The sirens could be heard from blocks away, and then about ten fire trucks, ambulances, and a hook and ladder truck came down my street and stopped, the firemen jumping out of their trucks, grabbing tanks, hoses, and axes, and headed inside to the loft building across the street. Quite a commotion that luckily was either very minor or a total false alarm. Ten minutes later, they started re-emerging, packed up, and were soon on their way. Phew!

But it made me think, what if there had been some disaster, to persons or property. You need to have renter’s insurance. Obviously, when you own a home or condo, insurance is required by the lender if you have a mortgage. But so many renters skip or skimp on renter’s insurance. Key components are coverage for your belongings and payment for medical bills if a guest is injured in your unit. It can happen—a trip and fall, a cooking mishap, who knows.



So make sure you have renter's insurance, with at least $10,000 in medical coverage and enough to replace anything of yours that could be lost due to fire, flood, or other calamities. False alarm this morning, but you never know.