I will buy a landlord policy for the duplex that includes liability coverage.

Paint ceilings and walls, one coat coverage.

There are many reasons you should use an LLC for rental properties, and have good insurance coverage. 

If you do the former, you'll never pay for the work that hasn't yet been done.Lastly, developing a well thought out, comprehensive Scope of Work will help you avoid many "change orders".

Taking ownership in your LLC offers some asset protection & allows you to qualify for a commercial loan/mortgage based on rent coverage.  

Insurance will be higher, and you'll need additional windstorm coverage.

So, next time you're talking with someone who has no knowledge of or experience with the real estate market, pay very close attention to their opinion, and do the exact opposite :-) This is great anecdotal "evidence" but it proves nothing but public opinion, and even then it doesn't prove that as you don't have a statistically large enough sample size, while you do have a ton of coverage and other errors. 

We do carry decent coverage and still get roofs replaced... you can buy cheaper policies for sure but by then you're increasing the self-insurance component and I don't choose to do that for a variety of reasons. 

,I mean, in theory, if title is willing to issue clear title insurance that doesn't list it as an exception to coverage, sure....

In purchasing a first position note, do most people verify insurance coverage prior to purchasing the note or do you wait until after the note is purchased and deal with it then?