On the news this morning was a report of a rash of arsons on vehicles near downtown Santa Cruz. Whenever I see a fire situation or a flooding situation on the news my first thought is, “I hope they have insurance.”
With every lease we have tenants sign we have a Renter’s Insurance Addendum where we recommend that they get insurance for their personal belongings. It usually costs around $150 per year. Yes, it is so cheap. Your laptop, iphone, leather jacket, bike all add up to more than $150 to replace.
I had a very sad situation happen when a tenant moved into a property and 2 days later came into the office asking if we had heard….well we had not, we did placement of this tenant the owner handles the management. Well, the tenant’s dad got up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and stepped into 2 inches of water! The entire house was flooded and it came from the malfunctioning ice maker on the fridge.
The gal asked, “who is going to pay to replace my items”, my response was, “did you have renter’s insurance?” “No. ” “Well, then I guess you are paying for your lost belongings.” The owners insurance will pay to repair the house but not replace her belongings.
What she could have gotten compensated for in this situation would have been: hotel cost, funds for rent, replacement of personal belongings etc. Instead she had to stay with family.
I have recently discovered another local company called, Home Asset Defenders which is a great service. The company comes into your home or business and documents with text and photos and values all your belongings and can provide the info to your insurance company in case of loss.
The company is: Home Asset Defenders (831) 761-9656 www.homeassetdefenders.com
Please check out my website at www.PortolaRentals.com if you are interested in properties in Santa Cruz or have rentals in Santa Cruz, CA.
Kathleen Richards
