"We were never able to recoup our loss."

August 11, 2010

During the summer of 1995, my husband and I moved into our first home to rent. Living in a small town meant people knew just about everybody and their business, so we felt pretty secure. Up until this time we'd rented apartments and had never had any problems or losses regarding our physical things. So with this same mentality, we figured we'd be all right living in a house as well. The idea of being robbed never entered our minds.

We'd considered the possibility of purchasing renters insurance before. One time I'd insist we buy it and then another time I'd say, "Let's hold off for a bit." I should have considered the "ifs" a bit more.

Knowledge is valuable. Being aware of what it means to be a renter is important, especially if something happens to a renter's place of dwelling. As a renter, you're liable for the losses regarding your personal possessions when it's not the landlord's fault. Things like fires, robbery and vandalism to the property of the owner is covered by their insurance, for their property, but it does not usually cover the loss of property for the renter.

We should have gone ahead and taken the steps toward purchasing renters insurance! We'd recently bought a home entertainment center, new television and surround sound. They were big purchases for a family on a budget and ones that couldn't be done again without years of saving. We'd given no thought to how we broke down the boxes of our purchases and disposed of them.

Trash day came and the boxes revealing what we'd bought went out with the rest of the garbage. Thinking nothing of it, we continued on with our business as usual. Unknown to us, our house was being watched. We learned too late that thieves watch for things like lack of activity within the home and purchases made (by watching the trash for evidence) and becoming familiar with a family's daily comings and goings.

While we were away from home that day, my mother walked in on a man stealing our entertainment center and all that went with it. For as long as it took her to run next door and call the police, he'd made off with all our new items. Even though he was caught less than 30 minutes later, he'd already gotten rid of the evidence. We were now without our new purchases, and because we hadn't bought renter's insurance, we couldn't replace with insurance money what had been taken by the thief. Hindsight doesn't make up for these situations in the here-and-now.

It takes only a few minutes of your time to find an insurance company and purchase renters insurance. This insurance isn't expensive. What it does is save you a lot of money should an occasion arise when, as a renter, your property is damaged or stolen. While some things can never be replaced, renter's insurance gives you peace of mind, knowing your possessions will be covered in the event of a disaster or theft. With renter's insurance you should be able to recoup some, if not all, of your loss financially.

We were never able to recoup our loss. It was a harsh lesson to learn, but one that has left an impression on my mind. When it comes to buying renters insurance, should the occasion arise in which I'd need to rent again, I will definitely be buying it.

-Melissa from Oklahoma

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