American Family Loss of Use Coverage: Coverage D, the Time Test, 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 American Family 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.

American Family loss of use at a glance

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

What the American Family policy form says

American Family does not post its homeowners form on amfam.com, but the Nevada Division of Insurance posts a copy of the American Family Homeowners Form HO 80 03 01 14, and that is the form quoted below. It is a Nevada copy, and American Family says its products and coverages vary by state, so the form on your policy may read differently. Your declarations page shows your own Coverage D limit.

“The Coverage D limit shown in the Declarations is the total limit for all coverage in D.1. and D.2. below.”

“Additional Living Expense. This Coverage applies when a loss covered by this policy makes that part of the residence premises where you reside unfit to live in. We then pay for the reasonable and necessary increase in living expense you incur to maintain the normal standard of living of the household. Payment will be for the shortest time required to repair or replace the damaged property or, if you permanently relocate, the shortest time required for you to do so.”

“Civil Authority Prohibits Use. This Coverage applies when a civil authority prohibits you from use of the residence premises because of possible direct damage to the residence premises by a loss that would be covered by this policy. We then pay you as specified under Coverage D.1. above. However, payment will be for no more than two weeks.”

“Coverage for loss that occurs during the policy period is not limited by the expiration of this policy. We do not cover any direct or indirect loss or expense due to cancellation of any lease, mortgage, land contract, or agreement.”

What American Family says on its own website

“If your home becomes uninhabitable from a covered event, this coverage helps pay for additional living expenses, like a hotel and food.”

“If you are temporarily displaced from your home due to a covered event, American Family Insurance may help cover the reasonable and necessary increase in living expenses you incur to maintain your household’s normal standard of living.”

“In some cases, loss of use coverage may not have a separate deductible, but deductibles and limits can vary by policy and state. Review your policy or talk with your agent to confirm what applies to you.”

“For loss of use coverage to apply, your home must be unlivable due to a covered event.”

“Sometimes, civil authorities evacuate people from their homes if hazards like wildfires or landslides are expected. In some situations, loss of use coverage may apply. Coverage depends on your policy, state and specific circumstances.”

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 American Family adjuster. Here is how that approval usually comes together.

amfam.com says loss of use coverage helps with the cost of things like housing, moving, storage, food, utilities, laundry, and commuting up to your policy's limits, and tells you to review your policy or talk with your agent to confirm the deductible and limit that apply. Ask the adjuster for the Coverage D limit on your declarations, since the form we read has no month figure and the dollar limit is the cap.

The form pays the reasonable and necessary increase in living expense to maintain the normal standard of living of the household, and it does not name one type of housing. Put the trailer's written terms in front of the adjuster so the approved cost is clear before delivery.

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 American Family adjuster to confirm both in writing.
2. Say what housing you want. Tell your American Family 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 American Family 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 American Family 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.

Storms and an American Family claim

amfam.com says American Family serves customers across 19 states. If a hurricane, storm, fire, or flood put you out of a house in one of them and the claim is with American Family, the form we read pays for the shortest time required to repair, replace, or relocate, up to the Coverage D limit on your declarations. Our Hurricane Isaias page shows how we work a large storm: local rules checked for the address, direct billing to the carrier where the claim covers it, and one named contact.

• 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, Allstate, USAA, Farmers, Erie, Liberty Mutual and Safeco, Travelers, Chubb, Nationwide, Auto-Owners. All eleven side by side: loss of use coverage by insurance carrier.

Questions homeowners with American Family claims ask