During peak moving season last year, many frustrated service members believed that their cars had been lost by a new contractor hired by the Defense Department to handle shipment of privately-owned vehicles to and from overseas locations.
Unable to contact the contractor by phone or by email, many filed claims with their insurance companies.
USAA worked with its members and with the contractor, International Auto Logistics, to locate the members' vehicles when information wasn't available, said USAA spokeswoman Rebecca Hirsch.
The company formed a "triage unit" and worked directly with a designated point of contact at IAL. When members contacted USAA about a late vehicle, USAA forwarded the information to the IAL point of contact to determine the status.
Typically, USAA auto policies do not include coverage for vehicle shipment delays, but the company made an exception so members could get immediate transportation, if they had rental reimbursement coverage on their auto insurance policies. USAA then contacted IAL, which replaced the USAA-approved rentals with ones that was directly billed to IAL.
In all cases where a USAA member thought a vehicle was lost, the vehicle was found and information was given to the member, Hirsch said. All claims with USAA were closed, since IAL took over the claims process when there was vehicle damage. IAL has covered claims for costs related to rental vehicles and inconvenience, too.
IAL was plagued by problems virtually from the day it took over the DoD contract May 1, with troops complaining about late deliveries and problems tracking vehicles online. The contract was awarded in October 2013, but due to protests from the previous contractor, IAL couldn't start until May, the beginning of the peak moving season.
In August, the U.S. Transportation Command formed a team to address the problems, and imposed stricter oversight on the contractor. IAL must brief TRANSCOM by Feb. 1 on its plans to deal with this year's summer surge to avoid a repeat of last year's problems.
While the contractor is responsible for loss, damage and inconvenience during shipment of vehicles, there are some general things to consider before your car is shipped overseas.
Contact your insurance company before the vehicle is shipped, Hirsch said. "Sometimes there are things the insured needs to know and do before the shipment, since vehicle state registrations differ," she said.
You also need to find out from the insurance company whether your vehicle will qualify for insurance in your new location.
The insurance company's representatives may need to let you know about other unique aspects of an international auto insurance policy, such as information related to registration and taxes, she said.
Karen has covered military families, quality of life and consumer issues for Military Times for more than 30 years, and is co-author of a chapter on media coverage of military families in the book "A Battle Plan for Supporting Military Families." She previously worked for newspapers in Guam, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fla., and Athens, Ga.
