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Take a few minutes and estimate the total value of everything you own in your apartment or rented house. Add up the value of your electronics (your computer, stereo, TV, MP3 player), your furniture, clothing, shoes, appliances, pictures, towels, linens, kitchenware, games and everything else.
If you added up everything you owned and determined the replacement cost of everything, you might be very surprised at the total value. In fact, the average rented two-bedroom residence can easily contain more than $20,000 worth of personal property. Are you protected if you lost everything?
Protect yourself from financial ruin at low cost
If a fire, burglary or other disaster strikes your home, imagine having to replace everything you owned on your own dime. Now, imagine also being liable for thousands of dollars more if it’s found you were at fault for damage to the building itself. For example, what if you left an iron on and that caused a fire that destroyed your rental home and everything you owned.
Are you protected against such loss?
While most people know they’d have to replace their belongings if a fire struck, many people don’t realize they could end up liable for tens of thousands of dollars to their landlord – or in the case of military housing – to the U.S. government.
There is insurance available to help protect yourself against such losses. “Renters insurance” and other similar policies can be purchased that will cover your personal property losses against fire, theft, wind damage and also provide liability protection to property owners or guests – for instance, if someone trips on an empty bottle on your porch and gets injured. At a fairly low cost, such insurance could make the difference between you and your family recovering versus facing financial ruin.
Take your coverage with you – wherever you go
Renters insurance can also protect you wherever you and your property go. So, if you are in Paris and lose your GPS, or in Prague and someone steals your luggage, or in downtown Kaiserslautern and your camera and cell phone disappear – are you covered for the loss? Without insurance, the answer is almost always no.
Appropriate insurance can help lessen the financial burden of such losses.
Many servicemembers mistakenly assume their landlord’s insurance or the government will cover all their losses if a disaster strikes. While a
landlord might be covered as to her own cost in repairing the structure itself under certain policies, the renter’s belongings are almost never covered under the landlord’s policy.
In addition, you may not be covered if you are at fault for the loss or damage. For example, if you live in government quarters (on-base housing) and the housing unit is damaged by your negligence, you could be liable for the entire cost to repair or replace the unit. In such cases, if the damages are caused by your own negligence, the U.S. would also not pay for the damage to your own property. So, without insurance, you could lose everything.
How about coverage for your PCS move? You should check on the Air Force’s Claims Service Center’s Web site for information on your coverage for PCS moves – see https://claims.jag.af.mil/. For PCS moves, most private insurance contracts will reimburse you only for items lost or destroyed during shipment; they usually will not cover damaged items (items which can be economically repaired).
Some insurance companies provide “full replacement” cost protection. This means that if your 10-year-old television is destroyed, they will pay to replace it with a comparable new television. Each insurance policy is different; it is important to find out if the coverage satisfies your needs before your move.
The bottom line is that neither the government nor your landlord will provide coverage for every possible loss that you might suffer. Purchasing the right private insurance (renters insurance and comprehensive or “umbrella” policies) will go a long way in protecting you against unexpected expenses and losses. Do your research and find the policy that is right for you – and protect yourself against financial ruin.
