Knock, knock, knock! “ResLife!”
I sat up in bed. The clock read 4:30 a.m.
Knock, knock, knock . . . “ResLife!”
“Just a minute!” I yelled back. I scrambled in the dark to find my phone and a
sweatshirt. My boyfriend was up and beat me to the door. The light from the
hallway was almost blinding as we opened the door to find an RA standing
outside.
The RA told us that the people who live above us had a severe leak in their
bathroom and that she was here to make sure it had not come through our
ceiling.
We turned the corner of our apartment to find water all over our bathroom, the
living room desk . . . and my boyfriend’s computer. His super nice, almost as big
as a TV, video-editing computer was covered with water. There was a small lake
in the keyboard. To top it all off, my boyfriend’s notebook for all of his classes was
soaked.
All three of us rushed to unplug everything on the desk and dry off whatever we
could.
We were able to save the computer with a blow dryer and some patience, but this
event definitely makes me re-think the value of our possessions. I don’t identify as
a materialistic person, but this leak was nearly devastating.
Do you or anyone you know have renter’s insurance? Is this something that every
tenant, even college students, should consider?
Yes! Renter’s insurance is a must! I just had my laptop stolen–not from my apartment, but from my workplace–and my renter’s insurance saved me. It was a $1300 apple computer and loaded with around $500 worth of photo/video editing software. I was able to file a claim with my insurance and, after my $500 deductible, they’ve sent me a check for around $1300 to cover a new computer. It’s something you don’t really think about as a student, but for $10-12 a month I’d say renter’s Insurance is a great investment. It also certainly gives me peace of mind if anything else were to happen to my stuff, wherever it is.