I lived in a building that burned in a fire, and I regret not having renter’s insurance. My neighbor had a studio apartment and a 30 thousand dollar policy, and she got 30 thousand dollars. She used that to put a down payment on a house. When I moved to my next apartment, I spoke to my insurance agent about renter’s insurance. He gave me a quote for a ten thousand dollar policy, and I said “no, I want thirty.” It’s dirt cheap – maybe 130 bucks a year. I have it with the same insurance company that I have auto insurance with, so it’s a bit cheaper to have them both with the same company.
Fires are something that “happen to other people” until they happen to you.
One thing I learned after experiencing the building with the fire, in talking to people about it I learned that many people have lived in homes where there were major fires.