Understanding Your Loss of Use Claim
When disaster strikes and your home becomes uninhabitable due to a covered insurance loss, navigating the aftermath can be overwhelming. Beyond the physical repairs, you face the challenge of maintaining your daily life while displaced. Fortunately, your homeowner's insurance policy likely includes coverage designed specifically for this situation: Additional Living Expenses (ALE), sometimes called Loss of Use coverage.
What is Additional Living Expenses (ALE) Coverage?
ALE coverage is designed to reimburse you for the increase in your normal living expenses incurred because you cannot live in your home. It helps you maintain your household's usual standard of living during the "period of restoration" – the time reasonably required to repair or rebuild your home, or for you to settle elsewhere permanently.
Purpose
To cover the extra costs you face due to displacement (e.g., hotel bills, restaurant meals above your usual grocery budget, laundry services if you lack access).
Key Principle
ALE covers additional and reasonable costs, not all living expenses, and generally not expenses exceeding your normal standard of living before the loss.
How GHPS Supports You with ALE and Insurance Claims...
At GHPS, we understand the stress homeowners face during insurance claims. As your dedicated project manager working alongside our general contractor (GC) partner, we provide comprehensive support throughout the entire insurance claim process, aiming to simplify homeownership and create a hassle-free experience.
Full Claim Management
We assist with initial claim filing, meticulously handle insurance documents, attend crucial adjuster meetings, and manage supplements and depreciation recovery.
Understanding Your Coverage
We help you decipher your policy, including the specifics of your ALE or Loss of Use coverage, so you understand what benefits you are entitled to.
ALE Documentation
We guide you in tracking and documenting the additional expenses incurred while you're displaced, ensuring they meet the insurer's requirements for reimbursement.
Insurance Liaison
We communicate directly with your insurance adjuster regarding all aspects of your claim, including ALE, advocating for fair treatment and ensuring necessary information is provided.
Repair Coordination
By managing the repair process through our GC partner and leveraging our wide range of home services, we help define and track the "period of restoration," which is crucial for determining the duration of ALE benefits.
Temporary Housing Guidance
While your insurance provider might offer relocation assistance or suggest specific housing companies (remember, you are never obligated to use their preferred vendors), GHPS can provide impartial guidance to help you find suitable temporary accommodation that fits your needs and policy coverage.
Submitting an ALE reimbursement request
Your ALE coverage applies only to incurred expenses. This means that you must pay for the items or services before Travelers can reimburse you. ALE should be pre-approved by your Travelers Claim professional, except in the case of an emergency or extraordinary circumstance.
What you need to do:
Talk to your Claim professional as soon as possible about your needs and develop a schedule for submitting your receipts.
Save your receipts in chronological order. This will allow you and your Claim professional to easily reference them.
Save your receipts in chronological order. This will allow you and your Claim professional to easily reference them.
Include a description of the expense on each receipt.
Include a description of the expense on each receipt.
