I am moving out of an apartment that requires me to have renter's insurance into one that doesn't. Currently we are paying $100/year for liability coverage for two people, me and my partner. We are weighing how to update our policy when we move.
We currently have no coverage for our personal belongings. I live with my partner and another couple, and three of us are in graduate school; most of our furniture was acquired free or cheap through that network. My most expensive belongings are my car worth maybe $2k, my $650 computer, and a $900 musical instrument. Maybe a few hundred dollars of books. I can afford to replace these out of my emergency fund. I don't believe I own more than $10,000 worth of stuff, but that's as low as most estimate calculators go. My boyfriend has a few more expensive items - gaming equipment, electric piano, nice bed - but he can also afford to replace this if necessary. Thus, we decided we didn't need personal property coverage. Willing to hear arguments to the contrary, though.
We currently have $300,000 liability coverage because it's required by our apartment. My understanding is $100,000 is more standard. This is the part where I'm more uncertain what I need, though. When I buy car insurance, I just try to make sure I'm insured for more than my NW, which about $22k - mostly in a taxable account and a Roth IRA, which is not well-protected from suit in California. My partner has more in a 401k, which I believe is much better protected; I would estimate his "vulnerable" assets are roughly equivalent to mine. Do we need liability insurance? Should I just stop fretting because it's less than $10/month anyway?
Thanks for your thoughts.