European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 19, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday june 19, 19b6 the stars and stripes Page 9 move claims set record in by 85 Dod a d $82 million compensation to personnel for lost damaged goods stories by Bob Hove staff writer defense department personnel collected a record 182.7 million in fiscal 1985 to cover personal property losses which occurred during moves. Government payments were made to Settle i s2.852daims for damage and loss of household goods big gag and priv Tell owned vehicles. Last year s compensation was 13 percent above thej73 million paid during 1984 on 132.000 claims. Claimants received 164 million in 1983 and 162 Mil lion in 1932. The military traffic management come recorded world total of 925,448 personal property shipments last year including 800,448 for household goods and baggage. The remaining 125,000 were vehicles. House hold goods shipments to and from overseas areas total de 218,6�6 baggage shipments totalled 229,995. More than 16 percent of All 1985 shipments resulted in claims. Transportation and claims officials cite a variety of reasons for the rising number and higher Dollar value of claims inflation. Repair costs of damaged lost and Sto Len items keep increasing. 0 larger and More valuable Thip mems. The trend is to ship More personal goods than in the past Many officials advise insurance for some shipments in determining whether to insure a household shipment claims officials suggest comparing the value of the goods to be shipped with the Poten tial Tor recovery from the government. Under current regulation the government will pay up to 125,000 per shipment for damage or loss of personal property. An additional payment of up to $17,500 is possible in the event of total destruction of privately owned Auto. Vehicle damage including vandalism is limited to a payment of j 1,000. Household shipments consisting of everyday items such As furniture and appliances that show Normal Wear and tear probably Don t need Pri vate  additional Protection May be desired for items such As a grand piano hand Woven Orien Tal carpets Coin collections and High value Cam Era or stereo equipment because the government puts a Cap on recovery for individual items and  maximum damage payment for a piano is $3 000 the maximum for any other musical instrument is 51,000. Information on the Maxi mum payments can be found in the Booklet it s your move which is available at military transportation  maximum for single painting is j500, for an Art collection $1,300.  re covery on a Grandfather clock a $1,000 the maximum on Intoc collection is j2,500. Up to$2 500 is allowed for damage to stereo equip ment computers and accessories or a Crystal col Lection. Recovery on photo gear is limited to depreciation often limits what the govern ment will nay even on Antiques that May have increased m value since they were purchased. Most photo and stereo equipment depreciated 1 the Rale of 5 percent a year up to a maximum tvs Rulison office should have a list of firms offering insurance. Most mowing fir Sabo lilt private insurers. When Donase occurs to a privately insured shipment recovery must be made from the m Virance company before filing � claim . Damage payments received from the commercial insurer then must be of ducted from Ibe government aim. Service members return from overseas Tours with Hea vier and More expensive shipments than when they arrived. Items such As stereo and video equipment Crystal and foreign furniture increase the weight and value of shipments. Aware was of la potential for recovery. More individuals seem inclined to make claims Han in the past particularly Small claims where damage hat been Light. Theft. In Europe and the United Stales transportation officials have been cracking Down on pilferage hut the High value of shipments males them templing targets. Packing and handling. Overseas shipments Are most vulnerable to poor packing and rough handling. Transportation inspectors and household delivery Crews blame american packing for much of the dam age they Sec on shipments Ami ving in Europe from the United states for 13 years i be been observing the poor Standard of packing out of the United slates said Rudy Ott a crewman for the Duerling shipping firm in Frankfurt. Pointing to a single Sheet of paper on a just arrive Chest of drawers he said German packers completely surround furniture with reinforced cardboard. Much of the damage on shipments from America could be avoided with belter packing Ott said. Government efforts to reduce damage include sus damage claim payments millions of dollars 83 73 62 64 90 so 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 1982 1983 1984 1985 source a Torr traffic a fug mail come pension of derelict carriers and agents. But such action requires detection. Transportation officials said that in Europe the compactness of military communities permits a higher percentage of Quality control inspections than in the United states where inspectors must cover much larger areas. As a result it s easier for . Transporters to gel away with shoddy packing and rough handling. Regulations allow 70 Days for claimants to file reports your furniture arrives in pieces. Your favorite dishes arc shattered. It was a rough move. What do you do under policy in effect since dec. I All damage and loss of household goods should be reported to the near est military claims office within 70 Days of a ship ment s arrival. The government needs the report within 70 Days to expedite its claim against the transporter. If a report is late and As a consequence the government fails to collect the claim May be reduced by the amount the government could hav e recovered. Typically the amount recovered by the government from the Industry is considerably less than the amount paid in claims. For this reason individuals who fail to meet the 70-Day reporting requirement usually qualify for some recovery prior to dec. I claimants had 45 Days to report that damage occurred but there was no requirement to itemize damage. The new 70-Day Nile requires specific information on All items that will be claimed. But individuals still have up to two years to file claims. Since the 70-Day reporting requirement went into effect an increasing number of damage reports have been filed at european claims offices. Since dec. I we be experienced a 20 percent in crease in the number of claims and a 25 percent in crease in the Dollar amount of claims said maj. Greg Parsons chief of the army s general claims Branch in Mannheim Germany. A similar trend was reported by capt. Joseph Hein Mann chief of claims at the Safe Legal department. Individuals reporting damage seem to be inclined to pick up claims forms and follow through with the paper work Heinmann said. More and More we re seeing damage reporting and claims filing As a one Stop service a. Peluso attorney adviser for the army claims Branch in Mannheim said the revised policy has resulted in improved paper work and brought a significant increase in claims under j200. Parsons and Peluso stress the importance of Correct paper work in preparing a aim. For items lost or stolen in transit the claimant Nee san accurate inventory to document their existence. Receipts guarantees handbooks and owner manuals can help establish the value of destroyed or damaged goods. Estimates from qualified appraisers May be used to help establish the value of older goods. Pictures before and after damage often help to deter mine the condition of items at the origin of shipment damaged items should be kept claims officials say until both the government and the transporter have an Opportunity to inspect them. Government biggest loser on goods shipment claims no matter How the figures Are juggled Uncle Sam Cornea out the loser on household damage claims. For every Dollar recovered from the transport Indus try for damaged lost or stolen goods the government pays out Between 14 and $5 to military claimants. In fiscal 1989, the military services paid nearly $70million in claims for damaged household Good and baggage but recovered just s is million. Claims officials Lay the problem ii simply time catching up with an outdated recovery formula. Government recovery is limited to 60 cents a Pound on All damaged items but claims arc paid on actual Worth which May be Many times 60 cents a Pound. A j. Peluso attorney adviser for the army claims Branch in Mannheim Germany said the 60-cent re covery formula was designed for the 1960s, when ship ments were lighter and of much lower  shipments which now outnumber House hold goods shipments to overseas areas reflect the  the past these shipments were limited to such necessary items As clothing and cooking utensils needed until household goods arrived Pluto  they include tvs Verj and computers theft and damage of such items bring substantial claims. But we re stuck with the 60-Cenl recovery  loss of a 100-Pound to i illustrates the government s dilemma. Recovery is limited to 160, but the owner could be entitled to 10 limes that much for an expensive ale Model set beyond  Clint Brilt Coit Itulid id Mil a bul