Liberty Mutual and Safeco Loss of Use Coverage: Coverage D, the 24 Month Safeco Limit, 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 Liberty Mutual and Safeco 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.

Liberty Mutual and Safeco loss of use at a glance

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

What the Liberty Mutual and Safeco policy form says

Neither libertymutual.com nor safeco.com posts a homeowners policy form, but three state insurance departments do. We read the Safeco Premier Homeowners Policy HOM-7050/EP 4/18 posted by the Oklahoma Insurance Department, the Safeco Homeowners Policy HOM-7030/EP 1/09 posted by Oklahoma, Nevada, and Maine, the LibertyGuard Deluxe Homeowners Policy FMHO 943 (built on the 1991 HO 00 03 form) posted by Oklahoma and Maine, and the Liberty Mutual Special Provisions endorsements FMHO 6100NV 08 16 and FMHO 6100ME 11 15, which replace Coverage D in Nevada and Maine. The Safeco Coverage D wording is the same in both Safeco forms. These forms are state specific and some are older editions, so the form on your policy may differ, and your declarations page shows your own limit.

“If a loss covered under this section makes that part of the residence premises where you reside uninhabitable, we cover Additional Living Expense, meaning the necessary increase in living expenses you incur so that your household can maintain its normal standard of living. Payment shall be for the shortest time required, not exceeding 24 months, to repair or replace the damage or to permanently relocate.”

“If a civil authority prohibits you from use of the residence premises as a result of direct damage to neighboring premises by a cause of loss we cover in this policy, we cover the Additional Living Expense as provided under 1. above, for no more than two weeks during which use is prohibited.”

“The total limit of liability available for Additional Living Expense and Loss of Rent is shown in your Policy Declarations and is the most we will pay for all loss or costs under 1., 2. and 3., above. The periods of time under 1., 2. and 3. above are not limited by expiration of this policy. We do not cover loss or expense due to cancellation of a lease or agreement. No deductible applies to this coverage.”

“If a loss covered under this Section makes that part of the "residence premises" where you reside not fit to live in, we cover, at your choice, either of the following. However, if the "residence premises" is not your principal place of residence, we will not provide the option under paragraph b. below. a. Additional Living Expense, meaning any necessary increase in living expenses incurred by you so that your household can maintain its normal standard of living; or b. Fair Rental Value, meaning the fair rental value of that part of the "residence premises" where you reside less any expenses that do not continue while the premises is not fit to live in. Payment under a. or b. will be for the shortest time required to repair or replace the damage or, if you permanently relocate, the shortest time required for your household to settle elsewhere.”

“If a loss covered under this Section makes that part of the "residence premises" where you reside not fit to live in, we cover Additional Living Expense. Additional Living Expense means any necessary increase in living expenses incurred by you so that your household can maintain its normal standard of living. Payment will be for the shortest time required to repair or replace the damage or to permanently relocate your household elsewhere.”

What Liberty Mutual and Safeco says on its own website

“Additional Living Expenses Coverage helps pay for bills related to having to temporarily relocate due to a covered loss. Also referred to as “loss of use” or “ALE”, Additional Living Expenses Coverage comes standard with your Liberty Mutual homeowners policy.”

“Keep in mind, Additional Living Expenses typically has a limit (maximum amount covered). You can find this is in your homeowners policy.”

“That depends on your homeowners policy. If you have a deductible, you may need to pay it for this coverage. If you're not sure, review your policy or ask your insurance company.”

“Let's say you have a homeowners policy with Additional Living Expenses coverage. One day, there's an ice storm that causes a tree to fall on your roof. Due to the damage, you can't live in your home while it's fixed. So, you and your family rent a modest home while the repairs are made. In this case, the cost of the home would be covered, up to your limits.”

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 Liberty Mutual or Safeco adjuster. Here is how that approval usually comes together.

Liberty Mutual's coverage page says the dollar limit is in your homeowners policy and that whether a deductible applies depends on your policy. Ask the adjuster which form is on your policy, because the Safeco forms we read carry a 24 month cap and the Liberty Mutual clauses do not, and the Safeco forms say no deductible applies to Coverage D.

Both companies' forms pay the necessary increase in living expenses so your household can maintain its normal standard of living, and neither names one type of housing. Put the trailer's written terms in front of the adjuster so the approved cost is clear before delivery, and keep receipts, because both forms list receipts for additional living expenses among the documents you must provide after a loss.

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 Liberty Mutual or Safeco adjuster to confirm both in writing.
2. Say what housing you want. Tell your Liberty Mutual or Safeco 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 Liberty Mutual and Safeco 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 Liberty Mutual and Safeco 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 a Liberty Mutual or Safeco claim

If Hurricane Isaias made your home unlivable in Alabama, Mississippi, or the Florida Panhandle and your policy is with Liberty Mutual or Safeco, ask the adjuster which form is on your policy: the Safeco forms we read cap Additional Living Expense at 24 months, and the Liberty Mutual clauses pay for the shortest time required to repair, replace, or relocate. 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, Allstate, USAA, Farmers, Erie, American Family, Travelers, Chubb, Nationwide, Auto-Owners. All eleven side by side: loss of use coverage by insurance carrier.

Questions homeowners with Liberty Mutual and Safeco claims ask