Apartment Fire Damage in Mesa, AZ. Are You Covered?

5/31/2019 (Permalink)

Fire damage to your property can be devastating! At the beginning of March an apartment complex had in Mesa, AZ buildings light up in flames and almost burnt down the whole side of the building. 10 of the 12 apartments in that building were affected and 7 had to be totally vacated by the renters. SERVPRO of North Central Mesa is the vendor the apartment complex uses for mitigating fire damage issues on their properties. This next week we will begin the demolition of those apartments which have to be torn down to studs. As costly as this will be to the Apartment complex to fix, it has been overwhelming for the renters who had to vacate their apartments. One of the main issues for the renters was having to leave property behind that in some cases are not salvageable. 3 of the apartments in question had 70 to 100% of the contents of the apartments damaged to the point of not being salvageable.

Generally apartment leases require renters to have liability insurance to cover damage to the structure of the apartments, but don’t necessarily require you to have coverage for your personal contents. However, in the leasing agreement, there is generally wording that absolves the apartment complex of liability if you don’t have coverage for your contents. 2 of the renters we are working with did not have their personal property covered in their insurance policy and are going to have to personally replace everything they lost. Now, they are still investigating the cause of the fire. If it is found to have been caused by the negligence of another renter, they can possibly go after the insurance policy of the renters at fault. But generally the apartment complex has first priority to claims per the rental agreement. The cost to restore the building will be well over $500K and will most likely exhaust the claim coverage.

So insurance policies are sometimes complicated to understand. But there are some basics PolicyGenius.com suggests for renters insurance.

• $25,000 personal property damage coverage: Covers the cost of replacing or repairing your belongings if they’re damaged or stolen.
• $300,000 personal liability coverage: Covers legal costs from damage or injury that occurs in your apartment.
• $2,000 medical payment coverage: Covers medical expenses for anyone injured in your apartment.
• $10,000 loss of use coverage: Covers the cost of lodging, food, and more if your apartment becomes unlivable due to damage.

They also suggest having a deductible of around $500. Yes, you can get your insurance cheaper with a higher deductible, but remember, if something happens you have to make sure you are able to cover that deductible.