Military kit insurance is an often overlooked part of every serving member of the armed forces necessary equipment. The key necessity of military kit insurance is that individuals are responsible for their own kit and that if it is damaged or lost an individual is responsible for financing its replacement. This means that you can potentially lose substantial parts of your pay should anything happen to your equipment. In this article we're going to look at the costs and benefits of military kit insurance so that you can determine whether it is suitable for you.
Initially then it should be defined as to what constitutes personal kit. As a soldier your personal kit includes clothing, equipment and any specialist equipment you are personally responsible for. If any of this becomes lost or stolen as a result of your negligence or from an unforeseeable accident you are held responsible for this. Whilst you may think that this is unlikely to happen you need to be aware that accidents can and often do happen and that you are likely to be in hostile and extreme environments where there is no guarantee that your kit won't be lost damaged, stolen or in fact destroyed. Whilst you as an individual may exercise every vigilance in maintaining the quality and safety of your equipment you have to realise that in hostile and extreme environments there are a great many things that will often be more pressing to mind than the wellbeing of your kit.
When it comes to the wellbeing of your kit you should of course take every precaution possible and you should always exercise care and vigilance over your kit. The most common of all issues involve improper care of equipment, its damage through misuse and its loss. Taking proper care of you equipment is essential to avoiding pecuniary losses associated with damaged equipment. Whilst you should be fairly trained to take full care of all your equipment and should take the time to maintain it this may not always be possible. If you are not familiar with any part of maintaining your equipment seek immediate advice and/or assistance. When it comes to using your equipment in the correct way you should of course stick to the set parameters of use you received upon training. Misuse of equipment in any way is often likely to damage it and can cause you yourself undue risk should you need to rely on it in any situation. Loss, however, is the most common of all reasons for having to pay for kit and whilst steps can be taken to avoid it is still easy to misplace or lose vital equipment whilst discharging your duty. Before any excursion check that your kit is all in place and that any securing straps are tight and not damaged. When returning from an excursion check that everything is still in place and functioning correctly before stripping and cleaning it.
Even with these precautions it is necessary or you to take additional steps to secure your kit with military kit insurance being one of the best ways to ensure peace of mind and not damage to your pay check. Military kit insurance can be tailored to suit your specific needs and offers different levels of cover based on your own requirements. The best known option is one that covers all risks which will include loss, theft, misuse and anything else that may occur in the course of service. Policies can also include only portions of the above but can also include additionally accommodation – be it house or barracks, and other military owned equipment you may use.
