Renter's Insurance Advice

[MichelleCarmen]

Well, I've been procrastinating in getting renter's insurance for too long now and unfortunetly my apt building caught on fire last night, which was a wake-up call!

I had the TV turned up loud and my DH was asleep and if our downstairs neighbor hadn't been home to hear the smoke alarm and came up and banged on our door, we wouldn't have known!

So, yeah, renter's insurance. A few people have recommended me contacting my auto insurance, but for the last few months I've been planning to switch in June, so I'd prefer to go with a different company.

When talking to an agent, what should I be asking about? Any advice?

Thanks!

Oh, and it's interesting to note what people THINK they'll grab if their home is on fire and what they actually DO grab! Keep car keys by the door so if you have kids & pets, you can immediately take them out and rush them into your car so you know where they are! Also, trust me more than EVER: You will not think clearly or logically! Back up family photos on an on-line site like kodak.com or costco, something like that.

 

[chemgirl]

Wow that's scary! Was it a bad fire? Were you able to go back, or do you have to find a new place?

And ditto about people not acting rationally when panicked.

Not a fire, but our alarm went off about 20 minutes ago and I was running around grabbing cat carriers and trying to fish cats out from under the bed. DH was on the phone and asked me to "keep it down and wait a minute" while he finished his call. I know there wasn't smoke or anything, but we're on the 14th floor and we have 3 cats...I treat every alarm like the real thing because it'll take a while to get everyone out safely!

As for renter's insurance, we are insured through the company my dad uses for his home owner's insurance because that was the easiest thing to do at the time. I think our bank and car insurance companies also do renter's insurance.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Wow that's scary! Was it a bad fire? Were you able to go back, or do you have to find a new place?

And ditto about people not acting rationally when panicked.

Not a fire, but our alarm went off about 20 minutes ago and I was running around grabbing cat carriers and trying to fish cats out from under the bed. DH was on the phone and asked me to "keep it down and wait a minute" while he finished his call. I know there wasn't smoke or anything, but we're on the 14th floor and we have 3 cats...I treat every alarm like the real thing because it'll take a while to get everyone out safely!

As for renter's insurance, we are insured through the company my dad uses for his home owner's insurance because that was the easiest thing to do at the time. I think our bank and car insurance companies also do renter's insurance.

I think the tenant's apartment is ruined. I've walked by their door a few times now and can smell smoke from 5' away! My son commented on it and told me I smell like smoke, as well! The fire apt's top-window screen is black!

While all the neighbors stood there watching the action, I turned into my typical pyscho self and *kicked in* the glass box which held the fire extinquisher and grabbed that waving it around in the police officer's face b/c they hadn't bashed in the front door like normal freaked out people should have been doing. They waited for the fire dept.

I went up into our apt a few times and grabbed clothes and other stuff...because my son was in BOXER shorts and an undershirt and we had NOTHING else and I didn't know what was going to happen! Made the mistake of opening all the windows while inside and the smoke poured in. Have a soar throat today! Bleh.

Bank sounds like the best place to get insur. Thanks.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Oh, also do you think I'm liable for paying the cost for breaking the box to the fire extinguisher? It had a lock on it and so I HAD to break it. I did clean up some of the glass....

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Here's what's left of the box....I swept up all the glass, but haven't cleaned out the inside of the box yet. Gotta love that there was a ciggarette on top of the box. None of us in our building smoke!

 

[chemgirl]

Pretend it wasn't you!

I have no idea if you're liable or not, but I really don't think you should be...

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Pretend it wasn't you!

I have no idea if you're liable or not, but I really don't think you should be...

They all know it was me who kicked it in because they watched me do it!

But, on a really LAME note: My kids' room smells like fire and after typing on the keyboard here, so do my fingers!

What do I wipe everything down with? Pine-sol? Any other ideas?

Damn it.

The neighbors are back and carrying all their belongings out to the dumpster.

 

[rubybeth]

So sorry about this, MC! No idea about getting rid of smoke smell, but one thing I wanted when we got our renters' insurance was coverage in case of a burst pipe. Flooding is often not covered with a regular policy, so our insurance agent made sure our policy would cover that.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

So sorry about this, MC! No idea about getting rid of smoke smell, but one thing I wanted when we got our renters' insurance was coverage in case of a burst pipe. Flooding is often not covered with a regular policy, so our insurance agent made sure our policy would cover that.

