• Gary Sandler
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    Published 26 January 2018

    LAS CRUCES – According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, apartment dwellers are 50 percent more likely to be victims of theft than people who own homes. Despite that fact, a survey of 1,400 renters by Apartments.com revealed that just over two-thirds of apartment dwellers and more than half of home renters don’t carry insurance. Why?

    The majority of respondents said insurance simply costs too much. Others either didn’t know that renter’s insurance was available or thought that the value of their personal property was too low to justify purchasing coverage. In a nutshell, their observations could not be more wrong.

    Renter’s insurance is inexpensive and definitely worth the money. To drive home the point, an Apartments.com survey showed that the majority of renters who do carry insurance pay an average of just $12.50 per month to protect themselves from loss of a place to live, legal liability, theft, fire and lightning damage, weather-related causes (wind, hail, etc.), smoke damage and auto burglary.

    Think of it this way: How much would it cost to replace virtually everything you own — clothing, bedding, TVs, stereos, tools, cameras, computers and phones, kitchen and bath items, jewelry, artwork and furniture? The cost can be staggering. What if someone is injured on your property and you were sued for medical expenses? Again, the cost can easily be in the thousands of dollars.

    Renter’s insurance comes in two basic forms: actual cash value and replacement cost. ACV coverage only compensates policyholders for the value of their belongings at the time they were damaged or stolen. Replacement cost coverage pays the amount it will actually cost to replace the items. Even though replacement value coverage costs more than ACV protection, the premiums are still worth considering.

    According to the New Mexico Office of Superintendent of Insurance Consumer Premium Comparison Guide, a Las Cruces-area tenant living in a typical Las Cruces single-family home can obtain a $25,000 policy with a $250 deductible for as little as $112 per year.

    The guide allows consumers to explore various risk characteristics that are the most common factors used to rate insurance policies. Shoppers can select the “best” risk characteristic that most closely matches their situation. The characteristics may not be an exact match, but they provide a simple way to compare premiums.

    Once the basics have been input, the result will be a listing of “average” premiums by insurance company and by insurance company group. These insurance companies represent the largest writers in New Mexico.

    The results can be sorted by premium or insurance company and group. Clicking on a row will reveal information for each company, including contact information, complaint ratios by year, A.M. Best rating, fees, discounts, and surcharges. Premium amounts shown as “NA” represent a company that will not write your risk.

    The site also provides premium guides for home and condo policies, auto insurance, and worker’s compensation coverage. It’s important to note that while the data are not current, it does illustrate how each company’s rates compare with those of their competitors.

    Is protection from legal liability and a promise to replace all of your personal property worth $9.33 per month? You do the math.

    See you at closing.

    Gary Sandler is a full-time Realtor and president of Gary Sandler Inc., Realtors in Las Cruces. He can be reached at 575-642-2292 or Gary@GarySandler.com

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      Gary Sandler