My Niece's building burned down

This was the scene of my niece's apartment building last Saturday morning. She's a student at ODU and fortunately she was visiting her mom that weekend. Unfortunately everything she owned was destroyed.

Her possessions literally went up in flames. And she won't receive any form of compensation. That's because she didn't have renter's insurance. It may seem foolish, but did you have renter's insurance when you were in college? I know I didn't.

The landlord probably has property insurance but, that doesn't cover any of the tenants' personal belongings. And if you are renting you might think that your few belongings don't add up to much, but have you actually tallied them?

Add up the value to replace everything you own: your stereo, iPod, bikes, computers, etc. Could you afford to replace all of that stuff at once? Not likely.

At an average of $12/month to cover up to $30,000 worth of property, renter's insurance is cheap. Renter's insurance also covers you if someone gets injured at your place. Often it covers damage caused by dependents and pets as well. So if your dog chews something of the neighbors or your kids break someones window you could use your renters insurance to cover the damage.

It will also cover you away from your apartment. If your bike or laptop get taken from your car or a public place the renter's insurance policy may cover the replacement. And in my niece's case renter's insurance would cover temporary living expenses like hotel and meals until she finds a new place to live.

To save money on all of your insurance costs contact the company that holds your auto insurance policy. Typically when you have multiple policies with one company they will offer a discount.

And now for my niece it will be a rough time not just putting her life back together, but recovering her school work...I can't even imagine.