Top 5- Reasons Why You Need Renter's Insurance

Not everyone thinks about insurance. If you have never had to use it, then it is probably is the furthest thing from your mind. I am here to remind you of the hazards of not having it, and what could happen to your world if things were to go terribly wrong.

Before I get into the list, I need to tell you what brought this about. On the way home from work yesterday, around 6:15pm or so, I was at a light attempting to turn right on to a main thoroughfare, near my home, when I heard sirens. This is a pretty common occurrence, so I was not too alarmed. I was, though, on my Bluetooth headset talking to my husband when this was happening, so I thought I would be the reporter that I am and inform him that he would be hearing sirens in a minute or two. The sirens got louder and louder, and then like a flash they were right in front of me as I waited to turn right! First the large red fire truck, then the red and white fire truck, and then the SUV for the Battalion Chief rolled by as well! Again, this was pretty exciting, seeing how they were right in front of me, travelling down the same road. But the fire house was just a block away, on the other side of the overpass, so I wasn't worried. This wasn't even the department assigned to my area, so I had nothing to worry about. Then my husband said something that really freaked me out.

I finally made my right turn and was ready for my mile or so trek through stoplights and 3 lanes of traffic, anticipating squeezing my kids until they squeaked, when my husband said the he could hear the sirens very well, and then noticed a lot of confusion around one of our neighbor's house! He confirmed with me that there were fire trucks outside our home and all along the interior street of our lovely mobile home park! (On a side note I need to tell you that mobile homes, when they catch fire, can go up pretty fast and then, because they are so close together, the fire can spread even faster. Mobile homes are not built like normal homes and many have very thin plywood walls that burn very fast.) Here I am traveling down the same path I do every night, but what makes this one unique is the fact that I am following the emergency vehicles to my own neighborhood! Since I was on the phone with my husband, I knew that he, the kids, our dog and home were not burning, but a neighbor's house was! I was trying to stay calm and the fire trucks blasted their sirens and horns, trying to get the packed street cleared enough to get through. I begged my husband for more information, and all I heard on his end was our baby daughter crying and more sirens. I was less than two minutes from the house when the fire trucks turned the corner. There are two ways to get to our place, and the fire trucks split up and took both paths! Oh, no...

My husband told me that it was the house that Louie lived in. Louie is a dog we know and I couldn't remember which house it was. I was racking my brain as I saw these emergency vehicles turning down my street, praying that my friend's house was contained and it would not spread to my tin can house! (And yes, I was worried about their house and family.) I pull up to my street, and like many mobile home parks, there is only one main entrance to a sea of side streets with many, many houses closely packed together. The entrance was blocked by two large fire trucks and multiple police cars and police SUVs. I pulled over and asked a police woman a few questions. I asked her, after I told her that I live there, what happened. She said we have a fire in one of the mobile homes, but she thinks it was out already. I gulped and inquired to which one it was. She told me and my face froze. It was three houses down from mine! She saw the panic in my face and reassured me that the fire was out, and that they would be clearing out in just a few minutes. I nodded and said a weak thank you. My husband was still in my ear (my Bluetooth) giving me play by plays of what was happening. I drove around the block and by the time I got back, most of the circus was cleared out. I drove into the park and up to my house. I wanted to ask my husband which house it was, but when I turned the last corner, in the back of the park, I stopped and gasped. There it was. Two fire trucks parked two doors down from my house, lights still flashing, and men in their fire gear. I pulled in and hugged my kids.

Once I was breathing again, I pulled out my camera and took pictures. I found out that it was their curtains that caught on fire and was quickly put out again. Curtains can go up in a few seconds and light the rest of the house if not caught quickly enough. I told my husband that I needed to go online and pay my insurance because it was a few days late. My other neighbor just looked at me in a puzzled way and then glanced at the fire trucks again. She hugged her baby boy and asked me," You can have insurance on a house that you rent?" Stunned, I said, "Of course you can. It is called renters insurance. Let me tell you about it."

After I told her about it, I thought about how many others don't realize that they can have it as well. Here are the top 5 reasons why you should have it. They are not numbered because all the reasons are important in different ways.

