Do you have Insurance?
@retardedrugrat (4791)
Canada
March 27, 2007 1:57pm CST
Back in December of last year, there was a huge fire at our apartment complex. It wasn't our building, but the one directly across from ours. As I watched a second floor balcony burned right through and crashed to the ground. We ended up being evacuated just to be safe.
Our building was untouched, but over 100 people lost their homes and all their worldy possessions. In a cruel twist of fate, it was December 27th - the day after Boxing day, and the first day back at work for many people after the Christmas break.
My partner and I said we would be sure to get Renters Insurance, because if it ever happened to us, we would have no other way of replacing what we lost. With one thing and another, we never got round to doing it. Last weekend, the kids were sleeping out at a friends place, and so my partner and I were enjoying a little time to ourselves.
All of a sudden, the fire alarms in our building went off and it was instant panic. The cat was dragged hissing and spitting from behind the sofa by her tail, and shoved into her carry box. We grabbed keys and cell phones and headed out to the parking lot. The fire crews came and checked everything out.
Less than 10 minutes later, we were given the all clear. It was just a false alarm but it was WAY too close to home. Now we've vowed that we're getting Renters Insurance. We have to wait for my partners next paycheck, but we can't risk this happening to us.
Do you guys have insurance for your home, whether it's home insurance or renters? What would you do if you didn't and then lost everything in a huge fire? Have you ever had an experience like this before and how did you begin to recover from it?
12 people like this
32 responses
@marciapw (64)
• United States
28 Mar 07
Nope we don't have insurance. We should have had it. We just had to do over $4000 in repairs from an ice storm a while back. Just got everything fixed. It knocked down a tree limb. Which pulled our meter box for eletric off the house. No electric no heat and busted water pipes. We were told to cut the tree down. In the process of doing so one of the limbs went through our roof. It was a big mess
@retardedrugrat (4791)
• Canada
28 Mar 07
Ohhh ouch. I feel for you. That must have been an absolute nightmare.
I've heard and seen the damage that Ice Storms can do, but never actually experienced it personally. Out here in BC we don't usually get weather that extreme.
Insurance seems to be one thing that people don't think about, heck, we never did till the fire. Now we know better than to chance it.
1 person likes this
@caramello (4377)
• Australia
28 Mar 07
Yes I have house and contents insurance for the reason being what you have said in your discussion. How easy it would be to lose everything and not have the funds to start over again, let alone the thought of losing all the memories and keepsakes that I have collected over the years not a nice thought!
Even when I have rented I have always had contents insurance.
Fortunately I can say I have never been in this situation and hope I never will as my heart always goes out to people who have , and every year we have bushfires in Australia and the sadness that follows them hits home!
3 people like this
@retardedrugrat (4791)
• Canada
28 Mar 07
I totally know what you mean about the Bushfires. We have forest fires and wildfires every year. We don't live in an area where we're directly affected by the flames, but we do sometimes get a load of smoky air.
I too have a lot of memories attached to certain things in my home, and the thought of losing them scares me badly.
1 person likes this
@rainbow (6761)
•
27 Mar 07
That's really scary! I had insurance when I rented when I first left home it was under £5 a month.
Now I have buildings and contents 13 years later for under £20 a month.
I cannot begin to imagine how we would start agin even with the insurance, but people do and I suppose we would too.
Please get some insureance as quickly as possible, when you live in a block of flats there's so many other peoples carelessness to consider, good job the kids missed the fire alarm, it would have been scary for them.
2 people like this
@retardedrugrat (4791)
• Canada
27 Mar 07
I totally agree with you. At least with renters insurance we have a chance of rebuilding our lives.
We're planning on getting insurance as soon as my partners next paycheck comes in right before Easter. Unfortunately, the paycheck this time has all been budgeted towards Bills and Rent.
I too am glad the kids missed the fire alarm, but at the same time, I think we need to sit down with them and discuss what happens in such a situation, so that nobody panics and we get out safely and in a calm and orderly manner.
Another thing I should mention too is that the Fire Hall is right across the road, so once the call goes in to them, they're right there. When the other building burned, the entire top floor was gone, along with half of the second. They said it would have been much worse had they arrived any later.
