Think this can’t happen to you? It did…
Apartment fires blaze the 10 o’clock news at least once a week on NBCDFW showing a displaced family left clueless on what they will do next.
Many people face this threat despite their best efforts and intentions. You can be the most careful and prudent tenant in a multi-unit dwelling and you’re still left with the lowest common denominator, meaning that you’re only as good as your most careless neighbor in your building that houses 16 different families.
How often do you think one of your neighbors forgets to blow out their candle? Do any of your neighbors smoke and fall asleep while smoking? When is the last time your neighbor scrubbed their stove burner pan that has all of that grease built up from years of overflowing oil?
This subject hit home last week when one of my friends in Austin, TX experienced this exact scenario. Someone in an apartment adjacent to them had a grease fire in their unit causing irreversible damage to several units and they lost 90% of their personal belongings. Luckily, no one was injured, but the loss of property is hard to swallow if you’re not prepared.
Renter’s insurance is something that a lot of people don’t think they need. I remember thinking about it for about 4 seconds when I was in college renting a $500/month apartment in Denton, TX. At that time in my life, I think every personal item I owned in the apartment had a replacement cost of about $1,500.00 so it probably wasn’t that necessary as a 19 year old.
It doesn’t take long to accumulate $10,000+ of personal property once you’ve been on your own for 5-10 years and start acquiring stuff. Not only your expensive electronics, but things like plates, forks, shower curtains, and the other 843 items that you brought into your apartment start adding up to some serious cash.
If you are renting in Texas or know someone that is, please have them call us to help get them set up with renters insurance. It’s the least expensive insurance most people will ever have and it’s well worth it. For example, we did a renters policy for one of our clients with $25,000 in personal property coverage for about $260/year. This also came with liability coverage, rental coverage temporarily if they were displaced, and even itemized coverage for expensive wedding rings.
Talk with your Ryan Everet agent to get a detailed quote and don’t leave yourself unprotected. Click here to request a quote!
by David Call