Personal Property: Unlike homeowners insurance that protects the structure of your home and personal property, renters insurance protects the personal property you have, but not the structure. Your landlord is responsible for that part. So you sit back and say that you really don't have that much stuff and it can easily be replaced. Okay, I can buy that. Now do me a favor... Look at the computer you are reading this on. Look at the stuff around it, and now spread your line of vision to the other rooms in the house. Can you really afford to replace everything; electronics, furniture (including beds, dressers, etc.), kid's toys, and all of your clothes? Can you do all of this while living out of a hotel and still going on with your daily routines? Most renters' policies start out at $25,000 coverage at a super low annual premium. For my location, mine is only $125 a year!

Loss of Use: This ties in to the above example very well. If you do have a fire, and your house is uninhabitable, where are you going to stay? Renters insurance has a Loss of Use coverage that will put you up in a hotel while your home is being cleaned up. The actual time frame depends on the coverage your insurance company offers. It is best to consult your agent.

Liability: Has anyone ever threatened to sue you? Have you ever done anything that might justify being sued? Do you own a dog? These are all questions that you need to ponder to better understand why you need renters insurance. If something happens at your house and a neighbor decides to sue you, your liability coverage will kick in and help you out. Most policies come with a basic amount of $100,000 base coverage included in the annual premium. Think about this. You are walking your dog, on a normal day, in your normal routine and out of nowhere a small child runs up to pet your lovely pooch. Your pooch turns to lick his hand and his tooth accidentally cuts the child's hand. No big deal, right? It was an innocent accident. Well, that is still considered a dog bite and you can be sued! Simple things can turn ugly, and being prepared is the best way to cope with it.

Damage to Other's Property: How many times have you told your son or daughter not to play baseball in the street? The one that went way back, way back, tell it goodbye... just broke your neighbor's window and they are furious. What to do? Can you afford the expense right then and there to fix their window? No? Well, something like that is covered under your renters insurance. Talk to your agent and see what kind of coverage you can get and how it will best suit your needs.

Medical Payments for Others: So, you are having a party and a friend trips on your stairs and sprains his ankle. He needs to go to the doctor and you are responsible for his medical bill. Can you open your checkbook and fork over a few hundred for an emergency room visit right then and there? Well, believe it or not, this kind of thing is also covered on a renter's policy.

Renters insurance has many aspects that most people don't know even exist for people that do not own their home. Here is another true story that happened to my sister-in-law last summer.

My two teenage nieces were doing laundry for their mother. It was late and they decided to put the clothes in the dryer before going to bed, as they usually did. A little while later they all woke up to their two story apartment filled with smoke and the smoke alarms blasting away. The fire department came and extinguished the blaze as all four family members, and their two cats (okay six family members) watched in horror as their home smoldered.

Yes, they were very happy everyone was fine, physically, but all of them were torn up inside as they watched their charred belongings being sifted through by the fire fighters looking for hot spots. Where were they to go? What were they to do now at 3 o'clock in the morning? They went to a hotel and checked in with only their clothes on their backs as the crews completed their cleanup. The next morning they called their insurance agent.

I won't give you all of the details of their case, but I will tell you that they had renters insurance and are glad they did. Their insurance put them up in a hotel and gave them money to repurchase their belongings, including the school clothes just purchased to the girls. I know they did not even want to fathom what would have happened if they were not insured. In the end it all turned out just fine. The insurance also covered for the clean up by a separate company after the fire was put out. (You need to clean up all the water before mold sets in.) They are now a very happy family and they found out that the dryer they had just purchased about a year prior was the culprit. Bad dryer! They are now advocates in their apartment complex. If they see new people moving in, the remind them to ask about renters insurance and tell their story. They have helped save many families by doing this task.

One other tid bit I need to mention is that your 'liability' and 'medical payments to others' are not subject to your deductible. The 'damage to other's property' and your 'personal property' claims are. Talk to your agent about what deductible will best fit you and your family. You might also want to consider the amount of peace of mind you get for such a small amount of money.

So that ends this article. Following the fire trucks to my own home and seeing them parked two and three doors down was a wakeup call for me. I am going to make a list of all my belongings in case this was to happen to me. I am also purchasing a fire safe box to put it in. The insurance company will ask you if you have a list of lost/damaged items, and when disaster strikes, that is the last thing on your mind. Did I mention I am calling to update my insurance?