The crews are hampered by the fact that the buildings are so old. They don't have a sprinkler system installed because of when they were built. It's just another reason to make sure we're protected against such incidents. It just goes to show that you never know when it'll happen.
2 people like this
@maribel1218 (3085)
• Philippines
27 Mar 07
That was a horrifying experience you have! I experience the same in our other commercial establishement 3 years ago wherein our commercial business was in the lower floor and our private rooms are in the 2nd floor.
The burning house was few blocks away what I really panic is that all the houses and establishment are so close to each other and in no time if the fire will not stop it will definitely reach us.
Thank's god it wasn't but from then on I really think we have to be more aware and secure about fire and other force of nature event and secure an insurance fire insurance to be safe.
I really think insurace makes a big difference when the real thing happened and you made a good decesion availing it.
3 people like this
@retardedrugrat (4791)
• Canada
27 Mar 07
It really does make a difference. It makes you feel more secure just knowing that if something DID happen, you at least have a chance to rebuild from it.
I know a lot of residents of our building were panicking because there are a lot of trees in the space between our apartment building and the one that was burning. All it would have taken was a wind blowing in the right direction and we would have lost everything.
The fire crews were amazingly organized though and they doused the trees closest to the burning building with water to try to prevent them catching fire. They did this extremely quickly, and I do think it helped.
The police were great at handling residents, moving them behind barriers, and they even had victim support on hand offering out blankets to people who were cold. The local Pizza hut were offering out free pizza to residents ans the local community hall was opened for residents who had nowhere to go. They were able to stay there for three days till they had something sorted out. The counselors helped them find a new place to go.
All said though, as good as everyone pulled together, it means nothing if you don't have insurance. How can you rebuild if you have no provision to do it with?
3 people like this
@moneymail (38)
• Nigeria
28 Mar 07
It will be a great injustice to one's life if we do not inure anything valuable about us.i support it to insure anything even our pets
@retardedrugrat (4791)
• Canada
28 Mar 07
I totally agree with you. We DO have Pet insurance strangely enough lol.
Thanks for responding.
@aribaba (366)
• Indonesia
28 Mar 07
I don't have one, I don't know, peoples here seems not too worry about this thing. if anything bad happens they just accepted it as a fate. insurance usually take by person that very rich, public building, and factory.
humm, your open discussion make me think twice of it necessary to have an insurance. thank you
@retardedrugrat (4791)
• Canada
28 Mar 07
I know here in Canada, a lot of people worry about having insurance. It just makes sense in case of anything happening like theft or a fire.
It's always better to be safe than sorry.
@lingli_78 (12822)
• Australia
28 Mar 07
no, i don't have insurance on the place that i rent now... i completely agree on what you say on your post and i know that it can happens to everyone of us... that's why i can only depend on God as my shelter and refuge to watch over my flat... and thank God nothing ever happened to my flat or my neighouring flats so far due to His grace and His protection... i am reminded again by your post not to be materialitic in this world because they are just temporary and can be gone in a second... i learn to depend all my life and everything that i have to God and i feel very safe and peaceful... once again, thanks for your post...
2 people like this
@retardedrugrat (4791)
• Canada
28 Mar 07
It's nice to hear that you depend on God to keep you safe. Not many people still do these days.
Thanks for responding.
1 person likes this
@axe_effect (799)
• Philippines
28 Mar 07
yes i do have an insurance, i have a health insurance, a job insurance, a security insurance and a car insurance..
@retardedrugrat (4791)
• Canada
28 Mar 07
Do you have home or renters insurance though in case of theft or fire??
@Bee1955 (3882)
• United States
28 Mar 07
We own our home and do have all types of insurance on it - for the porperty, the house, the car in the garage, and all our possessions, including the food. I had renters insurance before I married, too, and here's some grand advice for everyone. Get a notebook, plain white paper and a box of those plastic cover sheets you used to protect your homework in and take photos of as much valuable stuff as you can. The appliances that belong to you, your furniture, steroes, TVs, antiques, heirlooms, etc. AVOID GROUP PHOTOS, take each one individually. Attach the pics to a sheet of paper, write under it what room its in and how much you paid for it new! If you bought it used, guesstimate the new price. Keep copies of yout insurance policy inside this book so its handy. Keep the book in a well known place so you can easily grab it on the way out during a fire. This book can also be used if a robbery occurs, too! The costs and time taken to do this is priceless IF it is needed! So get off your duff!
