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Nightside's Chelsea Hedquist reporting Just this week we saw a fire break out at an apartment complex in the Avenues, and another in Layton. If a similar disaster hits your apartment, will you as a renter have the insurance protection you need?
"If you are renting, you absolutely need to think about renter's insurance," says Carol Walker, executive director of an insurance education non-profit. "If the unthinkable were to happen and you had a fire that burned down that apartment building, your landlord's insurance is not going to cover replacing all your stuff."
Walker estimates only about 25% of renters have renter's insurance, even though it's fairly inexpensive. "If you can afford a pizza, a few lattes, a CD once a month, you can afford renter's insurance," she says."
Renter's insurance in Utah costs about $10 to $15 a month, or $150 a year to get renter's insurance a year in Utah. At that price, it was a no-brainer for renter Jen Sheevy. "It's just such a good idea, and so cheap," she says.
Some rental properties have made renter's insurance mandatory. Wasatch Property Management, with several complexes in the Salt Lake area, requires all tenants to have insurance. "We're requiring them to have it because there's a small benefit to us," says Wasatch spokesman Corey Smith, "but really it's a good thing for them, most of all."
Most renter's insurance policies don't cover earthquake or flood damage, and some auto insurance providers often offer a discount on renter's insurance to their existing clients.
