After many lost their possessions in Sunday night’s fire on West Union Street, insurers and property owners are recommending that students consider renter’s insurance in the future.
It took mere hours on Sunday morning for apartments, businesses, beloved bars and respective memories to dematerialize into black smoke on West Union Street.
But it will take several months for insurance companies to get cash-in-hand to property owners such as Guy Phillips, property owner with Housing HotLink, which owns 14 1/2 W. Union St., to make it possible for the block to be viable again.
Included in Phillips’ property are the Smoke Zone Smoke Shop and apartments above. He said he hasn’t been in the building yet, but said it’s safe to assume it as a “total loss.”
Phillips spent much of Monday on the phone with Westfield Insurance in Parkersburg, West Virginia filing claims for the destroyed property.
“Each owner has their own insurance. I was just on the phone a moment ago with an adjuster with my insurance company and they’re dealing with people just up the street,” Phillips said. “I’ve never experienced a fire like this.”
But there’s more to the claims-filing process than just the property owners — business owners and renters are each responsible for declaring a loss on their items.
That’s where the complications start, said Peggy Hartman, office manager at O’Nail-Hartman Insurance in The Plains.
For students looking to seek retribution for items they lost in the blaze, they will either have to go through their parents’ homeowner’s insurance, which might not cover the damage, or through their own renter’s insurance.
Hartman said, however, that many students aren’t even aware renter’s insurance exists — which costs about $200 a year through O’Nail-Hartman. Most policies cover wind, fire, lightning, vandalism and theft.
Additionally, some policies cover renter’s liability, meaning that if a renter accidentally caused a fire, they wouldn’t be held accountable.
“You would probably have your check in hand in probably in a two- to three-week period,” Hartman said. “Maybe quicker.”
Phillips said he put displaced tenants formerly living at 14 1/2 West Union St. in one of his properties roughly 500 yards away from Ohio University’s campus, and was looking to get beds for them Monday.
He anticipates he won’t have his insurance claims sorted out for “many months,” though he hopes to rebuild whatever he lost. He said that it’s safe to assume his tenants will be without their original home when they return for second semester.
He said the property could take a year on its own to rebuild.
Phillips added that he recommends all of his tenants get renter’s insurance.
The tenants each received $100 for food Sunday afternoon, said Sandy Heck, property manager for Housing HotLink, which manages about 100 residential properties.
“I’ve got an apartment sitting there, it’s great and there’s a hot tub and parking,” Heck said. “(The tenants) all went over there (Sunday) and looked at it, I’m just waiting to hear their next step.”
If those affected by Sunday’s fire have renter’s insurance, Hartman said, they can contact their agencies to be reimbursed for hotel stay or to be placed at an available residence.
“Probably the first thing a student should do is have a parent check with their insurer,” Hartman said. “Then if they don’t have coverage, they need to buy it on their own. Most students never think about that part.”
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