“If they do not ask, do not tell.” That is the culture of some insurance carriers when it comes to explaining all the benefits available under additional living expense provisions of an insurance policy. Some carriers simply do not train their property insurance adjusters on those policy benefits so that they are ignorant about how many benefits and options are available under the policy, which could otherwise benefit policyholders.
Yesterday, while I was busy in a Denver federal court successfully arguing against attorneys for State Farm on most points, the Colorado Division of Insurance announced a new regulation1 to provide some relief to policyholders suffering from the historic Colorado wildfires that have struck this beautiful state over the past several years.
Additional living expense (ALE) coverage is extraordinarily valuable to victims of Hurricane Ian. These benefits are often overlooked because insurance policies do not provide examples of common living expenses. United Policyholders provides such a list:
Continue Reading Additional Living Expense Coverage and the Period of Restoration Following Hurricane Ian
Colorado has suffered major wildfire catastrophes. There are not enough contractors to handle the repairs. As a result, Colorado issued new regulations for insurers regarding the handling of these claims.
Continue Reading Colorado Adopts Regulations to Prevent Insurers from Stopping ALE and Replacement Cost Benefits
What are additional living expenses?
Additional living expenses are typically included as a coverage in homeowner property insurance policies under “Loss of Use.” In a recent blog post, Is Your Insurance Company Threatening to Prematurely Terminate Loss of Use Benefits, Merlin Law Group attorney Dan Veroff discussed Loss of Use benefits and what carriers are doing to curtail those benefits prematurely. As stated in that blog post, Loss of Use benefits are intended to cover the cost of temporary placement when the insured premises suffers a covered loss that renders it unusable until repaired.
Continue Reading Additional Living Expenses: What Does Your Policy Cover and For How Long?
The President of the United States and the Insurance Commissioner of Louisiana have come out publicly asking insurance companies to pay for customers’ increased living expenses under their homeowners policies. The editors of the FC&S recently published an opinion supporting these requests.
Continue Reading Hurricane Ida Additional Living Expense Coverage Supported By FC&S Editors
If you lose your home or business, or you simply cannot use the premises until repairs are done, your property insurance policy likely pays a benefit to cover the cost of temporary placement. These “Loss of Use” benefits typically come in two forms, Fair Rental Value and Loss of Use. The former generally pays the fair market rental value based on similar comparisons in your area, while the latter pays only the actual amounts expended to maintain a homeowner’s or renter’s standard of living. Loss of Use benefits are usually paid subject to time and monetary limits – in other words, the carrier pays on a rolling basis until it hits the maximum dollar amount (if there is one) or the maximum time limit, whichever is first.
Continue Reading Is Your Insurance Company Threatening to Prematurely Terminate Loss of Use Benefits?
New laws enacted last month provide further support for California wildfire claimants by requiring carriers provide additional coverages. Only a few years ago, California enacted laws requiring insurers to provide coverage for Additional Living Expenses (ALE) incurred due to a covered loss relating to a state of emergency – almost every massive wildfire – for a period of no less than 24 months. (California Insurance Code Section 2060(b)(1).)
Continue Reading New California Law Require Insurers to Pay Up to 36 Months of Additional Living Expenses and Advance at Least Four Months of Payments Following Wildfires
Additional living expenses can create a number of questions about what items of expanse can be claimed following a loss. FC&S is a publication I encourage those in the claims business to subscribe. While reading the Question and Answer section of the FC&S Coverage Insider, the following additional living expense coverage question was posed:
Our insured has an ISO HO 3 policy, 1991 edition, and recently suffered a fire loss. Coverage for her home and contents is not at issue; however, she has had to relocate to a motel until restoration of her home is complete. Prior to the loss, she stored some of her personal property in half of her two-car garage. Because of the fire, she can no longer use this space until repairs have been completed.
The insurance company is questioning two items under additional living expense—the cost to rent a storage space, and the cost to dry clean the clothing she took with her.
We think this is additional living expense, and should be covered. What is your opinion?
A common theme I have noticed lately is the tendency of homeowners, having just weathered a major natural disaster, to compare their ability to recover insurance proceeds to that of their neighbors. Wondering if you can recover alternative living expenses? Curious to know if you can recover for your sewage back-up claim? Rather than looking to your neighbor’s recovery for answers, make sure to check your homeowners insurance policy.
Continue Reading My neighbor had coverage, so why was I denied?