Renters should insure property

Dear Heloise: Regarding your recent column in the newspaper and the importance of having renters insurance: We were told that if a person does not have renters’ insurance and a fire destroys the home/building, the landlord’s insurance company may sue the tenant for the loss of the structure if the fire is the fault of the renter.

I don’t know if that’s true or not, but it is well worth looking into in case it is fact. Thank you for your interesting column.

Linda Greene, via email

Linda, this is correct, and thank you for a very good reminder! The key wording here is if the cause of the fire can be proven to be the tenant’s fault, which does seem right when you think about the situation. A neighbor left something cooking on the stove and the building caught fire? A tenant left the apartment with a fire in the fireplace, or went to bed with decorative candles still burning in the den? Who is at fault? Not the landlord, and not you.

Most people who rent an apartment, condo or house just assume that the landlord’s insurance covers claims of this sort. The landlord’s insurance company usually tries to go after the person at fault.

Not having renters insurance (it’s cheap, too!) is a bet you should NOT gamble on.

Heloise

Dear Heloise: Ever since I locked my keys in the car, I carry a spare key with my pocket change. The hardware store cuts a key on the right blank for a couple of dollars. The key won’t start my car, but it will unlock the door. Car keys with computer chips can cost $100 or more. (Heloise here: Depending on the key and/or key fob, it can cost several hundreds of dollars.)

Richard in Ohio

I have done the same, and I slip the single key in my wallet. Mine only opens the door and starts the truck. A few bucks to save hundreds, and a little piece of mind. Well worth it!

Heloise

Dear Heloise: My husband and I enjoy doing the number-placement puzzle in our daily paper. The problem was deciding who got to do it. The first one to the paper quickly draws the puzzle on another piece of paper, then completes the puzzle.

We use the back of junk mail and printer paper we don’t need. I can draw it in less than 45 seconds. You can draw it larger or, if you make a mistake, draw it again. It’s much easier to see the number pattern this way also. We both do the puzzle and reuse paper that was headed to the trash.

Sally, via email

Dear Heloise: We have several adhesive-bandage boxes, but didn’t know what size was in which box. So we sorted the bandages into sizes, with an example taped to the front of each box. Maybe this hint will help others.

Mary A., Vancouver, Wash.

Send a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000, fax it to 210-HELOISE or email it to Heloise@Heloise.com.

2015 King Features Syndicate