Survey Says Conn. Renters Not Prepared

As the number of Americans renting homes dramatically increases with the current housing foreclosure crisis, a new survey released by Allstate finds most Connecticut renters are inadequately prepared to protect their belongings.

While homeowners coverage is required as a part of most mortgages, the more than 300,000 Connecticut residents who rent their homes face no such insurance requirement. Without that requirement, only 50 percent of Connecticut renters acknowledged they have renters insurance to cover their property in case of loss, compared to just 40 percent of national survey respondents.

The share of rental households in the U.S. jumped by about 1 million in 2007 and this group is likely to expand further if foreclosure trends continue, according to Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies. With no relief in sight for the housing market, it is critical for renters to be prepared to protect their possessions in case of a loss.

The survey found most renters in Connecticut underestimate the threat theft poses to their belongings. More than half (53 percent) of the renters surveyed estimated the number of burglaries and other property crimes in Connecticut at less than 50,000. According to the FBI's most recent Uniform Crime Report, there were about 15,000 burglaries in Connecticut in 2006, and more than 60,000 cases of larceny, which also relates to theft of property. Only 18 percent of renters guessed the number was roughly in this range. Nationally, only 5 percent of survey respondents accurately estimated the number of property crimes committed annually at more that 1 million.

According to the survey, the biggest reasons renters in Connecticut don't purchase renters insurance are: 1) not owning enough valuables to justify having the insurance (35 percent) or 2) they haven't made the time to look into it (32 percent). On a national level, the majority of renters don't purchase renters insurance because they haven't made the time to look into it.

Allstate's survey also found that about three-fourths (73 percent) of Connecticut renters say they have not done a home inventory check list, or tried to estimate the cost of replacing everything in their home in the past year or two. Fewer than one in five Connecticut renters (16 percent) say they have taken photographs or videotaped their possessions during the past two years to help document what they own.

Misperceptions about the price of renters insurance were particularly telling. One in five Connecticut respondents thought renters insurance cost at least three times as much as its actual price tag. At $13 per month, the average cost of renters insurance in Connecticut, 70 percent thought the coverage was very worthwhile.

Additional Survey Stats

-- Other reasons Connecticut residents do not purchase renters insurance include believing it's too expensive (22 percent) and thinking landlords are responsible for insuring renter's personal property (9 percent).

-- Sixty-three percent of Connecticut renters say that if they could protect only one of several types of possessions from burglary or fire, they would choose personal items such as photographs or letters. Seventy-one percent of women say they would save photos and letters compared to 54 percent of men.