In the effort to educate renters on the importance of having tenants insurance, the United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg will embark on an educational campaign.
“Recent fires in apartment complexes have brought to light the large number of tenants who do not have any type of insurance to cover their belongings or to provide for their need for short term accommodation after a fire,” the UFFW said in a release Tuesday.
On Saturday, 18 people were forced from their apartment at 290 Beverley Street when a fire erupted in the early morning hours. The occupants of the building didn’t have tenants insurance and were only able to salvage what few items weren’t destroyed. The fire was accidental in nature, believed to have been caused by a cigarette.
“There is a very strong need for low-income individuals to be able to access tenant insurance and one solution that we are researching is having insurance as part of the cost of rent for an apartment,” the UFFW went on to say.
The UFFW will attempt to sit down with the city, province and insurance industry to find a solution to the problem low income renters face when it comes to acquiring insurance. Such coverage ranges in price for as little as $20 to $25 per month.