@retardedrugrat (4791)
• Canada
28 Mar 07
Thank you SO much for this invaluable information! If you hadn't told us to do this with the photos, I probably wouldn't have done it.
However, all our important papers are kept in a black file thing of my partners, and we keep it in the closet right beside the door out of our apartment, so we know where it is if we should need to evacuate in a hurry. Even the kids medical information and my cats health records are in there.
I shall be going out to buy some of the plastic covers tomorrow, and a film for the camera so I can start with taking photos.
Thanks for sharing!
1 person likes this
@roque20 (518)
• Philippines
28 Mar 07
i dont have any insurance yet but if ever i have work i will get some insurance for me and my family. there was a time that i admitted to hospital and in that time we have no money fortunately i was covered by the insurance of my father and the money lend from my father's friend was saved and i was thankful for that. from now on i am much health conscious.
@retardedrugrat (4791)
• Canada
28 Mar 07
It's very lucky that you were covered on your Fathers insurance. Myself and my kids are currently covered for health plan on my partners insurance at work which is pretty good. I know we'll have no health concerns that can't be sorted.
What about home insurance though. Do you have insurance to protect against things such as theft or fire?
@retardedrugrat (4791)
• Canada
28 Mar 07
Oh wow. I'm quite astounded to hear that companies don't offer home insurance!! It's always been something I took for granted, knowing that we could get insurance to prevent against theft and fire and so on.
What happens if you have anything stolen or your home is burnt down in a fire? Is there any way of replacing what you lost?
1 person likes this
@bluewings (3857)
•
27 Mar 07
A Narrow escape for you guys.Yes,our home is insured.In the past,once our house was burgled .Although ,the robbers who came armed were never caught ,but a lot of what was taken away was covered under insurance .So, it was not a big loss.However,it's not a nice feeling.I have heard many stories of shops going up in smokes.It's wise to have your home insured.
@retardedrugrat (4791)
• Canada
27 Mar 07
I totally agree with you that it's wise to have your home insured. A couple of my friends have been burgled before. It's a devastating experience.
We have wanted to insure our home before, but until my partner got his new job, money was just too tight. There were times when we didn't know if we'd be able to make it through.
Things have changed for the better now though and definitely we're getting insurance. I don't want any more near misses. I got my kids to think about as well as myself and my partner.
1 person likes this
@motherof35108 (192)
• United States
28 Mar 07
no i do not have rental insurance on the apartment. i do not know if i would get it either. yes it can help you start over but it will not help replace the things that you have lost. so is it really worth the extra money.
2 people like this
@retardedrugrat (4791)
• Canada
28 Mar 07
I disagree to an extent. What if that extra money is what you need in order to start rebuilding your lives? What if that money is what you need in order to buy new furniture?
I agree that it can't replace memories, things such as photos, personal videos and everything like that, but in order to provide my children with their basic needs, I need to make sure we're protected.
@Bluenoser76 (57)
• Canada
28 Mar 07
You NEED to get insurance! Especially after having a fire, which btw is rather uncommon but very scary!
Most places will give you a monthly payment schedule, it usually costs about 2% more a month but its great if you can't afford to pay 1x a year. So it works out to $2-3/more a month.
Try Co-operators, they are usally quite fair.
@retardedrugrat (4791)
• Canada
28 Mar 07
I totally know where you're coming from. The fire was the first wake up call, and yes I agree that it is uncommon, but it wasn't just scary, it was terrifying!
I remember seeing a woman run up to the police barrier, saw her second floor apartment in flames and just collapsed. She lost everything, including her pets.
Some things you just can't replace. As for our insurance, we're going to head to the place where my partner gets his car insurance and see if they do renters insurance. They do monthly payments so we know it'd work out good for us that way.
@ravi_mittal (42)
• India
28 Mar 07
Offcourse I have an insurance. Its the best thing you can do while your lifetime.
