Really good discussion of the subject, from the personal finance blog Get Rich Slowly:

http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/09/...-bucks-a-month/

I just bought renter's insurance today through GEICO, I have my auto insurance with them. It is peace of mind.

Honestly, I have renters insurance and I feel the exact same away before I didn't have any, but I have to say though I probably will never go without because incase of an emergency, and well it keeps my insurance costs down with the discount

X2...

Was cheaper for me to get term life insurance, car inurance and renters insurance rather than just car insurance by itself.

Plus the peace of mind.

I am a professional firefighter, I would guess that 90% of the renters we talk to after a fire do not have ins. It is very sad to watch them, especially for the kids. I wish landlords would offer to bundle it into the rent payment or something, like was posted earlier, it is dirt cheap peace of mind.

Interesting. It must be something about where I live (Northern Virginia) or the type of apartment I was looking for - but when I was apartment hunting, every one I talked to required renters to show proof of renters insurance. They all require it in the lease.

renters insurance paid off for me back when I was a tenant.

I know that I have probably spent far more on it in my lifetime than I ever got back...however, when it IS needed by a renter, the funds will pale in comparison to what NOT having it will cost.

My only claim was for lightning damage to a VCR some 20 years ago...at the time, the VCR was a near-top-end unit. It was repaired and I am actually still using it to this day...

Getting renters insurance is a good deal. IMHO.

Many landlords "fire policies" are now requiring the renters to have insurance also.

Combining a rental lease and a renters insurance policy is an excellent idea.

I am required to have rental insurance as I have a dog...Cosmo; a Jack Russell terrier, not a vicious breed, but insurance is required just in case my doggie goes midevil on someone.

LOL.....I work in the "hood", most of these are 1920's 1100 sq ft houses with very little maintenance. No apartment complexes and I very much doubt any lease.

You would have to condition the lease on the acquisition of insurance would be my guess...I can easily envision problems with trying to take out insurance on your tenants (in many respects, it is the same as taking out a life insurance policy on your next door neighbor). Because the policy is in the name of the landlord, can you only imagine the problems with trying to get a payout on a claim in some instances, especially if you had one of the mega-idiot management companies?

Requirement in my mind, why leave your possessions/life in the hands of your neighbors (in an apt complex)? I've seen my neighbors and I sure as heck don't trust'em!

I'm bias though, a good friend had her apt building burn to the ground, 42 aparts gone. She had insurance and got $40,000 from it.

I do they get a basic policy for free. It just makes me feel better.

+1
MPD can make renters a bargain and even a net gain,
at most $100-200/year to insure against a small chance of losing and replacing $20k-$40k of stuff out of pocket

It was required for me in SoCal.

$15 a month.

I have a JRT too! Those guys are just filled with energy and intelligence. Mine is actually very territorial when it comes to other dogs and has attacked two in the community here - what type of things do you have to have on your renter's insurance to make sure it covers pets - or does it automatically? We have renters through State Farm, but are thinking of switching because I think they're more expensive than they need to be...

A guy I know and his wife had NO renter's insurance. Their apt building burnt to the ground too. They lost EVERYTHING! People were sending them stuff, especially clothes, because they didn't have the money to replace anything. It was a sad sad story.

Here in FL it is very hard to find renters insurance. Allstate was all I could find when we first went back to renting at over $50 a month. They kept not updating their records with our new address and such so I cancelled as we were not covered at our new location. I need to look for another company but it is frustrating not be able just to do a web sign up thing. Honestly I would be very sad over pictures but would be find starting from scratch with our stuff so it hasn't been a priority to me. I know that sounds totally backwards.

Tammy