We have four kids. Only three are at home regularly since the oldest is in between his girlfriend’s place and ours.

If you have children too, you’ve probably already heard this before: “There’s nothing to eat!” The fridge is full. There’s a fruit bowl on the table and bread on the counter. But they see absolutely nothing to eat. Maybe it’s a question of perception. But if we were to give our kids a list of everything there is to eat and asked them to go and buy all of it, their savings would take a real hit.

That’s my point: people tend not to truly see everything that’s all around them, in the day-to-day.

Losing everything

Imagine the scene: On a beautiful summer day, you head out the family to the Granby Zoo. The sun is shining. Everyone is dressed in shorts, t-shirt and sandals. After a great day, you go back home and the house is gone!

Instead of the four-unit apartment building where you have lived for several years, there is only a pile of smoking ashes. An electrical overload sparked a fire. All you have left are the clothes on your backs. Nothing else could be saved. And you have no insurance.

This disastrous scenario seems unlikely, yet every year many families experience it! Almost all of them rent their homes in apartment buildings. (Mortgage creditors require homeowners to take out and maintain insurance for their homes. Insurers also cover homeowners’ property at the same time).

Opening your eyes

In my blog articles, I often repeat how important it is to inventory your belongings. So let me say it again: Make lists of your CDs, your DVDs, your books, everything! Photograph each item and make sure you get a complete view of it. Photograph the inside of your closets and cabinets. If you do, you’ll realize just how many things you have. And everything you could lose.

The Insurance Bureau of Canada has some excellent articles on the importance of home insurance for tenants. You can also download a room-by-room checklist here: www.infoassurance.ca/en/documents-tools.aspx. Fill it out as soon as you get a chance. If you can, give your lists and photos to friends or save them in an email accessible at all times. If disaster strikes, you’ll have quick access to them.

The cost of insurance

Getting coverage should be a priority. Not only to protect your own property, but that of others. After all, can you imagine if you were responsible for a fire that destroyed your home but, to boot, you received formal notices claiming hundreds of thousands of dollars from other tenants?

Renters’ insurance premiums vary according to many factors. However, it is likely that for just $20 or $25 a month you’ll get excellent protection for both your property and your liability in the event of damage to the building or of injuries for which someone could hold you responsible.

If cash is an issue, simply downsizing your mobile phone, Internet or television plans—no need to disconnect them completely—would allow you to make the monthly payments on a very decent coverage plan.

It’s one thing to hear our children complain that the fridge is empty. It’s totally another to see it ourselves for real.

Martin Desrochers