I just talked to my landlord and she will not pay for any cleaning of my apt. She said that the apt that was on fire doesn't smell like smoke so there is no way mine does. Then why do I smell smoke when I'm by the other apt?

She told me she'd reimburse me for a couple cans of air freshener!

Oh, and ETA - the family is throwing all their stuff in a dumpster!

 

[elrohwen]

When DH and I moved in together we each had different car insurance - we went to both of those companies and asked for an estimate and one came back cheaper (for both of the cars and the apartment), so we went with them. I don't think there's much you can do other than call around and they'll ask you the necessary questions. You'll have to estimate how much the stuff in your house is worth, so try doing that first instead of doing it on the spot.It'll surprise you by how high the number is!

I'm sorry to hear your place had a fire! That would be so scary.

 

[EricaR]

Please note, I am not an insurance agent BUT I just happened to work with Renters Insurance for many years.

There are two parts to a Renter's Insurance Policy - Contents (protection for your stuff) and Liability (protection for other people and/or their stuff due to your actions). Most policies combine the two. The general rule of thumb is to get $25,000 in contents coverage for each bedroom you have. Liability is super cheap, so always go for the maximum amount available. When I was working in Renter's the difference between $100,000 and $1,000,000 in liability was something crazy like 40 cents/month.

It is generally a good idea to get coverage where the rest of your insurance is, namely auto. Most times large carriers offer multi-policy discounts. I know with ours we ended up getting a larger discount on our auto insurance than the renter's cost, so we are saving money by having additional coverage. Strange, I know.

Did the people who's apartment burned have liability coverage? If so, you would probably be eligible to make a claim against them for smoke damage. This has NOTHING to do with your landlord and you do not have to go through them or notify them that you are speaking with the other person's carrier.

 

[EricaR]

No no no! Don't go to your bank for Renters!!! This is how my former company sold their product and there are only two companies that offer it this way - both are crap.

Go to an actual insurance carrier - I always liked Allstate's coverage. Even when I worked on the Renter's Insurance product I had Allstate coverage myself.

 

[decodelighted]

I believe renter's insurance is also to protect the renter from being sued by the LANDLORD for causing a fire in their property. Wonder who's fault the fire was?

When I had renter's insurance, I got it through the same co. I have my car ins. w/ .... I got enough to cover my possessions AND the value of the entire (pricey) Brooklyn brownstone. Just in case. A fire did start in my apartment during that time -- but luckily it was a very, VERY small one. (Bad lamp exploded a bulb and the rattan rope shade caught on fire). Can't imgaine what have happened if I wasn't there to witness it happen. Now I'm very leery of leaving lamps on when not in a room. Especially lightweight ones that can be toppled over by cats.

 

[Fly Girl]

MC - Sorry about the fire. Pooh on the landlord. Since you let smoke into your apartment it is going to smell like smoke. I expect it is going to take a lot of cleaning. Sorry.

We have always had State Farm, beginning with Renters Insurance many years ago. They have been good about paying claims. We have an auto claim with them now. Easy to work with. (Our car was hit by a drunk driver while parked in the liquor store parking lot. )

 

[April20]

MC, it's been a few years since I had renter's insurance, but it was always pretty straightforward. I would call a few established companies in your area and ask them for quotes for renter's insurance. They'll ask questions that will guide you and then you can compare quotes.

And your LL saying that the apartments don't smell like smoke is crap. What a lame response from her!

 

[D&T]

oh no MC-- Sorry this happened to you... As for renter's insurance when I rented, I went through allstate for I think about $25-$30/mnth.

Also I found this item to work really well on smoke or any type of odor problems, I bought a coach bag once from a seller and forgot to ask about her smoking... well it wreaked so I stuck one of these Fridge-it in the purse - zipped it up and put it plastic bag and for a couple of weeks (I did also spray light perfume or refresher spray a couple of times), and it removed all the smoke from the bag.

http://www.amazon.com/Fridge-Naturally-Activated-Charcoal-Absorber/dp/B000I1UXPS

ETA: of course you're talking about your entire apt, so this may not work too well but for small pieces of clothing or even a closet a couple of these might help some?

