What Is Additional Living Expense Coverage in Home Insurance?

Additional living expense coverage, often called ALE, helps pay for costs above your normal living expenses when a covered event, like a fire or water damage, makes your home unlivable. You might need a hotel, restaurant meals, or extra transportation. The coverage steps in to bridge the gap between your usual costs and the temporary ones.

It usually includes rent for a similar home, pet boarding, and storage for your belongings. It does not cover your mortgage, property taxes, or regular utility bills, since those are costs you would pay anyway. The key is that the expense must be necessary and directly tied to your displacement.

• Hotel or rental housing costs
• Extra meal expenses
• Laundry and cleaning services
• Storage fees for your belongings
• Pet boarding if you cannot take pets with you
• Extra transportation costs like parking or rideshares

You can use ALE only when your home is uninhabitable due to a covered loss, not for general maintenance issues. For example, a burst pipe that floods your kitchen might make part of the home unusable. Your insurer will determine if the damage meets the threshold for displacement.

If you can stay in your home, even with repairs underway, ALE may not apply. But if a water damage issue forces you out, you can submit your extra living costs. The pros who handle water damage restoration can document the extent of damage to support your claim.

Policies vary, and your insurer decides what is covered.

• Home is unlivable due to a covered peril
• Damage forces you to move temporarily
• You have a written policy that includes ALE
• You keep detailed records of all extra costs

ALE does not cover your regular bills like mortgage, rent, utilities, or groceries you would buy anyway. It also does not cover upgrades or luxury items. For example, if you normally eat at home, you cannot claim the cost of steak dinners every night.

It also does not cover the cost of repairing your home, which is separate from your dwelling coverage. And it does not cover temporary housing if your home is fine but you choose to leave for convenience. Read your policy carefully to understand exclusions.