home owner insurance

If the coop burns down no one is going to pay you for all your belongings and clothing or relocation during reconstruction or cover you if a guest falls and sues you. That's what home owners is for in a coop, among other things. It is relatively inexpensive.

http://www.consumeraction.gov/caw_insurance_homeowner_renter.shtml

If you're going to spend the money to buy a place, I would insure it. If you have a mortgage, some lenders will require that you have insurance.

A year ago, an apartment above me left the water running, it flooded my kitchen and caused around 5-10k of damage. The unit owner didn't have insurance because they paid off the apartment and had to pay my insurance company out of pocket.

Note: That 5-10k was just MY apartment, I know other apartments had some damage as well, but I don't know the details.

Buy insurance. It's relatively cheap, but it can be invaluable under certain circumstances.