Military Insurance

Our armed forces insurance can offer you worldwide cover for your military kit and uniform, personal possessions, home and room contents, and military deployments. Our personal accident insurance also aims to cover you when other insurers won't.

We provide a wide range of military insurance policies, whether you serve in the Army, RAF, Marines or another part of the military. We offer forces insurance that protects your kit, contents and home. Our military insurance range has been developed for those with an understanding of what military life is like whilst serving and whilst in regular civilian life.

We understand as part of military life you’re often on the move, which can mean experiencing loss or damage of goods whilst travelling from one place to the next. As such, our policies can provide cover for your goods to the value of the contents sums insured whilst they are in transit, as long as it is a result of any MOD posting.

We offer a range of policies that provide cover for damage to service accommodation, or ‘licence to occupy’,which covers you for any damage caused whilst living in any MOD based accommodation up to the value of £20,000. We can also provide 'new for old' cover on most military insurance items, meaning we will try to replace your goods with the same item or the closest equivalent model.

Accidental damage and loss can also be included, though general wear and tear and mechanical breakdown are not covered.

Our military insurance is designed to take away the stress of worrying about lost or damaged uniform, kit or home contents. Think for example how you might feel if you misplace or break your phone whilst on deployment and are unable to contact your home and family. You can request cover that takes away these worries and enables you to focus on your crucial work.

Our policies are developed specifically for military personnel with your job roles and situations in mind. We offer military personnel the comfort of knowing that they will have the support of a knowledgeable adviser if something goes wrong with their home contents, personal possessions or uniform and kit.

Military life can be stressful at the best of times. You don’t want to be worrying about losing an important part of your issued kit or misplacing or breaking your phone whilst on deployment and having no means to contact home. We want to help combat the stress of having your contents damaged or stolen whilst on posting by offering different levels of cover.

Our military insurance is designed to take some of these worries away and allow you to focus on your important line of work. Our policies are constructed specifically for military personnel with your job roles and situations in mind.

We offer military personnel the comfort of knowing that they will have the support of a knowledgeable adviser if something goes wrong with their contents, personal possessions or uniform and kit.

Our military insurance policies cover a variety of different risks, and therefore it's difficult to give an average cost. However, with a range of policies available, our military insurance advisers can recommend the most appropriate cover for you.

We offer three main military insurance policies, based on your requirements:

Right Dress Basic (BA) - These policies are typically for personnel fresh out of training living in single serving accommodation, offering a fixed cover for issued uniform and kit. It also gives you a level of cover for your personal effects and the ability to have the contents of your room covered.

Right Dress Kit and Home (RD) - This policy is a natural progression for people moving into married quarters or serving personnel that live alone. It also offers you the ability to give us a specific value for your kit cover depending on your role, meaning we can give you a more personalised approach to your policy.

Right Dress Advantage (AD) - This policy is designed for military personnel no longer living in rented MOD accommodation and has moved onto purchasing their home. This policy allows you to cover your home for buildings insurance as well as offering cover for your contents and personal effects.

All include cover for your kit, licence to occupy and home contents as standard. Right Dress Advantage includes homeowner's insurance.

You can also include personal accident cover or legal expenses just speak to our military insurance advisers.

Features of our military insurance include:

Worldwide cover - Our policies cover your personal possessions and contents worldwide even whilst on deployment, as long as this is specified on the policy.
Damage to service accommodation - Also referred to as ‘license to occupy’, covers you for any damage caused whilst living in any MOD based accommodation up to the value of £20,000.
New for old cover - On everything except civilian clothing and bed linen where a deduction for wear and tear will be made. We will always try to replace your goods with the same item or the closest equivalent model.
Flexible claims process - We accept as part of your job role it’s not always possible to report incidents of loss straight away whilst on deployment. As such we are more flexible with our claims process and ask that you report your losses no later than 180 days after becoming aware of the loss. Please try and report to us as soon as you can though - the quicker we know, the quicker we can resolve the claim for you.

The full list of exclusions will be laid out in your policy documents but there are a few common exclusions:

• Mechanical or electrical breakdown for mobiles, laptops, tablet computers and pedal cycles is not covered on your policy. However these items are covered for theft and accidental damage.
• Service firearms and ancillaries are not something we can provide cover for.
• Unoccupied homes are not covered for loss or damage caused by theft or attempted theft. If your home will be unoccupied it is best to discuss with us, so give the team a call.

We understand as part of military life you’re often on the move which can mean experiencing loss or damage of goods whilst travelling from one place to the next. As such, all of our policies provide cover for your goods to the value of the contents sums insured whilst they are in transit as long as it is a result of any MOD posting.

We can offer additional levels of cover for your goods that are placed in storage provided that you update us with the address of the storage unit you use and the total cost of the contents you wish to store. This can be added on as an extra on your main policy.

Exclusions to cover include articles of gold or silver or other precious metal jewellery or fur must be contained in a locked safe inside a strong room. (Only available on Right Dress kit and Home policies.)

Our policies can cover your ‘family unit’, meaning contents within the home are covered. Your personal effects cover can extend to your partner and children and also protects their personal possessions whilst away from the home.

You can also add cover for your children whilst away at school or university as long as the address details are specified. (Right Dress Kit and Home and Right Dress Advantage policies only.)

For military personnel who have now purchased their own home and no longer live in rented MOD accommodation.

Our military home insurance policy still covers your kit, personal possessions and home contents but has the added benefit of including buildings insurance to cover your home too. It insures the home contents belonging to your family and can often be extended to cover your partner's and children’s contents away from the home.

For private holidays and rest and relaxation periods we can provide you with military travel insurance too. If you’re deployed on short notice and need to cancel your holiday, the policy can provide cover for the costs.

