I\’m not surprised by the article, but I know when I rented an apartment and had to sign w/ my lease that I would get renter\’s insurance and it was only $119 a year! I also think that people just don\’t think they need it, and so people just don\’t know. But, my dad works with people that are low income and they have transitional houseing and one of the classes that people are require to take while they are getting housing assistance is how to write and keep a budget and they tell the people about the importance of renter\’s insurance.
Renters insurance here costs between $100 and $170 for $15,000 of coverage with a $250 deductible, depending on the person\’s credit. These people are too stupid and too cheap to realize what the coverage could do for them. I see it every single day, and it disturbs me. Then when these people\’s apartments get burned out, they rely on charity to get by. It is very irresponsible, in my humble yet true opinion.
Unfortunately, most of these people don\’t understand the effects of a possible loss. They belong to the \”it won\’t happen to me\” club. I see it everyday. I even have clients who make mid 6 figure incomes and refuse to insure their businesses properly and also refuse to pay to have their home insured to value. They really need to make some insurance classes mandatory in high school and college.
Granted, living in a dorm, most likely you did not need insurance. You say poor people can\’t afford it. But if you look at the survey, 67% of renters lack insurance. Now, you can\’t tell me that 67% are all poor? Even if they are low income, most of these \”poor\” people all have a couple of TV\’s and clothes and applicances. You would be surprised that if you had to replace just all of your clothes, how much it would cost. Right down to underwear, socks, etc. I personally own about 200 shirts and 40 pairs of pants. At 30-50 bucks a pop, that\’s over 10 grand just in clothes. I am sorry, I don\’t buy the \”poor\” excuse for not buying insurance.
What\’s surprising is that many of our colleagues don\’t offer the coverage to the new citizen in our community in our office registering/insuring their auto. Dollar for dollar, HO-4 is the best product in the industry, aside of more commission $$. Think about it, if I\’m burned out of my apartment without renters, I\’ve got to look for another place to rent. For $200./yr (3 coffees/week)I\’d have a down payment on a house !!!
The reality is, in the event of catastrophic loss, these uninsured are insured. Backdoor insurance, federal relief funds. Katrina is a prime example. Those that were properly insured are making serious inroads and in some cases back in their remodelled homes. Other than a couple Red Cross meals and a little inconvienience the educated and responsible members of society have been made whole. The \”other\” segment of society…even after suffering this huge loss and being baled out with federal tax dollars and societies good will…still won\’t buy a basic policy. It\’s just a reality that needs to be addressed early on, say in a high school economics class. Novel idea huh? Maybe we can also teach some credit card and interest rate basics!
Maybe a fly over state. Even self insuring for a decade at $200/yr you still could not begin to come close to a down payment in CA, CO, FL, NY, NJ, VA…
Around this neck of the woods, the only people that rent are those that can\’t afford to buy a house. Most of these people are struggling paycheck to paycheck and renters insurance is a option they choose to live without.
They don\’t feel what they own has enough value to need coverage, and they don\’t care about liability issues because they have nothing of value to lose.
Many of these same people forgo auto insurance as well. They will bind a policy to be able to get their car licensed, but never pay the second month.
I\’ll bet these same people that \”can\’t afford\” renters insurance buy at least $5 of lottery tickets every week. Their chances of having a fire or liability claim are a lot higher than winning the lottery!
If you explain to someone that you actually don\’t have to have assets to be sued…and introduce the terms \”Garnished Wages\” & \”Lien\” you can open a whole new set of eyes. Explain to your landlord clients that requiring Renters insurance with a liability limit minimally equal to the value of their building is just as important and conducive to solving this problem.
going without renters insurance is dumb…landlords that do not require it is equally as dumb. $20 a month is well worth the risk…even if the landlord had to pay for it themselves.
