Business senior James Souza walked into his house on a recent Tuesday afternoon to find a big empty spot where the main TV used to stand. The 40-inch TV, along with his roommate’s Macbook Pro and a couple iPods, were all stolen from their house while everyone was on campus and in class.

Souza and his roommates, Business seniors Andrew Ives and Jimmy Zuegner and Arts & Sciences senior Dan Manning, live at 36th and Davenport Streets. Zuegner said a lot of students live in that area.

“We were all pretty shocked and nervous because there was nothing we could do to stop them if they came back the next day,” Zuegner said.

Zuegner said they called the police, who told them the robbers had jimmied the lock to enter through the back door. The police also took fingerprints, but other than that, Zuegner said there is nothing he and his roommates can do.

Zuegner said they have to replace everything out of their pocket because they did not have any type of insurance.

“Essentially we can’t do anything,” he said.

Zuegner and his roommates are not alone. Greta Ritchie, a local State Farm insurance agent, said theft is one of the biggest causes of loss she sees.

“When you’re in a dorm setting and off campus, there is a high occurrence of theft,” Ritchie said. “The biggest other loss, especially in apartments, is fire. A lot of students lose stuff [to fire].”

Ritchie said getting renter’s insurance is a good way to make sure students have a back-up plan in case they do get robbed or lose all their belongings in a fire.

“If you don’t have [renter’s insurance], you’re starting from scratch, and you don’t have anything,” she said. “You don’t know where to start.”

Arts & Sciences junior Jenna Boulas lives off campus and said she gets renter’s insurance for the safety net it provides.

“I think it’s really important when you put a certain amount of monetary good into the place you are renting,” Boulas said. “I furnished the house I’m living in: couches, dining room table, entertainment center, etc., so it’s important that if the worst were to happen I wouldn’t be hundreds of dollars out of pocket.”

She said she thinks renter’s insurance could be a good option for students seeking “peace of mind,” but for other students with fewer possessions, it may not be worth it.

Ritchie said she thinks a lot of students don’t consider renter’s insurance because they think the cost will be too much, but in reality, it is actually very affordable.

“State Farm, which is pretty competitive, runs about $100 a year at $8.33 a month,” Ritchie said. “It usually gets you somewhere around $20,000 of personal property covered.”

Ritchie explained that basically everything in the apartment is covered, as well as cars and the items in them.

“If you picked up an apartment and shook it, everything that is not latched down is covered,” she said.

Ritchie also said there is some liability coverage included, meaning that if a student hosts a party at his or her apartment and someone trips on the carpet and breaks his leg, the owner is covered. She also said that if the renter accidentally hurts someone, he is also covered.

“If you are golfing and you hit someone with a ball, you’re covered,” she said. “If you are shopping and run into someone with a cart, you’re covered.”

Ritchie said most insurance companies write on-campus policies as well.

Arts & Sciences senior Angela Clodfelter said she could have used renter’s insurance when she lived on campus.

“I do have renter’s insurance now because it is cheap and worth it,” Clodfelter said. “However, I also no longer live in the dorms. When I did live in the dorms, I wish I would have known that it was available because I would have had it. It is worth it. You never know when your apartment will flood and your computer will get ruined, or when a fire will start. Renter’s insurance is well worth the cost.”

Ritchie said she thinks students don’t realize exactly how much they have until it’s gone and they have to pay the replacement costs.

“If you have renter’s insurance, [State Farm] is going to pay the replacement costs,” she said. “They’re not going to buy you used jeans; they’re going to buy you new jeans. So you go out and buy five new pairs of jeans. If you had to start over by yourself, it would be overwhelming.”

Zuegner said he and his roommates were never offered renter’s insurance, nor did they ever think about it. He said they have talked to their landlord and are getting a new security system put in place.

“I want [students] to know that this happens in the neighborhoods around campus – that it happens at any time of day,” he said. “It was completely unexpected.”