Additional Living Expenses Explained

Have you ever thought about how much it would cost if your home was deemed unlivable due to a fire, natural disaster, or partially unlivable? It’s okay you probably haven’t thought about it because we don’t ever want to think about the worst possible outcome when it comes to our property. We plan for the worst, constantly, and pray for the best… also, constantly. Did you know your insurer has done the math on what that would cost? They have, and they call it Additional Living Expenses. This fun number is usually located in the “loss of use” section of your policy if you’re trying to see what that number is. ALE, as it is more easily spelled is coverage that pays to reimburse you for things that would cause you to lose the lifestyle you had prior to whatever damage caused you to be outside of your home. This includes hotel rooms, emergency clothing, laundry services, and food, as well as pet boarding and storage of home items or furniture. ALE is meant for temporary evacuations of your property, meaning that a power outage would not be a reason for ALE to kick in, since that doesn’t render your home to be “unlivable”, no matter what your teenager keeps muttering. Something that isn’t covered by most ALE is flooding. 90% of the country’s natural disasters result in flooding, so that makes it a glaring miscalculation, you can get private flood insurance. The best thing to do is review your homeowner’s policy and see exactly what is covered under the Additional Living Expenses portion of the policy. At Gables Insurance Recovery we have the know-how and experience to walk you through the claims process while representing your best interest to ensure the recovery you deserve.