Zak Wood / Colorado Daily

Maya Kleinbort, left, Shelley Nagata, center, and Kathleen Mannis, right, move into an apartment on 10th and University, Sunday afternoon. Kleinbort, Nagata, and Mannis do not have renters insurance.

A recent study shows that more than a third of those living in Boulder who rent do not carry renters insurance to cover the loss of their belongings in case of disaster or theft. A significant statistic, given that nearly half of Boulder rents.

"I've never really thought it to be that necessary," said Jeff MacNeil, a 22-year-old Boulder resident and former CU student. "In terms of theft, I don't really have much valuable stuff. Just my computer -- I don't think anyone would go for my clothes or bed."

MacNeil's response -- not owning enough valuables to justify insuring them -- was the third most popular reason given by Coloradans living without renters insurance, according to the same study conducted this year by Allstate insurance company. The most popular answer, according to the study, was "Haven't made the time to look into it," followed by "The coverage is too expensive."

Christina Loznicka, Spokesperson for Allstate, suggests the cost of renters insurance can be much lower than most might originally assume.

"It's cheap," said Loznicka. "Usually less than the cost of pizza or two six-packs of beer per month."

Loznicka told the Colorado Daily that the cost of renters insurance averages about $15 per month -- perhaps even less when a policy is purchased in conjunction with an automobile policy by the same provider. This monthly fee could go a long way, however, in covering the thousands of dollars in personal belongings that people often don't give much thought to.

"As you accumulate clothes, DVDs, textbooks, furniture, and other belongings, it all adds up," said Loznicka, who said that most renters have around $10,000 in belongings.

In contrast to his indifference to the threat of theft, MacNeil felt differently about the impact of a fire.

"Fire is different," he said. "That would screw me over."

In fact, according to Sarah Huntley, public information officer for the Boulder Fire Department, for many students it already has.

"In the first seven months of this year there have been four fires that have displaced CU students," said Huntley, citing the most recent fire that occurred in an apartment building on Marine Street in July that displaced more than 50 residents, many of them students.

Some of these students, according to Huntley, were vocal in expressing that they wished they'd had renters insurance, which would have helped them reclaim their belongings as well as provided some relief while they waited for their claims to be processed.

Loznicka said that most policies include "additional living expenses" that kick in immediately upon displacement that would help flood or fire victims get back on track faster.

Huntley said that she encourages students and other renters to get insurance, especially when living in an apartment or with roommates.

"A lot of college students live in communal housing, which can make them a little more susceptible because you don't have control over what's going on in the other units," she said. "And one disaster could more than make up for the investment if you go through that experience."

Perhaps this is the reason why renters insurance both mentioned and recommended within the framework of so many lease agreements.

"Every lease we have -- 100 percent of them -- recommends that the owner's insurance does not cover resident's personal possessions from fire, flood, theft, or vandalism," said Tom Van Lieu, Property Manager at Mock Property Management, who manages over 400 properties in Boulder.

"If the resident desires to insure their personal possessions, renters insurance should be obtained," Van Lieu read directly from the Insurance subsection of a sample lease.

Similar language is also included in the "Residence Hall Contract" that CU students sign before moving into the dorms, which states that the university does not provide any insurance to students living in dorms and encourages them to carry their own personal property insurance, according to Kambiz Khalili, Interim Director of Housing and Dining Services at CU.

According to Khalili and Loznicka, many students in dorms may be covered under an extension of their parents' homeowner's insurance, but this extension ends when students move to off-campus housing -- which is why they suggest looking into the situation sooner rather than later.

"It's a good, practical thing to do. You never know the future so it's good to have it just in case," said Khalili.

Contact Lance Vaillancourt about this story at (303) 473-1113, or at vaillancourt@coloradodaily.com.