Temporary housing
The increase in housing cost above what you would ordinarily spend, calculated from your real figures rather than estimated low.
Florida property damage attorneys
Additional Living Expense Claim Lawyer
This coverage is often misunderstood as covering everything. We make sure you get the full increase you are actually owed, for as long as you are owed it, including meals, storage and the other costs of living displaced.
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Additional living expense claims
It pays the increase. Getting the whole increase is the hard part.
Additional living expense coverage generally pays the increase in your normal cost of living while your home is uninhabitable, not the entire cost of a hotel or rental.
Many homeowners assume this coverage functions like a blank check for temporary housing, only to be surprised when an insurer calculates it as the difference above what they would ordinarily spend, rather than the full bill.
That calculation is where the claim is won or lost. The difference above your normal spending is a number the insurer sets, and it can be set low.
01
How the increase was calculated is checked before the total is accepted.
The coverage pays the difference above what you would ordinarily spend. If that baseline or the displaced-living total was estimated rather than measured, the payout is short.
While you are displaced
Know your baseline. Keep every receipt.
This coverage is measured, not assumed. What you normally spent, what you are spending now, and why you cannot be home are the three records that carry the claim.
01 /
Track your normal expenses
Know your typical housing and living costs before the loss occurred. The coverage pays the difference above that figure, so the baseline matters as much as the bills.
02 /
Save every receipt
Keep records of temporary housing, meals and other displaced-living costs. Laundry, storage, pet boarding and extra commuting are part of the claim too.
03 /
Check your policy limits
Review the dollar and time caps that apply to this coverage. Most policies stop at one or the other, whichever comes first.
04 /
Document your home's condition
Support why the property is genuinely uninhabitable, not just inconvenient. Mold, structural concerns and missing utilities are the kinds of issues an insurer's quick assessment can understate.
Not sure what counts beyond the hotel? Increased costs for things like meals, laundry, storage, pet boarding and additional commuting distance can all be part of a proper additional living expense claim, not just the hotel or rental cost itself. Keep those receipts with the housing ones.
What a claim can address
The full increase, across every cost of living somewhere else.
A displacement settlement built on the hotel invoice alone misses most of what a displaced household spends. The full claim measures the whole increase, up to the limit the policy actually sets.
Pet boarding and a longer commute are real costs. The claim should reflect them.
Meals, laundry, storage and commuting
The increased day-to-day costs of living displaced, including pet boarding and additional commuting distance, included alongside the housing figure.
The full covered period
Coverage that runs to the policy's actual dollar or time limit, and not cut short by a premature finding that the home is livable.
Limits and scope
There is a cap, and there is more under it than the hotel bill.
This coverage also comes with real limits, typically a dollar cap, a time cap, or both, whichever comes first, and it can extend well beyond just a hotel or rental to include increased meal costs, storage, pet boarding and extra commuting expenses that a displaced household actually incurs.
Two questions decide most of these claims. What counts as an additional living expense, and how long the coverage runs. The policy answers both, and the insurer's reading of it is not the only reading.
Cost of displacement
What we check on every additional living expense claim
A low displacement figure is a conclusion. We check the four things underneath it.
01
Was the increase calculated or estimated?
Whether the increase in expenses was calculated correctly, not just estimated low, from your actual pre-loss costs and your actual displaced costs.
Whether the increase in expenses was calculated correctly, not just estimated low, from your actual pre-loss costs and your actual displaced costs.
02
Were the limits applied properly?
Whether the applicable dollar and time limits were applied properly, whichever the policy says comes first.
Whether the applicable dollar and time limits were applied properly, whichever the policy says comes first.
03
Was everything qualifying included?
Whether all qualifying expenses, not just housing, were included, from meals and laundry to storage, pet boarding and extra commuting.
Whether all qualifying expenses, not just housing, were included, from meals and laundry to storage, pet boarding and extra commuting.
04
Was the home fairly called uninhabitable?
Whether your home was fairly assessed as uninhabitable, or whether a quick characterization cut the coverage short.
Whether your home was fairly assessed as uninhabitable, or whether a quick characterization cut the coverage short.
How habitability actually gets decided. Whether a home is genuinely uninhabitable is not always as clear as an insurer's quick assessment suggests, especially with issues like mold, structural concerns or a lack of basic utilities. We review the actual condition of the property, not just the insurer's characterization of it. Your own documentation of that condition is what the review depends on.
How we work
You keep the receipts. We do the arithmetic.
An additional living expense claim is decided by a calculation and a cutoff. We measure the increase from your real numbers, include every qualifying cost, and hold the insurer to the policy's actual limits and its actual definition of uninhabitable.
Talk with our team01
We calculate the increase from real figuresYour pre-loss living costs against your displaced costs, so the difference is measured rather than estimated low.
02
We include every qualifying expenseMeals, laundry, storage, pet boarding and extra commuting, presented with the housing costs as one claim.
03
We hold the limits and the habitability call to the policyThe dollar cap, the time cap, and whether the home was fairly assessed as uninhabitable, each reviewed against the property's actual condition.
How it starts
Three steps, starting with what the insurer has paid so far.
No spreadsheet is needed before you call. Bring your receipts, your policy, and the insurer's explanation of how it arrived at its number.
01
Tell us about the displacement
Call us or send a few lines. We ask where you are staying, what the insurer is paying, and why the home is not livable.
02
Hear an honest read on the figure
We tell you whether the increase was calculated correctly, whether the limits were applied properly, and what qualifying costs were left out.
03
We deal with the adjuster
We take on the adjuster, the calculation, and the habitability question while you keep your household running.
Told your home is livable when it is not? Send us the assessment and your photos. Mold, structural concerns and missing utilities are reviewed on the property's actual condition, not on the insurer's characterization of it.
Additional living expense claim questions
Clear answers about the increase, the limits and habitability.
These answers are general. Your normal costs, your policy's caps, and the real condition of the home decide your claim.
Ask us about your situation ↗Does additional living expense coverage pay for my full hotel or rental cost?
Not exactly. This coverage generally pays the increase in your normal living costs, not the entire temporary housing bill, meaning it covers the difference above what you would ordinarily spend on housing and related expenses. This distinction is commonly misunderstood.
Is there a time limit on how long additional living expense coverage lasts?
Yes, most policies cap this coverage at a specific dollar amount, a specific time period, or both, whichever comes first. We review your policy to confirm the actual limit and whether it was applied correctly to your situation.
What counts as an additional living expense besides temporary housing?
Increased costs for things like meals, laundry, storage, pet boarding and additional commuting distance can all be part of a proper additional living expense claim, not just the hotel or rental cost itself.
My insurer says my home is livable, but it does not feel safe. What can I do?
Whether a home is genuinely uninhabitable is not always as clear as an insurer's quick assessment suggests, especially with issues like mold, structural concerns or a lack of basic utilities. We review the actual condition of the property, not just the insurer's characterization of it.
Proof and further reading
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