Comments on: Renter’s Insurance: Don’t have a fire without it

By: Jerry

Jerry — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 19:09:41 +0000

Renter’s insurance is a bargain when you think about what it covers in a catastrophe. We had it all the while when we lived in Boston and we had peace of mind. I hope this helps other people see the benefits and leads them to get the coverage they need.

Jerry
http://www.leads4insurance.com

By: Renter’s Insurance: We go one better… | Mrs. Micah: Finance for a Freelance Life

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 02:30:53 +0000

[…] tells the stories of two people she knew who did and didn’t have insurance. Both suffered fire losses through no fault of their own. Guess who made out […]

By: Mrs. Micah

Mrs. Micah — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 19:58:14 +0000

And I got it!

By: Tom

Tom — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 20:22:28 +0000

Renter’s insurance is amazing and like you mentioned, it barely costs anything especially if you have a place filled with expensive goods.

A lot of people in my opinion just have that mindset that “it won’t happen to me” and when it does, THEN they take action and get their insurance.

By: FinanceIsPersonal.co

FinanceIsPersonal.co — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 16:16:50 +0000

Amen. You can get a decent policy for $10-$20 a month, yet so many people don’t have renter’s insurance. It’s really sad…

By: Emily

Emily — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 11:08:24 +0000

I lived in Atlanta and my apartment along with 6 other apartments caught fire (did you see the new with the fireman rescuing the construction worker off the crane in ‘99? that was my house that burned across the street from the cotton mill they were remodeling into lofts). It was devastating-2 people lost everything- even beloved pets. I was luckier, but I still lost a lot. And no renters insurance. The good thing was that the wonderful people in the area contributed to a fund which helped me buy/replace everything I lost (god bless them) and the insurance company of the construction company who caused the fire also compensated for some of the loss. But if this was just a random fire, we’d have all been screwed-we were all homeless. Thank god for friends with couches and animal crates! After that, I got renter’s insurance….

By: Carol

Carol — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 20:34:05 +0000

Renters insurance can make it easier to get insurance if you purchase a property in a hard to insure area - which most areas are becoming– especially if you don’t make claims. House purchases came to a halt in the SF bay area at one point, except for people who already had a renters or home owners policy. Although a new property needed a new policy, it was possible to get that through.

One coworker who lost his house in the Oakland hills fire, drove off in his pajamas with his wallet. His house was one of the first to burn. He waited for stores to open to buy clothes. Knowing he had to start from zero, it was interesting to watch what he bought- a big fancy briefcase and lots of fancy pens and mechanical pencils. He lacked the practicality gene and never did really recover. He was well insured, but not secure of mind sufficiently to make a recovery plan and work on it.

By: thisisbeth

thisisbeth — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 20:00:08 +0000

My renter’s insurance is also around $120/year. The price is definitely worthwhile to me.

By: Mrs. Micah

Mrs. Micah — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 19:39:38 +0000

Thanks for the reminder. It was on my to-do list but I kind of forgot it. Should get on that!

By: plonkee

plonkee — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 19:09:45 +0000

I agree, it’s not about how likely something is to happen, it’s about how likely it is and the impact that will have. General contents insurance is a great thing to have.

By: DebtyBetty

DebtyBetty — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 18:54:34 +0000

Yes, and make sure when you get renters insurance that you get the type that will refund you the FULL value of your belongings. I can’t remember the precise terminology, but one will give you the full value of what you paid, and other type will give you the value minus depreciation. So that means that you may only get $200 for that $500 tv that you paid for. That type of renters insurance is slightly cheaper, but what good will it do you to have $200 to replace your $500 tv? Get the type that will give you the value of your full purchasing price.

By: mapgirl

mapgirl — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 18:23:35 +0000

Raymond - That first fire story was in Arlington, VA. You’re right natural disaster insurance vs. plain old fire insurance are very different things. But every renter should have renter’s insurance to cover themselves. It’s not ‘loading up’ on excess insurance. It’s actually extremely cheap. I would be surprised if it adds more than $20 a month to the cost of rent.

Sure you could say my chances of X happening is very small. But if it did happen to you, how much would it suck not to have the insurance? That’s what it’s for and you pay for it accordingly.

DebtyBetty - I keep meaning to send my special papers to my parents’ safe deposit box, but I keep forgetting to do it. You’re a good brownie for doing the documentation.

However, you should ask if there is a special rider you can buy for flood insurance. Or move out of the basement, GIMP! LOL!

Sistah Ant - He had to find comparable suits and pull prices off the Macy’s website. Documentation doesn’t always mean saving your receipts, though that will help. I think he had to request his credit card statements so he could see what was purchased. Not entirely sure about that.

By: Sistah Ant

Sistah Ant — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 17:57:42 +0000

I am so happy to have renters’ insurance. My emergency fund is only about $1000. What good would that do if my apartment burned up?

One thing I haven’t done, though, is document my belongings and put that in a safe place, like my parents’ house. We should all be like your friend who had proof of what he owned.

By: DebtyBetty

DebtyBetty — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 17:28:33 +0000

Oh I hear ya. I just signed up for renters insurance myself through allstate. I’m paying $125 per YEAR (about $10 per month) to insure my belongings for $35,000 in case of a fire, theft, or accidental flooding (like a burst pipe). This puts my mind so much at ease, especially since I’m away from my apartment sometimes weeks or a month at a time, traveling for work. I’ve also started a home inventory at stuffsafe.com, and until that is done in detail, I do have pictures of every room, from every angle, in my apartment, including dishes in the cupboard and my bathroom shelves lined with cosmetics and hair products, probably totaling $1000 alone.

Another thing I like about my insurance policy is that if I’m found to be responsible for damages done to another apartment, like if I leave my stove on and start a fire that spreads to another apartment, it’ll cover up to $100,000 of liability damages.

However, the one thing that still distresses me is that I’m not covered from weather-related floods. I live in a basement unit, and insurance companies will only provide weather-related flood insurance if you live within 1000 feet of a body of water.

By: Money Blue Book

Money Blue Book — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 17:03:20 +0000

Maps,
You sort of have to look at it through a cost benefit analysis and determine the likelihood something will happen. If someone lives in a mud sliding, fire prone, dry area like Southern California, or in a below sea level, hurricane prone area like New Orleans, of course they need to be properly covered plus more.

But if you live in a place like DC with electric/gas heating where there are no natural disasters, it might be overkill to load up on insurance. Might be a waste..
Just my take.
-Raymond