What Types of Military Insurance are Really Necessary?

The question as to what types of military insurance (also called forces insurance or army insurance in some quarters) are really necessary has been cause for a lot of debate in many officers’ messes. The debate is understandable. Soldiers are, after all, trained to be practical people with an eye for priorities. To be sure, not many modern soldiers would want to expose themselves to the risk of working without any form of forces insurance cover. Yet not many soldiers also, in line with their training in practicalities and priorities would want to be burdened with military insurance that they don’t really need. So what types of army insurance (or forces insurance as you may see it) are really necessary?

            The answer to the question of which types of army insurance (or military insurance for the ‘inclusionists’) are really necessary is typically an individual decision, which differs from serviceman to serviceman and from officer to officer.

            For one soldier, anything above service life insurance is superfluous, yet for another, having personal accident and army kit insurance, in addition – of course - to the service life insurance cover doesn’t feel like enough coverage still.

            In summary, service life insurance is life insurance cover created with the unique realities of military life in mind, seeing that ordinary life insurance cover cannot cater adequately for the needs and level of risk a soldier is sometimes exposed to. Personal accident insurance on the other hand covers for the risk of getting injured in combat or in training, a very real possibility that any prudent soldier would surely want to be prepared for in some way. Meanwhile, army kit insurance covers the military kit which every soldier is issued with upon enrolment in the forces. This military kit is quite expensive, and as part of military etiquette, should it get lost or damaged in some way, one is supposed to replace it with their own money. And without military insurance cover, replacing this military kit might mean going without pay for some months, surely a dreary prospect.

            So in the light of those descriptions, which types of forces insurance cover are really necessary?

            The answer to the question has to be made with the fact that going for one type of cover and leaving the rest means that one is exposed to the risks covered by the type of army insurance they forego. For instance, opting to go for service life insurance and personal accident cover means that one is exposed to the possibility of going without pay for some months at some point to replace a lost or damaged military kit. Therefore the best advice is to go for the maximum level of coverage one can afford, because all the risks covered by military insurance are really worrisome when taken into perspective.

            And in the final analysis, all forces insurance covers serve a person, and the answer to the question of what types of military insurance cover are ‘really necessary’ should ideally be rephrased to ‘what types of forces insurance one can really afford’ keeping the consequences of foregoing one type of forces insurance or another in mind.