What it is
Loss of use, usually called additional living expenses or ALE, is the part of a homeowners policy that pays the increase in your living costs when a covered loss makes the house unfit to live in. Renters and condo policies include it too. It is separate from the dwelling and contents coverages and has its own limit, shown on your declarations page.
What it pays
The difference between what you normally spend and what you have to spend now. Temporary housing is the big item: a hotel first, then a furnished rental comparable to your home. