your take on renters insurance?

[Carrie A.]

What's everyone's stance on having their renters carry renters liability insurance?

[JD Martin]

We recommend it but realize that most don't get it, and if they do get it there's nothing to keep them from cancelling it or failing to renew. Unless you are going to take action on tenants that do not get it, I wouldn't make it an actionable issue. Sometimes it is going to depend on your market; I live in an area where probably 50% of homeowners don't have insurance, so to expect that renters are going to keep up on something like that is laughable. 

Personally, I don't care if they carry it or not. I have excellent insurance, and if the tenant does something and my insurance has to pay, they are going to go after the tenant to abrogate their losses. If the tenant doesn't have any insurance, well, they'll have to deal with the insurance company in court. If the tenant suffers a loss because they don't have insurance, well, that's really too bad for them. Either way, I'm not going to get into the business of carrying out evictions over renter's insurance.