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Apr 04, 2018

The "I'm Glad That I Have Renters Insurance" Activity (courtesy of Brian Page)

While on the subject of insurance, thank you to Brian Page for sharing his two-part activity to teach students about renters insurance. Once students choose their policy option they get one of those unwelcome surprises where they get to immediately apply what they have learned.

Here are links to Part I and Part II of the activity. 

Renters Insurance has never seemed so exciting, so just remember, stay calm...

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Handout: Renters Insurance

Part I (20 minutes): Imagine you are a recent high school graduate renting an apartment. You are making $2,000 monthly (net pay) and can afford the monthly premium of any of the three options below. The teacher will model how the slider on this tool works so you can determine the total value of the possessions you will most likely have in your apartment.

What is the likely total value of the possessions in your future apartment? (Note - this is the first step in selecting a renters insurance policy. If your total possessions are less than the deductible, renters insurance is not necessary)

After everyone is done, we will move forward together as a class with Part II of this activity.

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Insights from Brian after using this activity with his students:

Like any other teacher, I'm constantly modifying or editing lessons based on student feedback, changes in the financial world, etc. After running through the Renters Insurance activity a few times, I made a few more adjustments:
 
1. I noticed a small error in the second handout pertaining to replacement cost and actual cash value. It has been corrected and now reads as: 
"REVIEW the list of items stolen and damaged below and determine how much the break-in will cost you based on the coverage you selected. If you selected the actual cash value option, your loss will include the difference between purchasing the item new and the depreciated value."
 
2. I added a personal story about homeowners insurance. My family and I were in a  tornado when I was a child.
 
3. I added a reflection question: "If you selected the actual cash value option (Option 2 or 3), would you make a claim? Why or why not? It's important to note that if a student did selection option 2 or 3 that there is no financial benefit to filing a claim.'
 
Sharing lessons and ideas with each other helps all of our students. However, I have found that students tend to be the most engaged when you share a deeply personal experience over the topic. I doubt my tornado story would work for anyone else.
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Looking for additional engaging insurance activities? Be sure to check out NGPF's Insurance resource page! 

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