Travelers Loss of Use Coverage: Coverage D, the 24 Month Quantum 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 Travelers 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.

Travelers loss of use at a glance

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

What the Travelers policy form says

Travelers does not post its homeowners policy forms on travelers.com, but two state insurance departments do. We read the Quantum Home Policy 2.0 property coverage section, form HQ-P03 CW (05-17), posted by the Maine Bureau of Insurance for Travelers Personal Insurance Company, and the Homeowners Special Form HO-3 (06-06) posted by the Nevada Division of Insurance. The two differ: Quantum Home 2.0 caps Additional Living Expense at 24 months and the HO-3 form does not state a month figure. Travelers' forms vary by state, by product, and by writing company, so the one on your policy may differ, and your declarations page shows your own Coverage D limit.

“The limit of liability for Property Coverage D is the total limit for the coverages in 1. Additional Living Expense, 2. Fair Rental Value and 3. Civil Authority Prohibits Use.”

“Additional Living Expense. If a loss covered under the Property Coverage Section makes that part of the “residence premises” where you reside not fit to live in, we cover 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 lesser of: a. The shortest time required to: (1) Repair or replace the damage; or (2) Settle your household elsewhere, if you permanently relocate; or b. 24 months.”

“Civil Authority Prohibits Use. If a civil authority prohibits you from use of the “residence premises” as a result of direct physical damage to neighboring premises caused by a Peril Insured Against under this policy, we cover resulting 1. Additional Living Expense and 2. Fair Rental Value as provided above for no more than 30 days.”

“Additional Living Expense. If a loss covered under Section I makes that part of the "residence premises" where you reside not fit to live in, we cover any necessary increase in living expenses incurred by you so that your household can maintain its normal standard of living. However, additional living expense due to “fungi”, other microbes or rot remediation will not be paid in addition to any amounts paid or payable under Additional Coverage 16. Limited “Fungi”, Other Microbes Or Rot Remediation. Payment 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.”

“The periods of time under 1. Additional Living Expense, 2. Fair Rental Value and 3. Civil Authority Prohibits Use above are not limited by expiration of this policy.”

What Travelers says on its own website

“Loss of use coverage, also known as additional living expenses (ALE) insurance, or Coverage D, can help pay for the additional costs you might incur for reasonable housing and living expenses if a covered event makes your house temporarily uninhabitable while it’s being repaired or rebuilt.”

“If your policy provides Loss of Use coverage, your Travelers policy will reimburse you for Additional Living Expenses (ALE) for the period of time reasonably required to make your home habitable again. This time period is commonly referred to as the “period of restoration.””

“ALE only covers the additional, reasonable costs above what you or your family would ordinarily spend. It does not include excessive expenses beyond the normal standard of living maintained before the loss.”

“Additionally, Travelers can provide support services to help make it easier for you to relocate during the period of time when your home is uninhabitable. For example, if you need assistance with making temporary living arrangements, Travelers can provide names of housing companies that provide this service. These companies are not affiliated with Travelers, and you are not required to use them.”

“Your ALE coverage applies only to incurred expenses. This means that you must pay for the items or services before Travelers can reimburse you. ALE should be pre-approved by your Travelers Claim professional, except in the case of an emergency or extraordinary circumstance.”

“Many policies have a limit for ALE. Please work with your Travelers Claim professional and your contractor to determine the amount of time reasonably required to make your home habitable again; doing so will allow you to better manage your expenses.”

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 Travelers Claim professional. Here is how that approval usually comes together.

Travelers' own claim guide says ALE should be pre-approved by your Travelers Claim professional except in an emergency, that ALE applies only to incurred expenses you have paid, and that Travelers can give you names of housing companies that are not affiliated with Travelers and that you are not required to use. So get the trailer approved first, and ask the Claim professional whether the trailer can be billed to Travelers directly or must be paid and reimbursed.

The guide asks you to save receipts in chronological order with a description on each, and to work out with the Claim professional and your contractor the time reasonably required to make the home habitable again. Ask whether your policy is Quantum Home 2.0, where the form we read caps ALE at 24 months, and for the Coverage D limit on your declarations.

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 Travelers Claim professional to confirm both in writing.
2. Say what housing you want. Tell your Travelers Claim professional 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 Travelers 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 Travelers 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 Travelers claim

If Hurricane Isaias made your home unlivable in Alabama, Mississippi, or the Florida Panhandle and your policy is with Travelers, the claim guide quoted above is the one to follow: pre-approval by the Claim professional, receipts for every expense, and the period of restoration agreed with your contractor. On a Quantum Home 2.0 policy, plan the rebuild around the 24 month figure in the form. 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, Liberty Mutual and Safeco, American Family, Chubb, Nationwide, Auto-Owners. All eleven side by side: loss of use coverage by insurance carrier.

Questions homeowners with Travelers claims ask