Military, civil service to receive added benefit with FRV

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  • By 82nd Logisitics Readiness Squadron Traffic Management Flight
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Military members and Department of Defense civilians will be eligible for Full Replacement Value protection on personal property shipments effective this fall.

According to the U.S. Army's Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command based at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., FRV coverage for international shipments of personal property will begin Oct. 1, followed by a begin date of Nov. 1 for domestic shipments. Non-temporary storage, local moves and director procurement method shipment coverage will begin March 1.

The transportation service provider, or carrier, is liable for the greater of $5,000 per shipment or $4 multiplied by the net weight of the shipment in pounds, up to $50,000.

It is up to the customer to identify damaged or lost property, according to the SDDC's press release. Damaged or missing property should be annotated on a DD Form 1840 and should be filled out at the time of delivery, or, if after a delivery, on a DD Form 1840R.

Customers have 75 days from the date of delivery to submit the form to the carrier. Any damaged items are subject to inspection by the carrier.

According to the Air Force Claims Service Center's Web site, military or civilian Airmen should follow these steps if personal property is damaged or lost during a move:

File your claim directly with the carrier. If an item is lost or destroyed, the carrier should pay to replace it with a like item, usually a new item, but it could be used. The carrier will still require the customer to prove its value and quality and will likely want the customer to provide evidence of what it will cost to replace it.

If the item is damaged, the carrier can request you get estimates for repair, get their own estimates or repair it themselves.

Customers still have to file the pink forms to notify the carrier of any damage within 70 days.

To receive FRV, customers will only have nine months instead of two years under current guidance to file claims to get FRV. Customers can still take up to two years to file a claim, but they won't receive FRV.

If a customer agrees with the way a carrier handles an item, they can sign a legal release for those items and receive money for that item.

For every item on which a customer doesn't agree with a carrier's offer, they can file a claim with the Air Force Claims Service Center. The center will pay the customer the appropriate repair cost or depreciated value amount and then attempt to collect the FRV from the carrier. If the center collects more money from the carrier than the customer was paid, the customer could receive the extra amount.

For more information, call the Air Force Claims Service Center at DSN 986-8044 or toll free at (877) 754-1212.

(Information courtesy of the Air Force Claims Service Center and the U.S. Army's Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command)