Temporary housing & ALE
What is ALE, and what does my insurance actually have to cover?
The short answer: ALE — additional living expenses, sometimes called "loss of use" — pays the extra cost of living somewhere else while your home is uninhabitable after a covered loss. Hotel or rental, the increase in your food costs, extra mileage, laundry, pet boarding. It covers the increase over your normal life, not your normal life. And it has limits — read the Loss of Use section of your policy.
What ALE typically covers
- Temporary housing — hotel, motel, short-term rental, or an extended-stay apartment. The standard is "comparable" to your normal living situation, not luxurious.
- Increased food costs — the difference between what you'd normally spend on groceries and what you're spending eating out or on a hotel kitchenette. Keep receipts and track your normal baseline.
- Extra mileage and transportation — the added commute if your temporary housing is farther from work or school.
- Laundry, pet boarding, and similar incidentals — costs you wouldn't have if you were home.
What ALE does not cover
Your normal living costs. If your mortgage or rent payment, car payment, and utilities would exist anyway, ALE doesn't pay them. Insurers also won't pay for upgrades — if you normally cook at home and you're choosing room service three times a day, expect pushback. Reasonable and documented beats generous and vague, every time.
Know your limits before you need them
ALE coverage is usually expressed as a percentage of your dwelling coverage (often 20–30%) or a flat dollar cap, sometimes with a time limit. A major rebuild can run 12–18 months — do the math early against your limit, because running out of ALE mid-rebuild is one of the most common displacement crises. If your insurer cuts ALE off, here's what to do →
ALE terms vary by policy and state. Read your own policy's Loss of Use section and confirm details with your adjuster before making housing decisions.