Require Renters Insurance?

[Larry H.]

Do you require renters insurance, and why or why not?

[Sean Ridlon]

I'm not a landlord (yet) but my day job puts me on flood and fire scenes in multi-family and single family rentals all the time.

One of the hardest part of my jobs is telling the tenets to form two lines: those with renters insurance in my right and those without on my left then saying to all those on my left, "You have three days to remove your contents from the fire scene. The Red Cross will be here to assist you with your temporary needs."

Meanwhile, those on my right get housing and replacement funds less the deductible. They even sometimes have funds to have their items inventoried, removed, cleaned, and stored if their items are restorable. There policies also cover the disposal costs.

Everyone else is OOP. Out of pocket.

As was mentioned, then come all the threats to sue the landlords, attempts to reach the landlords' insurance adjusters (fruitless every time).

I've even seen parking lots of multi family buildings where the cars were damaged in the fire; you find out real quick who didn't have full coverage.