Are You Adequately Covered?

One of my more popular posts is about a former co-worker who lost everything in a rental fire on St. Patrick’s Day.

Well, insurance is back on deck as today’s topic because last evening there was a fire and boyfriend had to call 911 and knock on doors to make sure some neighbors got out of their houses. Four houses in a row were lost, possibly some pets as well.

Last night a boarding up crew was out. I could hear their saws ripping through plywood as I went to sleep. All I could think about when I saw the fire engines was if the Red Cross was out to help the residents and hoping the residents had some insurance coverage.

If you haven’t done so already, review your insurance policies for 2008. Did you buy anything new of high value in the past year? Did you have a life changing event? Are you renting? Can you buy more coverage? Is your car old enough to warrant a change in policy? What’s your commute like? Longer or shorter? Are you carpooling?

I feel particularly sad for the young woman who is clearly house-proud. She was out with her parents earlier this spring planting and re-mulching her front garden. She obviously just bought the place because she’s sprucing it up so much. I also feel pretty bad for the lady boyfriend rescued. She answered his knock on the door and he convinced her to get out. She was house- and petsitting. She saw the smoke through the wall and was looking for the cats when he knocked. He had to plead with her to leave the cats behind and make sure she was safe first. Then there’s the lady in another house with lots of little dogs to keep her company.

The Fire Department was still out there this morning to ensure the hotspots were out.

After the shooting in the neighborhood a few weeks ago, I think the neighbors are slightly shell-shocked today.