Apartment fire highlights importance of renter's insurance

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A three-alarm fire at Cobalt Apartments in Wesley Chapel yesterday has displaced hundreds of residents.

Cynthia Robles was among the residents who had to flee the fire with few of her belongings. She said she only had time to grab her cats.

"It was actually really scary, I've never dealt with something like this before"

"It happened way too fast. Right now I really can't tell you whether I'm going to come back to things of mine or not"

Other residents returned home to find the apartment building with 90 units a total loss.

The fire underscores the importance of having renter's insurance. Attorney Nicole Vinson said renters insurance can help provide coverage after a devastating fire.

"It doesn't cover everything, but in a devastating fire like this, it would cover the fire damage and the smoke damage pursuant to the policy."

Vinson said some apartments require some type of insurance, but renters need to make sure they have the right coverage.

"It's going to include your personal items. What's critical to know if you're shopping for this now in light of watching this story unfold is that you look for replacement cost coverage. It's not going to cost very much more. And then you're able to get the products current value instead of the price at a depreciated amount. You can also get loss of rents or loss of use coverage that's designed to cover the additional expenses that these folks are going through as they scramble and try to find a place to live."

Vinson also said renters should understand what their policies do not cover.

"most standard rental policies are going to insure for hurricane. If the wind takes the roof off the apartment complex, they're often not going to cover sinkhole or floods."

Renters insurance could also provide liability protection.

"It will really help if there was ever liability, if something happened in your unit, you would be protected. In cases, your neighbors tried to bring an action against you."

As residents at Cobalt Apartments work to figure out the next step, Vinson said some renters may have coverage through other policies.

"If you are a student and you're away from your parent's home, there may be coverage for you under that policy and that's something to explore. If you had personal items that were issued to you by your school or by your office, that may be covered. If you bring your laptop home, that may be one last thing that you have to worry about because it's insured by another policy."

For residents facing the aftermath of the fire, understanding their insurance coverage can be an important part of figuring out what comes next.