Yes, landlords can require renters to carry insurance. It's actually a very smart decision to add that language to a lease agreement. If a tenant accidently causes damage to their apartment, their insurance would cover it. If anyone is injured because of the accident, their insurance would cover it. Renters insurance is relatively inexpensive, usually starting around $15 a month for around $25,000 of personal property coverage, and $100,000 of liability coverage.
Mr. Erickson has provided useful information here. I would like to add a personal circumstance that I have often shared, in hopes that it will increase awareness of the importance of this coverage.
As Mr. Erickson has indicated, a landlord can require that the renter's policy be a requirement within a lease. Absent a State law that would preclude inclusion of such a clause, it can be a requirement.
I saw the value of this important insurance coverage first-hand, when my two Sons had a severe kitchen fire in their apartment in Raleigh, NC a few years ago. Fortunately, no one was hurt but the apartment became totally uninhabitable as a result of the fire and smoke damage. Because my Sons were astute enough to have purchased a renter’s policy (…they finally listened to their Father!...) they were reimbursed for all of their burned and smoke-damaged possessions. Additionally, they received full reimbursement for living expenses elsewhere, while restoration was being completed. When the landlord sued them for negligence related to the cause of the fire...which was quickly thrown-out in court, as a frivolous allegation, the insurance carrier provided them a defense for the negligence claim, including the presence of a defense lawyer during the formal hearing.
All-in-all, it cost my Sons their very affordable premium and a small loss deductible to get back to their lives. Without the renter’s policy, they would have been 'hurting' for a long time!
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As Mr. Erickson has indicated, a landlord can require that the renter's policy be a requirement within a lease. Absent a State law that would preclude inclusion of such a clause, it can be a requirement.
I saw the value of this important insurance coverage first-hand, when my two Sons had a severe kitchen fire in their apartment in Raleigh, NC a few years ago. Fortunately, no one was hurt but the apartment became totally uninhabitable as a result of the fire and smoke damage. Because my Sons were astute enough to have purchased a renter’s policy (…they finally listened to their Father!...) they were reimbursed for all of their burned and smoke-damaged possessions. Additionally, they received full reimbursement for living expenses elsewhere, while restoration was being completed. When the landlord sued them for negligence related to the cause of the fire...which was quickly thrown-out in court, as a frivolous allegation, the insurance carrier provided them a defense for the negligence claim, including the presence of a defense lawyer during the formal hearing.
All-in-all, it cost my Sons their very affordable premium and a small loss deductible to get back to their lives. Without the renter’s policy, they would have been 'hurting' for a long time!