Airmen and families thousands of dollars in the event of a major disaster, said an Air Force Legal Operations Agency official here.

Whether loss is from fire, theft or natural disaster, there are ways to protect Airmen and families from financial devastation, said Master Sgt. Layne Berryhill, who heads plans and policy for the claims division of AFLOA here.

"It may sound like too much work, but when it comes to protecting yourself or your family, is there such a thing as too much work?" he asked.

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, hundreds of Airmen from Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., and along the Gulf Coast, had to not only sift through their wrecked homes and belongings, but also file claims with insurance agencies and the Air Force. It was a situation that yielded lessons for both Airmen and the Air Force.

"One of the biggest lessons (the Air Force) learned was to be prepared for large-scale damage resulting in numerous claims," Sergeant Berryhill said. "To that end, the Air Force developed a Flyaway Claims Team that will respond to areas suffering loss and damage resulting from disasters."

The team is made up of Air Force paralegals who receive special training to handle claims resulting from events like hurricanes or earthquakes.

On a personal level, many Katrina-affected Airmen learned the hard way that they weren't as prepared to file claims for their property as they could have been.

"Historically, we have found that many of our Airmen are under-insured for their property, which prevents sufficient recovery to replace their property," Sergeant Berryhill said. "This can create quite a hardship on our Airmen when they suffer a catastrophic loss."

Preventing such a struggle involves just a little planning, a camera, documentation and time, he said.

"If an Airman conducted an annual or biannual inventory, that would greatly assist them in the unfortunate event they need to file a claim."

The following are important things to keep in mind when conducting personal inventory:

Know your property's worth - room by room.

"Many people do not understand the value of what they own," Sergeant Berryhill said. "Airmen need to have sufficient coverage for the value of their personal property if they hope to restore the items lost or destroyed."

For example, say an Airman purchased about $2,000 worth of local goods while stationed overseas 15 years ago. Although he spent only $2,000, a current appraisal of the items could likely estimate the current value to be over $6,000. Therefore, the Airman would need to increase their coverage for the goods based on current value.

"Airmen might be surprised at just what that cute little figurine they bought in the market place in Germany is worth here in the states," said Sergeant Berryhill. "That's why Airmen should re-examine the value of what they own -- room by room, right down to the knick-knacks they have on their mantle or curio cabinets."

Take photos from every angle to show details and document.

"Photographs and videos should include clear markings of labels, signatures or other markings indicative of the item's value, such as signed and numbered artist prints, Polish pottery, Turkish carpets, year-end series baseball cards, etc.," Sergeant Berryhill said.

The images captured are important to establish ownership of property, to include furniture and vehicles. Date and location of purchase, along with price and a written description should also be documented.

"All this information should be gathered and sent (either through mail or e-mail) to one or more relatives for safe-keeping," Sergeant Berryhill said. "As the property value increases, amendments can be sent, too."

Know what to expect from private insurers and the Air Force.

All Airmen should have homeowners or renter's insurance from a private insurance agency, and not rely solely on the Air Force for compensation.

"People make premium payments to their (private) insurers to guarantee coverage for loss which is more often full replacement for lost or destroyed items," Sergeant Berryhill said. "Airmen who are under-insured by their agency certainly have the right to file the remainder of their loss with the Air Force provided the loss occurred in an authorized place, such as base housing."

However, he emphasized that Airmen should be privately insured for the current market value of their property.

"There is a huge difference between private insurance agencies and Air Force processes," he said. "Under most insurance agency policies, a person will get the full replacement of their property. With the Air Force, that is very, very rare."

The Air Force has the authority to compensate Airmen for loss based on the law, but the statute only permits the fair market value for the items, which in simple terms means the value of the item less depreciation based on the age.

"When you file a claim with the Air Force, you can pretty much count on getting less than the value of the item claimed, which means the difference is out of pocket to replace," Sergeant Berryhill said.

Though the process of documenting property can seem daunting, the benefits of doing so could mean the difference of thousands of dollars in recovery money for Airmen and families.

"The effort our Airmen give to document the ownership and value of property would only be measured by the amount they recover to replace their property in the event of a disaster," Sergeant Berryhill said.