"Uh oh," I thought, "this can't be good."

December 23, 2009

I was so excited. I had just moved to a new city and my consulting business was just starting to take off. Best of all, I had found the perfect apartment. It was in a brand-new building located close to everything, but in a sleepy little neighborhood that was experiencing some growth due to a few new apartment and condo buildings.

When I had seen the apartment and my application had been approved, I couldn't wait to move in. Well, I thought I couldn't wait, but I had to wait. The builder was still finishing some construction. "A small price to pay for living in a brand-new apartment," I thought. After a month and a half of delays, I finally got to move in.

I had rented a luxury apartment on the ground floor of a brand-new two-story building. The walls were painted a nice tan color, all the fixtures were upgraded, and despite being a "one-bedroom," the place was huge. I especially liked the storage closet on the south side of the living room. It was big enough so I was able to set up my desk, computer and home office inside. I could work there by day, then slide the doors closed and have an elegant living room by night.

My financial advisor told me that renter's insurance was a "must-have," considering how inexpensive it is. I agreed, and it was high on my list of things to do. Sadly, it wasn't quite high enough on my list of priorities.

Just six days after moving in, I was returning home after making some sales calls. From my car parked in the street I could clearly see residents and construction workers buzzing around the building. "Uh oh," I thought, "this can't be good."

I walked into the main entrance and instantly heard my footsteps making a squishy sound. I walked through a puddle to my doorway, opened the door, and waded into my new apartment. The water came out only about four feet from the south wall. So while most of my belongings were safe, my home office was soaked. Furious, I returned to the hall and asked the first person I saw, a construction worker, what the heck was going on. "Fire sprinklers," he said. "Pipe burst in the attic."

I called and asked the property manager what had happened. Apparently a contractor was completing work in the attic and had dislodged a fire sprinkler pipe. The water was shut off as quickly as possible. The only damage was to the hallways, my upstairs neighbors' apartment, and my apartment. I asked what he intended to do about the damage. According to my lease, the property manager's liability included only the apartment itself. Since it was flooded, I would receive a three-day credit on the next month's rent. Otherwise, I was out of luck.

Late that night, as workers were still suctioning water out of my apartment and setting up industrial fans, I calculated that I had lost about $2,500 in electronics and furniture that I could have claimed if I had had renter's insurance. Most of my files survived; I needed to wash some extra bedding and dry-clean some clothes. I was really lucky I didn't lose more, though. But for a few dollars and a few minutes, I would have been completely covered by renter's insurance. Now I set up renter's insurance the day my rental application is approved.

— Aaron from Washington

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