The Genius Painter Working On His Masterpiece
Why Renters Need Insurance – New York Times
The link will take you to an article in the NY Times that has some useful information on obtaining renter’s insurance.
The above photo is of my apartment about 2 weeks ago, right around the time this article was published in the Times. It’s not like I needed the NY Times to tell me I needed the insurance. I even had a policy quote from Liberty Mutual that I had received a few months prior but I just didn’t get around to reviewing it. I procrastinated. As it always happens, you don’t realize you need something until it’s too late.
About two weeks ago I reluctantly woke up an hour before normal to let the painters into my apartment. They were instructed by my landlord to plaster and paint the ceiling in a few small areas that were water damaged from a roof leak. The painter (if I should even call him that) worked on the ceiling in my bedroom while I waited in my living room hoping he would soon leave. From time to time I would peer across the hallway into my bedroom to check the progress. All seemed fine until heard something fall. I thought it was no big deal because the way he was standing I couldn’t see what happened. Then he moved out of the way and I stood there in shock as I witnessed half of my bedroom covered in white paint.
He ran out of my room and I heard him frantically trying to find something to clean up the mess. Apparently, he had a huge bucket of paint on top of the ladder. I don’t really understand why he would need so much paint up there to cover a 1 square foot spot on my ceiling. Anyway, he was stupid. He knocked it over and spilled paint onto the floor creating a huge puddle that splashed all over my dresser, bed, and clothing. Luckily my guitars were on the other side of the room. Otherwise, I might be in prison right now for assault.
Here is where having a great landlord really counts. I called him up while the guys were cleaning and I told him we had a big problem. He sounded pissed but sympathetic. After all, he had hired the guys doing all the work. He was great about the whole situation and said to let him know whatever I needed without any fuss whatsoever. An hour later his wife came by to see the damage and I came up with a number for her to relay to my landlord. She said no problem and apologized again. They were so nice that I was starting to feel guilty for having them compensate me for the damage. Although, when I was throwing out a few hundred dollars worth of clothing that I had just bought two days ago, I started to feel less and less guilty.
You never realize how bad you will feel until something like this happens. It is really a horrible feeling to see your possessions get destroyed in an instant. I can’t imagine how victims of natural disasters cope with there loss. I feel extremely grateful to have what I have. Many landlords would have put up a fight and without insurance I would have been screwed. Do not procrastinate. Get renter’s insurance now and keep good relations with your landlord. You’ll be glad you did.
{ 0 comments }
