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Hypothetically, let's assume that you come back from class to find your apartment complex burnt to the ground. Street">All your belongings are toasted and there is no one to pay you back for your losses. Ouch, what do you do then? Unfortunately, this hypothetical case does occur often. Renters insurance is perhaps the most overlooked necessity by university students. Many students are given the option of renters insurance, which is there to protect their property and interests, in case of a fire, theft or accident. Little do students know, in the case of a destructive fire, their personal belongings are not insured. When this happens, they have no one to blame but themselves for not opting for renters insurance. Unfortunately most students choose not to exercise this option.

Looking simply at 2006, there have been multiple fires throughout on and off campus university housing. At the University of Maine, an off-campus housing fire originated from an overheated lamp, which sparked the flames that eventually left 3 students homeless. Another case is from the University of Clemson, where a fire mysteriously started in some bushes and ultimately burned the complex down leaving 32 students homeless.

Based on information from the North-American Interfraternity Conference, the frequency of college fires amounts to roughly 1 fire every 2.5 days. The national average would obviously be greater given that the data obtained only accounted for fraternities and sororities. The causes range from poor candle usage to the improper disposal of cigarette butts. Regardless of the cause, however, the inevitable loss of property and life is a sad fact and consequence of the fires.

Aside from hedging against fires, renters insurance will cover theft. Of course, students find their most expensive possessions, like their computers, stolen. Renter's insurance will cover the cost of the stolen computer, but for students that desire to retrieve their data, simply replacing their computer may not be enough. There are companies like CSI insurance that offer policies that can help retrieve your computer via means similar to LoJack. Oftentimes, the insured party will install a piece of software that operates in the background. When the thief accesses the internet with the computer, police officers are then informed of the culprit's location.

There are mainly two different types of renters insurance: actual cash value policies and replacement cost policies. Actual cash value will pay the amount needed to replace the possessions minus depreciation up to the chosen policy's limit. The replacement cost policy does not have any deduction for depreciation. Insurance prices vary depending on many factors, but can for the most part be as low as a few cups of coffee at Starbucks. One major factor is the coverage amount. The scope of coverage is another factor, which may range from medical coverage to only personal property coverage. For example, an instant quote conducted on rentersecurity.com returned a very reasonable $159 annual payment for 12 months of coverage, where the coverage covered personal property up to $10,000.

No matter how cautious students may be, fires and theft are a reality. So when these unfortunate events do occur, it is definitely in the students' best interest to have renters insurance.