The fire this week at Cedar Point apartments in Roanoke County has many of you thinking about your own insurance policies. Whether you rent or own, understanding how your insurance works is key. Most importantly, if you don't have renter's insurance, get it! Most home mortgages require homeowners insurance. But there are some extra things you can do to ease your burden if disaster strikes.
Allstate insurance agent Steve Nash has been in business for 33 years. He's been there to help when families are left with next to nothing. "Obviously the burden of proof is put on the customer because we don't know what you have until you tell us," Nash said.
You can ease that burden by having a good idea of what's inside your apartment or home.
Nash said itemizing your belongings is best. "You could even go around your apartment and do a documentary with a camera. And you can do a verbage as you go through, take pictures and these type of things and keep this documentation off site," said Nash.
Some of your most costly items are inside your closet and Nash said replacing your clothing can add up quickly. "You're not going to get in too much of a battle with the claim adjuster because they pretty much have a good idea how much you probably have based on the quality of the contents that you list," Nash explained.
On average, those who rent typically have about $30,000 worth of contents. For homeowners, the items inside are insured up to 70-75% of the structure covered.
"Your renter's policy also is a package policy. It also gives you liability protection. It gives you guest medical protection and it gives you loss of use," said Nash.
Nash said there's a misconception sometimes that renters are insured by the landlord.
That's not the case.
Renter's insurance costs roughly $.50 a day.
You can adjust the coverage amount, with a minimum of $10,000.
High dollar items like jewelry, watches, furs, even firearms can be appraised and added to your policy as well.
