RENTERS!!! PLEASE make sure you have a renters insurance policy!!!


a customer called this morning, their house was on fire AT THAT MOMENT. the fire department was already there, she was just letting us know. she was in tears and said "we're going to need all the help we can get."

I'd talked to her about renter's insurance before, and she FINALLY started it LAST MONTH!! and now, a month and a half after starting the policy they have lost half their household. i went to her house to answer questions she might have and just be there for her- the entire upstairs is destroyed, smoke damage throughout the rest of the house.... for a family of 7.


renter's insurance doesn't cost much per month, and it is soooo important. applekisses will attest to that fact. most policies don't just cover your property, but will pay for a hotel if your apartment is unlivable after a claim.

please, if you rent don't think that your property is covered on your landlord's policy. it isn't. go get renter's insurance.


ok, i'm done.

fantasyislander said:

Sounds suspicious...

2the9s said:

Good advice

I totally agree. 11 years ago I had part of my first computer system stolen as I was moving into my new apartment. Fortunately they only got my monitor and printer and not the CPU. Unfortunately, I didn't have renter's insurance at the time, so none of it was recoverable. We got insurance within a week of the incident.

i didn't have renter's insurance all the years i lived in apartment complexes... i was lucky i didn't have anything happen.

but when i rented a house i got insurance... the thought of being liable for the cost to rebuild if it was my fault... whoa. not to mention the value of household contents.

TMPletz said:

a few years ago there was a major fire in the downtown area here, a business was destroyed and the two apartments upstairs as well. one of the tenants was our customer. we had discussed renters insurance the week before and she didn't get it. she lost EVERYTHING and had NO coverage at all. the building even fell ON HER CAR. (fortunately, she had her auto insurance in force at the time ) i always tell people around here that story to try to spur them into actually getting it. i don't get paid by commission, i really just want people to have adequate coverage to get their lives back if something happens.

emm said:

exactly! that's another part no one ever thinks about. if it's your carelessness and the house burns.... then your landlord sues you.... that could be major. not to mention losing everything you own.

and i think it was about $120... not too bad when you consider what it could cost you.



why is homeowner's insurance so much more expensive?

emm said:

because HO insurance is to rebuild a house AND replace all your crap inside.

this is soooo true, I always had renter's insurace when I rented. As soon as my daughter got her apartment I added her renters to our homeowners policy.

Excellent post. Renters insurance is VITAL.

The thing that sucks about homeowners insurance is the myriads of ways insurance companies have out of NOT paying you your just due.

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

it is very important that you know what your policy covers. i've heard horror stories of people who had a policy from a cheap company and thought they were ok, only to have a claim and find out that it isn't covered, or there are limits to their coverage and they didn't have enough.

educate yourself, talk to your agent. if you ever have a claim you'll be glad you took the time.

I've been meaning to get this. I received a few brochures in the mail about this when I moved into my place, and the place before that. It was really cheap, less than $10 a month. But it only covered up to $20,000.

How does that work though, like how do you prove what you had in your place? Do you have to go around and photograph everything and show them receipts or something?

Tom said:

I do wish I would have had it when the psycho that lived in the flat downstairs from me burned down the house we were renting.

However, I was laid off and had just started a new job eight months before the fire, so I was still trying to catch up financially. Not having insurance is a risk I took because I wanted to try to recover from the layoff first...and, well...

Tom said:

not necessarily. if you're insuring something specifically- scheduling it on the policy- then yes you may need pictures and/or receipts.

(another tip- most policies have limits to certain items... like jewelry limit of $2500 aggregate, $1500 per item. but you can schedule certain items on the policy with their own separate amount..... like one necklace worth $1200, or your laptop worth $700. in most cases scheduling at item will mean that a deductible does not apply, it's covered 100% of value)

in case of a claim you'll probably have to at least list the things you lost to the best of your ability. if it's a fire and it's a total loss they may just want a general idea, then will pay you your policy limit. but definitely go through your house and take note of what you have. three tvs, 50 dvds, dvd player, couches, chairs, tables, beds, silverware, towels, clothes, pictures, etc, etc.... it can all add up fast. if you keep good records of what you have it will make any claim go faster and easier.

also, if you have antiques or collectibles make sure you talk to your agent about those as well. unless it's specified you'll get paid for a new dining room table, NOT the $900 antique table your grandmother handed down to you.

I'm covered up to $20,000.00

I may have to up it, although I don't have a lot of stuff.

the cool thing about some renter's insurance is it covers your belongings when you travel too. I got a renter's policy to protect a movie camera I was borrowing from school and it covered any damage when I was shooting in Egypt.

You couldn't be more right, darling.

Boring question, but what lines of insurance are you licensed in? Do you sell business with different brokers and carriers, or one strict direct carrier? Retail only, or commercial as well?

heartbeatocean said:

yeah, that's how all our property policies are. no matter where you are in the world your stuff is covered.

INSATIABLE said:

i saw on that other thread that you work with agents! i'm licensed in P&C and work for a captive agency. we have lots of people call us trying to sell their insurance, and sometimes they don't get it when i say "captive agency". i'm like "no, you don't understand, we CAN'T sell other companies' insurance products."

fantasyislander said:

If you travel a lot, that's a great reason to get it right there. I even had borrowed property and it was covered!