Glossary

Additional living expenses

The increase in your normal costs of living, such as hotel bills, restaurant meals and extra mileage, after a covered loss forces you out of your home.

Also called: ALE, additional living expense, extra living expenses

Additional living expenses are the extra costs you pay to keep your household's normal standard of living while a covered loss keeps you out of your home. They are paid under loss of use, Coverage D. The word that matters is additional: the policy pays the increase over what you would have spent anyway.

Here is a hypothetical case. Your mortgage and utilities continue, so those are not reimbursed. A rental house at $2,800 a month is. So is the extra food cost, but only the difference: if you normally spend $900 a month on groceries and now spend $1,500 on restaurant meals, the claim is $600, not $1,500. Added commuting miles, laundry, pet boarding, storage and temporary furniture rental can qualify as well.

The ISO form pays for the shortest time required to repair or replace the damage or, if you relocate permanently, for your household to settle elsewhere. Policies cap the benefit by dollar amount or by months, so ask which applies to you.

Keep receipts for everything, and ask the insurer about advance payments. The guide to making an ALE claim lists the records adjusters expect to see.

Last reviewed October 10, 2026

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Related terms

Loss of use (Coverage D) Coverage that pays extra living costs or lost rent when a covered loss makes your home unfit to live in, such as hotel bills or a tenant's missed rent. Fair rental value Payment for the rent you lose when a covered loss makes a part of your home that you rent to someone else, or hold for rent, unfit to live in. Dwelling coverage (Coverage A) The part of a homeowners policy that pays to repair or rebuild the house itself, including attached structures such as a garage, porch or deck. Policy limit The most an insurer will pay for a covered loss under one coverage, set separately for the house, other structures, belongings, living costs and liability. Deductible The amount of a covered property loss you pay yourself before the insurer pays the rest, shown on your declarations page as a dollar figure or a percentage.

Related guides

Making an additional living expenses claim How to claim living costs while your home is unlivable: the baseline, the receipts, advances, what adjusters question, and how to ask for more time. Burst and frozen pipes: what's covered A burst pipe is usually covered if you kept the heat on or drained the system. What reasonable care means, how vacancy affects a claim, and the first hour. Chimneys, wood stoves and fireplace fires Fire and smoke damage from a chimney, stove or fireplace fire is covered; a neglected chimney is not. What insurers ask about wood heat, and how claims run. Does homeowners insurance cover wildfire? Wildfire is covered as fire under a homeowners policy. Gaps to check: dwelling limits, code upgrades, wildfire deductibles, FAIR Plan forms and mudflow. Earthquake insurance explained Homeowners policies exclude earthquake damage. How earthquake coverage is sold, what it pays and leaves out, why deductibles run 2% to 25%, and who needs it. Extreme heat, drought and your home: what insurance covers Heat and drought are not covered perils, but they feed wildfire, outages and foundation movement. What a standard policy pays, excludes and how to prepare.

Related disasters

Cottonwood Fire and Floods (2026) Utah's Cottonwood Fire burned nearly 100,000 acres; July burn-scar floods hit 200+ homes. DR-4948 funds public repairs only. Fire is covered, flood is not. Hurricane Isaias (2026) Isaias struck near Destin, Florida, on Oct. 9, 2026 at 105 mph. Hurricane deductibles apply, FEMA aid is limited, and Florida's 1-year claim clock runs. Los Angeles Wildfires (January 2025) The Palisades and Eaton fires caused about $40 billion in insured losses. The moratorium has ended; California's 24-month suit limit runs to January 2027. Oregon Wildfires (2026) Oregon's 2026 fires brought a state insurance emergency order: no cancellations, a premium grace period and extended claim deadlines through Oct. 29, 2026.

Related tools

Additional living expenses (loss of use) calculator Estimate your monthly extra living costs if a covered loss forces you out of your home, and how many months your loss of use limit would last.