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Glad you are all okay! That's really scary. I try to buy all my insurance through one company for the discount. Renters insurance is really cheap. Maybe go with the company you are planning to switch to.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Please note, I am not an insurance agent BUT I just happened to work with Renters Insurance for many years.

There are two parts to a Renter's Insurance Policy - Contents (protection for your stuff) and Liability (protection for other people and/or their stuff due to your actions). Most policies combine the two. The general rule of thumb is to get $25,000 in contents coverage for each bedroom you have. Liability is super cheap, so always go for the maximum amount available. When I was working in Renter's the difference between $100,000 and $1,000,000 in liability was something crazy like 40 cents/month.

It is generally a good idea to get coverage where the rest of your insurance is, namely auto. Most times large carriers offer multi-policy discounts. I know with ours we ended up getting a larger discount on our auto insurance than the renter's cost, so we are saving money by having additional coverage. Strange, I know.

Did the people who's apartment burned have liability coverage? If so, you would probably be eligible to make a claim against them for smoke damage. This has NOTHING to do with your landlord and you do not have to go through them or notify them that you are speaking with the other person's carrier.

$25K per bedroom? That is the general rule! Wow...can't imagine many people being able to cover their losses with that amount.

Does renters insur cover hotel costs while looking for a new place to stay?

I seriously doubt those tenants have insurance. In fact, they have more people living in the unit than the number listed on our tally for the monthly water bill so they just are kind of hiding out, almost.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

I believe renter's insurance is also to protect the renter from being sued by the LANDLORD for causing a fire in their property. Wonder who's fault the fire was?

When I had renter's insurance, I got it through the same co. I have my car ins. w/ .... I got enough to cover my possessions AND the value of the entire (pricey) Brooklyn brownstone. Just in case. A fire did start in my apartment during that time -- but luckily it was a very, VERY small one. (Bad lamp exploded a bulb and the rattan rope shade caught on fire). Can't imgaine what have happened if I wasn't there to witness it happen. Now I'm very leery of leaving lamps on when not in a room. Especially lightweight ones that can be toppled over by cats.

Deco - fire was due to a stove being left on. We were able to see inside after the fire crew arrived. A pot boiled over onto the burner, food caught on fire and the fire spread upward and around the kitchen cabinets.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Thanks everyone. I'll start calling around for car quotes so I can find ones that also have good renters quotes. Guess that's the best route and then get the renters now and add the vehicles on after we switch?

 

[Octavia]

Is there a reason you're waiting to switch the car insurance? You don't have to wait for the current policy to expire if you don't want to, you can just start the new policy and cancel the old one, and the old company will send you a prorated check for the unused portion. But if you're waiting for a certain amount of time to be up so you can get a better rate, that's understandable. I would definitely get the renters now and add the autos at the same company, the savings from having multiple policies can be significant.

 

[rockzilla]

Another vote for going with whatever company you have your auto insurance with! My old auto insurance was ~$1800/year; the renters' policy was $250/year BUT you got 10% off your auto, so when it net out it was only ~$70/year extra for renters.

Good luck

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Okay, I received my quote from Allstate..."estimated" (if I pay-in-full rather than monthly payments) is $223 a year and for $70 more includes $5K non-vaulted jewelry coverage (more than $5K requires additional cost). So, about $20 a month. Not too bad!

 

[Miss Sparkly]

If you qualify for USAA, they are amazing. I really can't say enough great things about USAA and I'm normally not one to gush. Our policy is for $50,000 worth of stuff, my jewelry and my flute are on two separate polices, no detectable and if it ever comes to the point that I lose everything I own a check for the full amount will be sent directly to me - no questions asked or proof of what it's spent on needed. I pay a total of $85 a month for car insurance on two 2008 cars (with a 24 yr old and 28 yr old on them), renters insurance, and insurance on my jewelry and flute. Really great prices

eta: We can easily cover everything we own for $50,000. If you're in an apartment or a small house (like us) I can't begin to imagine that much worth of stuff. My inlaws would be whole different story ... I think they could cover their couch set with our insurance

 

[zoebartlett]

Glad you are all okay! That's really scary. I try to buy all my insurance through one company for the discount. Renters insurance is really cheap. Maybe go with the company you are planning to switch to.

Ditto. All of our insurance is with one company and it's a good deal.