State Farm Loss of Use Coverage: Coverage C, the 24 Month 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 State Farm 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.

State Farm loss of use at a glance

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

What the State Farm policy form says

State Farm does not post its homeowners policy booklet on statefarm.com, but two state insurance departments post copies. We read form HW-2119 (copyright 2017), filed with the Maine Bureau of Insurance in May 2023, and form HW-2136 (copyright 2017), posted by the Oklahoma Insurance Department. The Coverage C wording is the same in both. State Farm's forms are state specific, so the form on an Alabama, Mississippi, or Florida policy may read differently, and your declarations page shows your own limit.

“The most we will pay for the sum of all losses combined under Additional Living Expense, Fair Rental Value, and Prohibited Use is the limit of liability shown in the Declarations for Coverage C – Loss of Use.”

“Additional Living Expense. When a loss insured causes the residence premises to become uninhabitable, we will pay the reasonable and necessary increase in cost incurred by an insured to maintain their normal standard of living for up to 24 months. Our payment is limited to incurred costs for the shortest of: a. the time required to repair or replace the premises; b. the time required for your household to settle elsewhere; or c. 24 months.”

“This period of time is not limited by the expiration of this policy. We will not pay more than the limit of liability shown in the Declarations for Coverage C – Loss of Use. Any normal expenses that are reduced or discontinued due to a loss insured will be subtracted from any amount owed.”

What State Farm says on its own website

“Loss of use. Helps cover additional living expenses if you need to vacate your home because of a covered loss.”

“Coverage C (Loss of use) Helps cover increased living expenses if your home becomes uninhabitable because of a covered loss.”

“If covered damage is so extensive that your residence is uninhabitable, then Additional Living Expenses (ALE) may be available. Generally, ALE reimburses you for increased living expenses you incur as a result of your home being uninhabitable and is subject to the deductible and the terms and conditions of the policy. ALE is available to you while your home is uninhabitable and being repaired, replaced or up to 24 months, whichever is shorter, and as otherwise indicated in your specific policy.”

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 State Farm claim specialist. Here is how that approval usually comes together.

State Farm's hurricane FAQ refers claim questions to your claim specialist and says ALE is subject to the deductible and the terms and conditions of the policy. Ask the claim specialist for your Coverage C limit in dollars and confirm that the 24 month period applies to the form on your policy.

The form pays the increase in cost to maintain your normal standard of living, and subtracts normal expenses that stop while you are out of the house. Put the trailer's written terms in front of the claim specialist 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 State Farm claim specialist to confirm both in writing.
2. Say what housing you want. Tell your State Farm claim specialist 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 State Farm 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 State Farm 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 State Farm claim

If Hurricane Isaias made your home unlivable in Alabama, Mississippi, or the Florida Panhandle and your policy is with State Farm, State Farm's own hurricane FAQ is the page quoted above: ALE while the home is being repaired, replaced, or up to 24 months, whichever is shorter, as your policy indicates. 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: Allstate, 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 State Farm claims ask