HomeRenters InsuranceStudents returning from holiday break dealing with impacts of last month’s freeze

Students returning from holiday break dealing with impacts of last month’s freeze


COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) -The effects of December’s nearly week-long cold snap are still being felt two weeks later.

Some students returning from the long holiday break are finding their apartments have been flooded and in some cases their belongings ruined. Pipes in several student housing units across Bryan and College Station have reportedly burst due to the extreme drop in temperature experienced last month.

Well before the freeze, complexes across the area began to issue alerts and warn residents of the pending extreme weather not often seen in Texas. Landlords encouraged many residents to take preventative measures like dripping faucets if they were going to be away for extended periods and turning up the heat in units to help keep pipes as warm as possible.

However, many students were away spending time with family and friends for the Christmas and New Year holidays leaving them unable to make the necessary precautions.

Macie Pendergrass is one of many students that returned from the holiday break to discover he apartment in disarray and her belonging wet and moldy. What was worst for the Aggie senior is learning that the renter’s insurance she purchased through her landlord won’t cover the personal items she has to replace.

“All my clothes, my laptop, my tv, my router, basically everything that I owned,” said Pendergrass. “I was like hey! Where do I file for the insurance? I know I pay it through ya’ll every month. You told me everything will be taken care of and she was like oh! we’ll fix the apartment up and everything, but as far as personal belongings that’s up to you. You have to have your own insurance for that.”

While renters insurance is not required by law in Texas, most landlords require it. That’s why the Better Business Bureau says it’s important to read the fine print before signing a lease and equally important to research and invest in your own insurance.

“If you get renters insurance through your apartment complex or your landlord that’s typically going to cover things that are a little bit more in their favor,” said Better Business Bureau Regional Director, Katie Galan. “It’s usually best to kind of go out on your own and maybe find a different company than what your landlord is suggesting.

Pendergrass says it was important to share her story so other students won’t have to deal with the same consequences and challenges.

“Just be aware and definitely read your leasing contract, because you know, if I would have been told verbally that the insurance I had through them didn’t cover anything I definitely would have gotten my own insurance and avoided this whole mess.”



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