THIS is a review of how tenants insurance could work for you in the event of a claim. It is fictitious but designed to show you the sort of costs and benefits of having insurance in place.
John Smith is a renter in Liverpool where he is going to University to study ‘Life in General’. He has found a single bedroom flat on the outskirts of the city but with good bus links and a pub. He is happy.
He moves in and brings with him an Apple computer, phone and iPod. He also likes movies and has a 42-inch telly and the latest DVD player and amplifier. His stereo is a Bose system for use with his iPod.
He has a fair amount of clothes, books and a Futon bed sofa that he uses for sleeping in as well as sitting on. All in he reckons he has £15,000 worth of his possessions in the flat and decides to get himself tenants insurance in case of theft or disaster. He gets it for £150 with zero excess.
Three months later he is robbed and everything is taken, even his underwear and he is destitute. He calls his insurance company with the claim and tells them everything he had, approximate or actual values and then waits 24-hours while they assess his claim. He has of course notified the policy and got his crime reference number.
He has to buy some emergency supplies of clothing and essentials but a couple of days later he gets a call from his insurance company with an offer of £15,000 for him to settle the claim. He takes it and spends the weekend shopping and buying all the things he had stolen – except now they are brand new.
So for his £150 outlay he has received a £15,000 benefit and life can go on as normal. Without this insurance in place he would have been penniless and having to buy everything from scratch because there is no Government scheme to help replace your own possessions in the case of a burglary.
Asked to review his insurance he said: “I am really glad I put insurance in place or else I would really have lost out. Now I have got new versions of everything and my wardrobe is even a bit better, so life is good. I’d recommend making sure you have contents insurance in place all the time.”
OK, so it’s all a made up story but there are plenty of people who have gone through this experience and it makes sense to cover your possessions – to get good tenants insurance visit The Property Insurer.
Jason McClean
The Property Insurer
