Renters Insurance Can Help Ease the Pain of a Lost Home
What renters insurance is and how it can help you
Issue date: 11/4/09 Section: News
By Avrielle Suleiman
Rotunda Reporter
In wake of the disaster at the Poplar Forest Apartments where 32 residents lost their homes, with 8 of them being Longwood students and faculty, questions about renters insurance have come up.
In general, insurance is "protection," according to Daniel McCarty, an insurance agent for State Farm of Farmville, Virginia. There are three main types of insurance for a home. There is renter's insurance, which covers your personal contents in a home that you are renting, homeowner's insurance, which covers the residence itself and your personal property, and renter's dwelling insurance, which covers the person who is actually renting out their home.
Renter's insurance is for people who do not own their homes but want to protect the personal contents of a home they are renting. This includes items such as: TV's, sofas, tables, chairs, and even clothing. If it is unsafe or impossible to live in your home, according to different policies, the insurance company will cover the cost for you to live in a place comparable to your home until you are able to return to your own home.
McCarty says that once you get your insurance; "To go home, take pictures, take inventory…make a list, buy a firebox…put all of your important papers in that." Model numbers of TV's and stereos are what are needed to make sure you receive the dollar amount of what it is actually worth. There is a underlying trust that you will not lie about what you own, but the insurance company will investigate if what you are claiming to have lost doesn't fit in with your home or lifestyle. Buying a firebox is a point that McCarty is very adamant about after having lost his own mother in a house fire. Thankfully, all of her important papers were saved because of a firebox she purchased.
A typical stereotype of any type of insurance is that it is always too expensive. According to McCarty, "The renter's insurance is on average is $8.33 a month." While this price may go up in more populated cities, it is not too significant at around $15.00 a month. When you pay that, your renter's insurance will cover up to $25,000 in damages to your personal property. "That's a lot of DVD's, and school books, and things of that nature."
Rotunda Reporter
In wake of the disaster at the Poplar Forest Apartments where 32 residents lost their homes, with 8 of them being Longwood students and faculty, questions about renters insurance have come up.
In general, insurance is "protection," according to Daniel McCarty, an insurance agent for State Farm of Farmville, Virginia. There are three main types of insurance for a home. There is renter's insurance, which covers your personal contents in a home that you are renting, homeowner's insurance, which covers the residence itself and your personal property, and renter's dwelling insurance, which covers the person who is actually renting out their home.
Renter's insurance is for people who do not own their homes but want to protect the personal contents of a home they are renting. This includes items such as: TV's, sofas, tables, chairs, and even clothing. If it is unsafe or impossible to live in your home, according to different policies, the insurance company will cover the cost for you to live in a place comparable to your home until you are able to return to your own home.
McCarty says that once you get your insurance; "To go home, take pictures, take inventory…make a list, buy a firebox…put all of your important papers in that." Model numbers of TV's and stereos are what are needed to make sure you receive the dollar amount of what it is actually worth. There is a underlying trust that you will not lie about what you own, but the insurance company will investigate if what you are claiming to have lost doesn't fit in with your home or lifestyle. Buying a firebox is a point that McCarty is very adamant about after having lost his own mother in a house fire. Thankfully, all of her important papers were saved because of a firebox she purchased.
A typical stereotype of any type of insurance is that it is always too expensive. According to McCarty, "The renter's insurance is on average is $8.33 a month." While this price may go up in more populated cities, it is not too significant at around $15.00 a month. When you pay that, your renter's insurance will cover up to $25,000 in damages to your personal property. "That's a lot of DVD's, and school books, and things of that nature."
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