Amica Loss of Use Coverage: What Amica Publishes, 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 Amica 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.

Amica loss of use at a glance

Every carrier side by side: loss of use coverage by insurance carrier.

Why this page quotes only Amica’s website

Amica does not publish its homeowners policy form on amica.com, and it is not among the forms posted by the Maine, Nevada, and Oklahoma insurance departments, which post forms for the largest homeowners insurers in those states. So this page quotes only Amica's own website, and it says less than our pages for carriers whose forms are public. amica.com itself says your Policy, Policy Declarations, or Amended Declarations in effect on the date of loss is the primary source for your coverage, limits, and deductible. Ask Amica for them.

What Amica says on its own website

“Loss of use (Coverage D) helps with additional temporary living expenses, such as hotel stays and additional meal expenses if your home becomes uninhabitable due to a covered loss.”

“Loss of use coverage, sometimes called Coverage D, is an important part of many property insurance policies. If your home becomes uninhabitable after a covered loss, this coverage can help pay for the extra costs of living somewhere else while repairs are being made.”

“Loss of use insurance often provides a percentage of your dwelling coverage limit for additional living expenses.”

“Time limits may apply: Coverage may extend for a set period, such as 12 or 24 months from the date of loss, depending on the policy.”

“No additional deductible applies to loss of use coverage: The policy deductible would generally apply to the claim as a whole, rather than as a separate deductible just for Coverage D.”

“Evacuations not ordered by civil authority: If you choose to leave your home when no civil authority has ordered an evacuation, expenses are typically not covered. Coverage usually applies only when evacuation is mandated due to a nearby covered peril.”

“Your Policy, Policy Declarations or Amended Declarations in effect on the date of loss is the primary source of reference for your coverage, coverage limits and deductible amounts.”

A trailer on your own lot as your Loss of use 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 Amica adjuster. Here is how that approval usually comes together.

Amica's pages do not describe how temporary housing is approved, so the steps below are the general ones. amica.com says Coverage D can help pay for temporary housing such as hotel stays or short-term rentals until your home is repaired or you can return, and to keep receipts for lodging, meals, laundry, transportation, and other added costs. Ask the adjuster for the loss of use limit and any time period on your declarations.

amica.com says loss of use is generally meant to cover the difference between your usual living expenses and the added costs of being displaced, and that a normal mortgage or regular rent payment usually is not covered. 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 Loss of use, and what are the limit in dollars and the time period on your declarations page? Ask your Amica adjuster to confirm both in writing.
2. Say what housing you want. Tell your Amica 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 Amica directly under Loss of use, 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 Amica 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 Amica claim

If a hurricane, storm, fire, or flood put you out of a house and the claim is with Amica, your declarations page, not amica.com, shows the loss of use limit and any time period. amica.com notes that leaving home when no civil authority has ordered an evacuation is typically not covered. 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, American Family, Travelers, Chubb, Nationwide, Auto-Owners, Progressive, Citizens Property Insurance, Shelter. All fifteen side by side: loss of use coverage by insurance carrier.

Questions homeowners with Amica claims ask