Key takeaways
Loss of use coverage helps pay for you to live elsewhere while your home is repaired after a disaster.
Sometimes called additional living expenses, it’s a standard part of most homeowners and renters policies.
Loss of use can cover living expenses such as hotel stays, home rentals and meals.
Imagine a tornado tears through your neighborhood, ripping off part of your roof. Not only will your insurance likely reimburse you for the damage, but it can also pay for you to live somewhere else during repairs. This part of your home insurance policy is known as loss of use coverage.
What is loss of use coverage?
Loss of use coverage offers financial support if you can't live in your home. It’s a standard part of most homeowners, renters, condo and mobile home policies. It generally includes three parts:
Additional living expenses
Additional living expenses coverage pays for hotel stays and other costs if your home becomes unlivable. It must be due to a scenario your policy covers, such as fire. Depending on your policy limits, this coverage can pay until your home is fully repaired or you permanently relocate.
Fair rental value
You and your family might not be the only ones affected by damage to your home. If you rent out part of your space, your tenant might also have to move out during repairs, which could mean less rental income for you. Loss of use coverage can help you recoup that amount.
Prohibited use
Loss of use coverage can help when your home isn’t accessible, even if it’s not actually damaged. For instance, it could pay for a hotel if:
Police have blocked off your street due to downed power lines.
Your city won’t let evacuees return after a hurricane until the worst local wind damage has been addressed.
For this coverage to apply, there must be damage to homes near yours from a cause that your policy covers. Say you can't get to your neighborhood due to damage from an earthquake. However, your policy doesn’t cover earthquakes (most homeowners policies don’t). In this case, your loss of use coverage wouldn’t apply.
INSIGHTS FROM A LICENSED AGENT
Loss of use can help you in tough times.
"Many people don’t realize how much they want loss of use coverage until they need it. For example, my friends had a fire and couldn’t live in their house. The insurance company put them up in a beautiful home for four or five months. Obviously my friends were bummed about everything that happened, but they didn’t have to worry about where to live or buying all new furniture. Having loss of use coverage was a really nice comfort."
—Alex Matthews, Licensed insurance agent, NerdWallet Insurance Experts
What does loss of use cover?
Loss of use insurance typically covers:
Hotel stays.
Apartment or house rentals.
Restaurant meals.
Groceries.
Pet boarding.
Transportation or parking costs.
Laundry expenses.
Moving and storage costs.
Keep in mind that loss of use insurance pays expenses above and beyond your normal cost of living. Perhaps you normally spend $150 a week on groceries, but you end up eating out more often while staying in a hotel. If your total food costs go up to $350 a week, your insurer would cover the extra $200.
What’s not covered
Loss of use coverage pays only when the reason you’re living elsewhere is covered by your policy.
For example, homeowners and renters insurance generally don’t cover flood damage. So if your first floor is under 3 inches of water but you don’t have flood insurance, your carrier won’t pay for you to stay somewhere else.
Similarly, imagine you’re renting an apartment while remodeling your kitchen. Your insurance company won’t pay for the rental because your policy doesn’t cover home improvements.
Loss of use also won’t cover:
Ongoing expenses that you were already paying, such as your mortgage.
Expenses that are less than what you usually pay. (For example, if your electric bill is cheaper in your temporary apartment than what you pay at home, your policy won’t reimburse you for it.)
Issues covered by other parts of your policy, such as damage to your stuff or a lawsuit against you.
» MORE: The best homeowners insurance
Loss of use coverage limits
How much additional living expenses coverage you have is often based on limits in other parts of your policy. The loss of use coverage amount on a homeowners policy often defaults to a percentage of your dwelling coverage limit, such as 20%. So if the structure of your house is insured for $300,000, your loss of use limit would be $60,000.
If you're a renter or condo owner, the loss of use limit may be tied to your personal property limit instead.
Some insurers also restrict how much time you can rely on loss of use coverage. For example, your additional living expenses may be covered for up to 12 or 24 months.
How to file a loss of use claim
Take these steps to ensure your loss of use claim goes smoothly.
File promptly
The sooner you submit your claim, the sooner it can be settled and you can start moving on with recovery. If your claim is due to a widespread disaster such as a hurricane, your insurance company may be flooded with claim submissions. In these cases, your claim may be settled more quickly if you’re able to get it in ahead of the crowd.
Many companies allow you to start your claim online or through their app. In other cases, you’ll have to call.
Keep all receipts
Some companies may offer you a partial advance on your additional living expenses in the aftermath of a disaster. Others will reimburse you after the fact. Either way, you’ll need to document what you spend while you’re living away from home.
Keep itemized receipts for everything, even smaller expenses like gas or public transit. If you’re spending more on commuting because your hotel is farther away from work than your home was, you could get reimbursed.
Record your normal living expenses
Because loss of use insurance is designed to cover extra costs, your insurer may request a list of your standard living expenses to use as a baseline. Be prepared to estimate what you typically spend on things like food, utilities, transportation and housing.
