Home damaged in Port Orchard tornado, a sailor fights for insurance money to fix his roof

Troy Violette was "racked out," asleep somewhere in the waters of the Pacific Ocean, when a rare act of nature in the northwest struck his home in December 2018.

A tornado had torn through his neighborhood, packing 130 mph winds that sheared trees and ripped open homes. The shingles on his own roof were torn off, also peeling up the self-sealing asphalt underneath. The lieutenant, aboard the USS Seawolf submarine, was asleep deep at sea when it all happened.

"And there was literally nothing I could do about it," Violette said.

Now, years later, problems with his roof persist. But he can't get his insurance company to cover the damages, which now exceed $10,000 after water got into his house and permeated a light fixture. He says his story is a cautionary tale for other service members who are gone for months on end.

"The biggest thing I hope is for is military members can learn from my experience," Violette said. "And take steps to keep it from happening to them."

Sailors and others in the military often live by Murphy's law: "Anything that can break will break on deployment," according to Amie Glazier, the wife of a Navy pilot and co-owner of the Military Mom Collective, a networking group that includes military families in 19 time zones.

"Just plan for every possible thing to go wrong," she said.

Sailors at sea have long faced challenges safeguarding their stuff back on land. In December 2018, a submariner aboard the USS Connecticut had his car auctioned off by Bethel Towing, according to the Tacoma News Tribune. A friend who'd borrowed the 2016 Hyundai Elantra ended up in a car crash — and the towing company sold the vehicle to a Lacey scrapyard for $5,200.

In that case, the state's Attorney General's Office took action against the towing company, citing state and federal law that bars selling service members' vehicles at auction without a court order. The sailor was reimbursed, including $2,000 more for the year he was without a car.

“When our servicemen and women are deployed away from home and family, they should not need to worry whether their possessions are safe," state attorney general Bob Ferguson said.

In actuality, they still have much to be worried about, military members and their advocates say. Violette knows first hand.

While the 28-year-old was at sea, his insurance company, USAA, didn't agree with a contractor's assessment that his roof needed to be reconstructed; only individual shingles were replaced.

Fast forward nearly three years later. Violette left the Navy, got a job at Amazon Cloud Services, and, one day last September following a day with high winds, water began flowing from a light fixture attached to his attic. USAA told him the leak, through the roof, was due to "faulty workmanship" on part of the contractor, Violette said. But it provided him no documentation as to why the repair was considered faulty, he added.

"USAA denied the claim and left me to deal with a future $12,000 bill," he said.

Rebekah Nelson, a spokesperson for USAA, declined to comment on the open claim but said the company is "well known for our outstanding claim service."

"While we can’t speak to the specifics of this open claim, we are working to resolve the matter with our member," Nelson said.

Violette said it took three months, including a barrage of phone calls, messages, a complaint to the state's insurance commissioner and even hiring his own contractor to inspect the roof before USAA reopened the claim. He hopes it will be resolved soon so he can move on with his life.

In the meantime, he offered tips to other military members who are preparing to go underway or be deployed.

• Power of Attorney: Ensure a trusted legal representative, preferably someone who's owned a home, can help if the need arises, he says.

• Be your own investigator: Violette said he found it valuable to document everything from the problems with his roof (or make sure a chosen representative can help should you be deployed). Take pictures and keep a log of all steps taken along the way.

• Use written communication: Violette found in his experience that writing things down allows for time to gather one's thoughts, remain calm and creates a paper trail.

• When making repairs: find a contractor you trust.

• Stay on top of it: "Act fast and don’t take no for an answer," Violette said. A prolonged process risks the situation remaining unresolved. There may be a statute of limitations involved, so time is of the essence.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Sailor faces $12,000 bill for damages begun in Port Orchard tornado