Most Renters Dont Bother With Insurance
Two-thirds of apartment residents and those living in rental homes carry no property or liability insurance, a survey conducted for the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America found.
In a telephone poll of 1,000 people conducted by International Communications Research, based in Media, Pa., 64 percent said they had no insurance, while 2.2 percent did not know if they had it.
"IIABA and its Trusted Choice agencies are surprised by the survey result because our society pays such careful attention to securing auto insurance for our vehicles, yet we have millions of renters neglecting the need to insure the rest of their possessions," said Robert A. Rusbuldt, chief executive officer for the Alexandria, Va.-based association.
IIABA said that over 81 million Americans rent their homes. A frequent reason many renters give for not buying renters insurance is the expense, the association continued, even though renters coverage costs as little as $10 per month.
The average cost of renters insurance is $12 per month for about $30,000 of property coverage and $100,000 of liability coverage, IIABA noted.
Rebecca Woan, principal with Chartwell Insurance Services in Chicago, said agents can make customers aware of the coverage either through mailings or as a part of their auto insurance discussions.
One point that agents should keep in mind, she said, is to discuss renters insurance as part of a homeowners program for parents with children going away to college. Their homeowners coverage may extend to their children away at school, but a typical deductible of between $2,500-to-$5,000 would probably exceed the students losses.
Purchasing an inexpensive plan would not only cover their sons or daughters contents, but would mean the parent would not have to file a claim under their homeowners policy, she said.
Ultimately, like all insurance, it is the clients decision to make the purchase, but by informing policyholders, agents also avoid errors and omissions issues, she noted.
Reproduced from National Underwriter Property & Casualty/Risk & Benefits Management Edition, September 19, 2003. Copyright 2003 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.
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