Designed to cover groups of military personnel on adventure training expeditions, this is like a travel insurance policy but designed for a very different kind of holiday.

One of the biggest concerns military personnel experience when relocating is maintaining their votes. Heading overseas doesn’t mean losing your ability to vote, it’s just a question of planning how you’ll be voting while in the military. You can still register to vote in the armed forces, or if you are the spouse or civil partner of somebody serving in the armed forces.

Registering as a service voter means you can be registered to vote at one fixed address, regardless of whether you need to move around and relocate. If you’re already based abroad or are expecting to be posted out of the country within 12 months, this is a popular way to register. Service voter registration will last for five years and can be cancelled at any time as needed.

Casting your vote from overseas can be a challenge, but many opt to use a proxy. If you’re going to be located overseas during a voting period, you can choose to select a proxy to vote on your behalf.

As an overseas voter, you can still submit a postal vote, but using a proxy means you’re not dependent on prompt post to meet the closing deadline from your location. Postal votes can only be dispatched around one week before election day, so getting your vote back to the UK in time can be tight.

As an overseas voter in the armed forces, not knowing whether your vote will be counted in time may be frustrating. If you select someone you trust to be your proxy, they will be able to vote on your behalf at a polling station or by post.

If you’re in the forces you may yourself moving regularly throughout your career. Military relocation means packing up and setting up home in a new location, time after time. Army moves may not always be easy, but there is plenty of support available to help make the process as straightforward and stress-free as possible.

Here at Towergate, we work closely with military personnel to understand the reality of life in service and army moves. With their help, we’ve put together some practical advice to help you navigate some of the issues around relocation and becoming an overseas voter.

We can’t stress enough that it’s important to take time to do your own research. When it comes to military relocation, it’s the small details that can make all the difference. The more you know about your destination, the better prepared you’ll be when it comes to arriving and getting settled (without hiccups!).

Every military move is different, but there are some tried and tested ways to help things run smoothly. We’ve put together some key tips below…

Make a furniture checklist

It’s important to be clear on what you’re taking with you. Since it’s likely you’ll be relocating fairly frequently, take time to create an inventory of the key items you’ll be taking. This will help you to keep track of everything when it turns up at your new home, and to know what you need to buy when you arrive.

Choose your hand luggage with care

The items you carry with you during your army move are the most important. It’s crucial that you have vital documents on your person throughout your move, as you never know when you may need to produce them. Make sure you have items such as your driving license, passport, medication, and anything that can’t be replaced with you at all times during your relocation.

Expect a wait for your belongings

We’d love to say that your other belongings will be with you right on time, but life is life and army movers can take some time. Depending on your destination, it could be months before you’re reunited with your car, sofa or kitchenware. Sit down, work out what you can’t live without, and make plans to buy it as soon as you arrive.

Secure a point of contact at your destination

It’s a good idea to secure yourself a contact at your new location. Finding a sponsor or contacting someone who has already made the same military move will mean having someone to answer any questions that arise throughout the process.

If you have a family, military relocation can be an adventure you experience together. There are specialised schemes and incentives to make army moves less of a challenge for families, so make sure you find out what’s available and take advantage.

The finer details of your army move will depend greatly on where you’re posted. We’ve taken the example of military relocation to Cyprus to help us give you some more general advice before your army move overseas.

Unaccompanied baggage

Once you receive your posting authority, it’s a good idea to contact your unit quartermaster department or PD clerk about the shipment of your unaccompanied baggage. They will explain your allowance and entitlements.

You will need to complete F/Mov/713A to collect your unaccompanied baggage, as well as a customs form to enable you to import your personal goods into Cyprus. Don’t be alarmed by this form, you should only list major electrical goods and furniture you’ll be sending, as that your cubic capacity limits what you can bring.

You can store any furniture and other articles which you do not wish to bring in the UK at public expense. A removal service does operate in Cyprus, although the capacity is greatly reduced compared to that for a move within Europe. You may have been advised that it takes six weeks from time of collection to time of delivery, but many find that eight weeks is a more sensible timescale.

You don’t need to give a quarter address in Cyprus before your items are shipped. All unaccompanied baggage received at the Port Unit in Limassol will be stored until your arrival. Please refer to the baggage scales (entitlements) at Annex F.

Ensure your movements clerk submits the appropriate F Mov forms to DPRC London.
Continuity post personnel (HQ UNFICYP only) have an alternative travel option (see below).

Storage

You will need to complete an F/Mov/713 form and return it to your unit families office. M&S shipping will contract a civilian storage firm to collect and store the rest of your personal belongings and household contents.

What to take

Summer and winter clothes
A duvet – as night times can be chilly
Tumble dryer - very few married quarters have central heating
White goods such as washing machine - rental prices can be high
Computer and phone – these are not issued in quarters and easy to connect
TV and stand
Lamps – these are not provided in MQs
Plugs and extension leads – same as UK
Original education and qualification certificates – needed if you wish to find work
Original birth and marriage certificates
Toiletries and sun creams – although available on the island, they are far more expensive than in the UK. Boots can ship from UK to Cyprus.
What to leave
Ironing board – included in MQ
Gardening tools - issued
Hoover – issued
Curtains – issued
Lawnmower - household lawnmowers are not very effective as the ground is often full of small stones. You can hire a gardener.
Lampshades - All MQs have fitted glass light covers.
Tinned food and dry goods - all readily available, several large supermarkets on the island.
There are some helpful Facebook groups dedicated to sharing info on life in Cyprus, such as BFC Episkopi Community Support and the mother and toddler group, Episkopi Jelly Tots. If you’re relocating as a family, these can be a great way for spouses to find out more about the area. Buying and selling pages on Facebook are also handy for getting hold of used items that you can’t bring from the UK, such as air conditioning units. Episkopi Info is another useful site for those new to the area.