By Galen Eagle
Out of the 60 to 70 fires the Red Cross attends to each year in Centretown, workers say more than 60 per cent of the victims do not have renters’ insurance.
“It’s surprising the numbers that we do see. We find that there is a high percentage of people who don’t have insurance, particularly in the Centretown area of the city,” says Alistair Hensler, co-ordinator of the Red Cross Emergency Disaster Assistance program in Ottawa.
The program provides immediate services for fire victims such as food, clothing and temporary accommodations.
Hensler says fires are a tragic event for anybody, but for the uninsured, they’re devastating.
“I’ve seen the grief that goes with it,” says Hensler. “A fire is probably the most devastating thing there is next to a death in the family, but if you don’t have insurance it’s very difficult. You have to start from scratch.”
Dave Janveau and his wife Tanya Trenka are doing just that. They lost everything they owned when a fire destroyed their building at the corner of Bank and Florence streets last month. The couple had insurance, but Janveau says the experience has been one of the most difficult things he’s ever been through.
“It’s been a really bad month. You lose your comfort. You lose your history. I can’t imagine anything worse than this other than if one of us got really hurt or died,” says Janveau.
But the couple has been able to move on because they were insured for $33,000. They have already begun to rebuild. Janveau says he couldn’t conceive of going through the process without compensation.
“I can’t imagine why anybody wouldn’t have insurance of some kind. You get nothing,” says Janveau. “We’re starting with zero, but it’s like having $33,000 in the bank and somebody who takes care of you for a while to get you back on your feet.”
However, in Centretown, it isn’t always easy to get insurance. Robert Jones, an insurance broker with Rhodes & Williams Ltd., says many young people in the area, who tend to live with two or more people, are not great candidates for insurance.
“Insurance companies are reluctant to insure for unrelated people sharing the same household,” says Jones. “The mindset of the insurance world is ‘What’s the worst that can happen?’ Animal House is the worse thing that can happen.”
Jones says even young people who are eligible for coverage generally choose not to get it.
“Amongst the student population, I would say 80 per cent don’t even give [insurance] a thought,” says Jones. “Part of that is they’re young and immortal. Life hasn’t kicked them in the ass.”
Jones says it’s a shame more people don’t get insurance because it is relatively cheap. For example, he says for a group of three people living in Centretown to be insured for $30,000, it would cost $206 a year – roughly $6 per person each month, depending on the insurance company.
He also says many young people living on their own are covered through their parents and don’t even know it.
“Normally if mom and dad have a home policy, usually up to around $5,000 is automatically covered for students away at school.”
Jones usually offers the students he speaks to several tips. First, avoid living with more than one or two people. Second, stay away from buildings that have commercial occupancy, which will more than double insurance rates. Finally, young people should check their parent’s home insurance policy because they’re likely already covered for a minimum of $5,000.