@retardedrugrat (4791)
• Canada
28 Mar 07
I agree with you. Unfortunately, many people find that they can't afford it, and we couldn't either until just recently.
I'm glad we can now though, I'll feel much safer once I know we're covered in case of anything happening.
@samtaylorskykierajen (7977)
• Canada
27 Mar 07
We don't have insurance and like you have talked about it but just never got around to getting it as we are never renting in the same place for more then a couple of years and would have to change it all the time . It is something I try not to think about too much as it would make me quite nervous just because when I was a child , I did wake up to a burning building . It happened in March and we lost everything we had even our pets . There was nothing left to the house by the time they got the fire out . They never did find out for sure how the fire started but my parents did have insurance on the house . I have still never got over the fear of waking in the middle of the night with everything on fire . And although it scares me and I realize how easy it can happen we still have put everything off . I don't know how we would replace all that we have as it has taken us years to get what we do own .
2 people like this
@retardedrugrat (4791)
• Canada
27 Mar 07
That must have been a terrifying experience for you guys, and I'm sorry to hear it.
I think a lot of times we tend to put the most mundane things out of our minds because as much as we know it COULD happen, we think it never will. I guess thats a part of what myself and my partner thought after the fire in December.
Then when the fire alarms went off on Saturday it was just frightening! We have friends who live on the Second Floor of our building. They told us they just got Renters insurance, but it wouldn't be any good if they didn't figure out a faster evacuation mode. It took them 10 minutes to evacuate because they have 6 cats.
I have reached the point where I can't risk losing everything we have. My partner and I have worked SO hard to get to where we are today. To lose it all would just devastate us, and with three kids, we'd have no chance of replacing everything without insurance.
1 person likes this
@nglanfield (559)
• Turkey
28 Mar 07
No, we don't have renters insurance either, I keep on at my husband to sort something out, but he never remembers! But then and a again we do move about quite alot so we would have keep changing it, I think thats what puts hubby off.
1 person likes this
@retardedrugrat (4791)
• Canada
28 Mar 07
I can see how it would put your hubby off, but please please please get insurance!! You never know when you might need it. As for Renters insurance, all you have to do is call up the company when you move and give them your new address.
When a five minute phone call could save the contents of your home, I'd do it. Keep nagging that hubby of yours :P
Thanks for responding.
@heres2thescarsUleft (313)
• United States
28 Mar 07
I used to work for an insurance company and as far as the state of Kansas is concerned, home and auto insurance is required. However, renters is not, but I think it should be! I've seen too many people walk into our office that have lost everything. It's very upsetting because most of these people never even knew renters insurance exsisted! In Kansas renters insurance is very affordable...only around twenty dollard a month for protection up to $100,000.
I really hope you and your partner look into it, but never have to use it.
@retardedrugrat (4791)
• Canada
28 Mar 07
Thats awful. It's so cheap yet people most times don't know about it.
I've never needed insurance as of yet in the sense that we haven't had anything bad happen, but when you see people crying because they've lost everything and have no way of replacing it, it kinda makes you realize how important it is.
Thanks for responding.
@setylon (86)
• China
28 Mar 07
I don't have insurance.Recently I want to consult it with my friends.Just sudde,I am afraid of my room would slide thieve and rob my prossession.In my country,people don't pay attention on protecting their property through buying insurance.I don't know where can I go when I when get insurance,my friends don't know either.The goverment don't tell us the importance of the insurance,nobody tell us how and should we to get insurance,even in school.
1 person likes this
@collstarx (1177)
• Indonesia
28 Mar 07
Yes , I have insurance for my home, i take it in 2003, many cataclysm today, you must have insurance I think, I am from indonesia and I think you ever hear what happen in my country (tsunami, overflow, earthquake), I hope can be patient and god bless you
1 person likes this
@retardedrugrat (4791)
• Canada
28 Mar 07
I've heard of a lot of natural disasters that hit your country, and I'm sorry to hear that.
I'm glad you have insurance for your home, it would be terrible to lose everything and have no way of rebuilding your lives from that.
Thanks so much for responding.