I\’m not surprised by the article, but I know when I rented an apartment and had to sign w/ my lease that I would get renter\’s insurance and it was only $119 a year! I also think that people just don\’t think they need it, and so people just don\’t know. But, my dad works with people that are low income and they have transitional houseing and one of the classes that people are require to take while they are getting housing assistance is how to write and keep a budget and they tell the people about the importance of renter\’s insurance.
Renters insurance here costs between $100 and $170 for $15,000 of coverage with a $250 deductible, depending on the person\’s credit. These people are too stupid and too cheap to realize what the coverage could do for them. I see it every single day, and it disturbs me. Then when these people\’s apartments get burned out, they rely on charity to get by. It is very irresponsible, in my humble yet true opinion.
Unfortunately, most of these people don\’t understand the effects of a possible loss. They belong to the \”it won\’t happen to me\” club. I see it everyday. I even have clients who make mid 6 figure incomes and refuse to insure their businesses properly and also refuse to pay to have their home insured to value. They really need to make some insurance classes mandatory in high school and college.
Why does someone need insurance when all the stuff they have can be replaces at a very small cost?
I remember when I was in the dorm an agent tried to sell me insurance but all I had was about $500 worth of stuff.
Not every one that rents has a lot to insure. Lot\’s of poor people rent and can\’t afford insurance, especially with insurance scoring going on.
Granted, living in a dorm, most likely you did not need insurance. You say poor people can\’t afford it. But if you look at the survey, 67% of renters lack insurance. Now, you can\’t tell me that 67% are all poor? Even if they are low income, most of these \”poor\” people all have a couple of TV\’s and clothes and applicances. You would be surprised that if you had to replace just all of your clothes, how much it would cost. Right down to underwear, socks, etc. I personally own about 200 shirts and 40 pairs of pants. At 30-50 bucks a pop, that\’s over 10 grand just in clothes. I am sorry, I don\’t buy the \”poor\” excuse for not buying insurance.
What\’s surprising is that many of our colleagues don\’t offer the coverage to the new citizen in our community in our office registering/insuring their auto. Dollar for dollar, HO-4 is the best product in the industry, aside of more commission $$. Think about it, if I\’m burned out of my apartment without renters, I\’ve got to look for another place to rent. For $200./yr (3 coffees/week)I\’d have a down payment on a house !!!
The reality is, in the event of catastrophic loss, these uninsured are insured. Backdoor insurance, federal relief funds. Katrina is a prime example. Those that were properly insured are making serious inroads and in some cases back in their remodelled homes. Other than a couple Red Cross meals and a little inconvienience the educated and responsible members of society have been made whole. The \”other\” segment of society…even after suffering this huge loss and being baled out with federal tax dollars and societies good will…still won\’t buy a basic policy. It\’s just a reality that needs to be addressed early on, say in a high school economics class. Novel idea huh? Maybe we can also teach some credit card and interest rate basics!
Maybe a fly over state. Even self insuring for a decade at $200/yr you still could not begin to come close to a down payment in CA, CO, FL, NY, NJ, VA…
Around this neck of the woods, the only people that rent are those that can\’t afford to buy a house. Most of these people are struggling paycheck to paycheck and renters insurance is a option they choose to live without.
They don\’t feel what they own has enough value to need coverage, and they don\’t care about liability issues because they have nothing of value to lose.
Many of these same people forgo auto insurance as well. They will bind a policy to be able to get their car licensed, but never pay the second month.
I\’ll bet these same people that \”can\’t afford\” renters insurance buy at least $5 of lottery tickets every week. Their chances of having a fire or liability claim are a lot higher than winning the lottery!
If you explain to someone that you actually don\’t have to have assets to be sued…and introduce the terms \”Garnished Wages\” & \”Lien\” you can open a whole new set of eyes. Explain to your landlord clients that requiring Renters insurance with a liability limit minimally equal to the value of their building is just as important and conducive to solving this problem.
going without renters insurance is dumb…landlords that do not require it is equally as dumb. $20 a month is well worth the risk…even if the landlord had to pay for it themselves.