USAA Loss of Use Coverage: Coverage D, the 12 and 24 Month Limits, 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 USAA 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.

USAA loss of use at a glance

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

What the USAA policy form says

USAA does not post its homeowners policy form on usaa.com (only renters contracts are there), but the Nevada Division of Insurance posts a copy of USAA's Homeowners 3R(02) Special Form, edition 07-08, from the HO 2008 Program. That is the form quoted below. It is an older edition and a Nevada copy, so the form on your policy may read differently, and your declarations page shows your own Loss of Use limit.

“The amount of insurance for Loss of Use shown on the Declarations is the total limit for the coverages that follow.”

“Additional Living Expense. If a loss covered under Section - I - LOSSES WE COVER makes that part of the “residence premises” where you reside uninhabitable, we cover the reasonable and 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, if you permanently relocate, the shortest time required for your household to settle elsewhere, in either event, not to exceed 12 months.”

“However, if a loss covered under Section I - LOSSES WE COVER results from an event which is assigned a Property Claims Service (PCS) catastrophe code, payment will be the 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, in either event not to exceed 24 months. This extension does not increase the amount of insurance provided under Loss of Use Protection.”

“Prohibited Use. If a loss covered under Section I - LOSSES WE COVER results in an order from a civil authority prohibiting you from use of the “residence premises” as a result of direct damage to neighboring premises by a loss covered under Section I - LOSSES WE COVER, we cover the Additional Living Expense or Fair Rental Value loss as provided under 1. and 2. above for not more than two weeks.”

What USAA says on its own website

“If a covered event leaves your home too damaged to live in, you may need temporary housing. This coverage pays for increased expenses, above your normal living expenses, to maintain your standard of living. That could include money spent on hotel or apartment rent, restaurants, laundry services, moving expenses and pet boarding.”

“Loss of use coverage is included with many homeowners insurance policies, but not all. Check your policy to verify if it includes this coverage.”

“Your policy offers ALE coverage for the shortest time required to complete the covered repairs. If you permanently relocate, it's the shortest time needed for your household to settle elsewhere or until you have reached the policy limit.”

“Yes. We've partnered with temporary housing vendors that can help you find accommodations during your covered repairs. The vendor may contact you directly to confirm housing.”

“If you have to evacuate your home because of a hurricane or its rendered uninhabitable because of storm damage, you may be able to use loss of use coverage to pay for temporary living expenses like a hotel room, groceries and pet boarding.”

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 USAA adjuster. Here is how that approval usually comes together.

USAA says it has partnered with temporary housing vendors that may contact you directly to confirm housing. We work with any temporary housing company: ask the vendor on your file 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.

Ask your adjuster whether the event on your claim carries a Property Claims Service catastrophe code, because on the form we read that is what moves the Additional Living Expense period from 12 months to 24. USAA's claims FAQ asks you to keep receipts and send them through My Claims Center.

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 USAA adjuster to confirm both in writing.
2. Say what housing you want. Tell your USAA 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 USAA 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 USAA 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 USAA claim

If Hurricane Isaias made your home unlivable in Alabama, Mississippi, or the Florida Panhandle and your policy is with USAA, ask your adjuster whether the storm carries a catastrophe code on your claim, since that is what the form ties the 24 month period to. USAA's own hurricane guide says loss of use coverage may pay temporary living expenses when a home is rendered uninhabitable by storm damage. 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, 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 USAA claims ask