Allstate Additional Living Expense: The 12 Month Limit, the Dollar Cap, and a Trailer on Your Own Lot

When a covered loss makes a house unlivable, the part of a homeowners policy that pays for somewhere else to live goes by different names at different carriers, and the time and dollar limits sit in different places. This page is the Allstate version: what the coverage is called, what the published wording says about how long and how much, and how a furnished travel trailer on your own property becomes the housing that coverage pays for. 1st Choice Living has placed trailers on homeowners’ own lots, nationwide, since 2004, and bills the carrier directly where the claim covers it.

Allstate loss of use at a glance

The other four carriers side by side: loss of use coverage by insurance carrier.

What the Allstate policy form says

Allstate publishes its policy forms on its own content hub. We read Homeowners Policy Special AP4687 (22 pages) and House & Home Policy AVP58 (23 pages). In both, Additional Living Expense sits under Section I Additional Protection, not under a lettered coverage. Allstate's forms vary by state and by product, so the one on your policy may differ, and your Policy Declarations show your own limit.

“We will pay the reasonable increase in living expenses necessary to maintain your normal standard of living when a direct physical loss we cover under Dwelling Protection–Coverage A, Other Structures Protection–Coverage B or Personal Property Protection–Coverage C makes your residence premises uninhabitable.”

“Payment for additional living expense as a result of a covered loss under Dwelling Protection–Coverage A, Other Structures Protection–Coverage B or Personal Property Protection–Coverage C will be limited to the least of the following: 1) the time period required to repair or replace the property we cover, using due diligence and dispatch; 2) if you permanently relocate, the shortest time for your household to settle elsewhere; 3) 12 months; or 4) 10% of the limit of liability as shown on the Policy Declarations for Dwelling Protection–Coverage A.”

“We will pay the reasonable and necessary increase in living expenses and the lost fair rental income for up to two weeks should civil authorities prohibit the use of the residence premises due to a loss at a neighboring premises caused by a loss we insure against.”

“These periods of time are not limited by the termination of this policy. We do not cover any lost income or expense due to the cancellation of a lease or agreement. No deductible applies to this protection.”

“Payment for additional living expense as a result of a covered loss under Dwelling Protection–Coverage A, Other Structures Protection–Coverage B or Personal Property Protection–Coverage C will be limited to the least of the following: a) the time period required to repair or replace the property we cover, using due diligence and dispatch; b) if you permanently relocate, the shortest time for your household to settle elsewhere; or c) 12 months.”

What Allstate says on its own website

“Additional living expense coverage is a standard part of most homeowners, condo and renters insurance policies. It helps pay for increased costs you incur if you are temporarily unable to live in your home due to a covered loss.”

“Safety risks like no water or electricity, or no access to your home, may mean that your home is considered “uninhabitable”. Many insurance policies cover additional living expenses incurred in order to maintain a normal standard of living.”

“Your assigned adjuster will be able to discuss the claim specifics with you to make an Additional Living Expense determination.”

“Additional living expenses: Increased limits to help you pay for increased living expenses, such as hotel or restaurant bills, if your home is temporarily uninhabitable after a covered loss.”

A trailer on your own lot as your Additional Living Expense housing

Nothing quoted above names a hotel, an apartment, or a trailer. The wording pays the increase in cost to keep your household at its normal standard of living while the house is uninhabitable, up to the limits. A furnished travel trailer delivered, leveled, and connected on your own property is one way to do that, and it keeps you next to the rebuild, your kids in their school, and your pets at home. Whether it is approved on your claim is up to your assigned Allstate adjuster. Here is how that approval usually comes together.

Allstate's claims FAQ says your assigned adjuster makes the Additional Living Expense determination, and it lists hotels or temporary housing, food above your typical costs, and extra commuting mileage as examples of covered expenses. Ask the adjuster for your limit and whether the form on your policy carries the 10 percent of Coverage A cap.

The forms pay the reasonable increase in living expenses to maintain your normal standard of living. Put the trailer's written terms in front of the adjuster so the approved cost is clear before delivery. If your policy carries the Extended Protection Amendatory Endorsement, ask what it does to your ALE limit, since Allstate says it raises it.

1. Open the claim and ask two questions. Does the claim include Additional Living Expense, and what are the limit in dollars and the time period on your declarations page? Ask your assigned Allstate adjuster to confirm both in writing.
2. Say what housing you want. Tell your assigned Allstate adjuster you want a furnished travel trailer on your own property as your temporary housing, and ask what they need from the provider to approve it.
3. Call us or send the request form. We ask for the property address, how many people and pets need a place to sleep, the claim number, and the adjuster’s contact. Before anything is delivered we confirm the local rule on a temporary RV at your address; if a trailer on your lot is not the right fit for the property, we will tell you.
4. We send the written terms to the adjuster. The unit, the monthly rate, delivery and setup, and utility connections, so the approved cost is clear before delivery.
5. Direct billing where the claim covers it. On a covered claim we bill Allstate directly under Additional Living Expense, tracked against your limit, with site conditions documented at setup and again at takedown. That is $0 out of pocket for your family on a covered claim, and one named contact from the first call to pickup.
6. Already with a temporary housing company? We work with any temporary housing company. Ask the company handling your housing to place you with 1st Choice Living for a trailer on your own lot, and the billing runs the way their program is set up.

The full walkthrough of a placement is on on-site RV housing. If Allstate pays you back rather than paying a provider, our guide to arranging your own temporary housing covers the questions to ask before you commit to anything.

Hurricane Isaias and an Allstate claim

If Hurricane Isaias made your home unlivable in Alabama, Mississippi, or the Florida Panhandle and your policy is with Allstate, the 12 month period in the forms above is the one to plan the rebuild around, and the dollar cap on AP4687 is 10 percent of your Coverage A limit. Our Hurricane Isaias page has the storm facts with official sources, how each state's insurance department explains Additional Living Expenses, Florida's temporary shelter law, and the local rule on an RV on your lot for every city and county we cover.

• Temporary housing after Hurricane Isaias
• Hurricane Isaias RV rules by county
• After a storm, after a house fire, and after a flood

Other carriers

Same questions, each carrier’s own words: State Farm, USAA, Farmers, Erie, Liberty Mutual and Safeco, American Family, Travelers, Chubb, Nationwide, Auto-Owners. All eleven side by side: loss of use coverage by insurance carrier.

Questions homeowners with Allstate claims ask