Mr. and Mrs. Smith live in a three bedroom apartment with their two children, a son in the fourth grade and a daughter in the second grade. The Johnson family live in the same building as the Smiths, in a three bedroom apartment with their two sons, one son is in the fourth grade and one son is in Kindergarten. Both the Smiths and the Johnsons leave their apartments to attend a school assembly one evening. Upon returning home both families find that an electrical fire has damaged their homes. Everything that wasn’t consumed by the flames suffers from either water or smoke damage.
The Smiths check into a local hotel that night and sleep comfortably in soft beds. When the apartment is renovated they buy new furniture and clothing to replace what was lost in the fire. The Smith family is able to settle back into life and carry on as if nothing has happened.
The Johnson family has to stay with friends during the renovation of the apartments. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson sleep on an uncomfortable sofa bed while the boys sleep in sleeping bags on the floor of the friends basement. When they are able to move back into their apartment they use furniture that is no longer needed by friends and family members and was going to be disposed of. The family has to use second hand clothing donated to them by a local church group, until they can afford to replace the items that were lost in the fire.
Two families, one disaster, two very different outcomes. The difference was that the Smith family had renter’s insurance. Renter’s insurance protects a renting family. When a property is rented out the owner has insurance that covers the building and land around it, if the building suffers damage or a person is injured while on the property the owner is protected against loss, homeowners insurance does not cover the renter.
Renter’s insurance is just that, insurance to protect the renter. In the event of a windstorm, fire, explosion, riot, vandalism, or theft the possessions of the renter are protected for their replacement costs or depreciated cash value. Renters insurance also covers living expenses if the renter has to move while the home is being repaired. In the case of a catastrophe renter’s insurance could be the difference between returning to life as normal and starting over again with nothing,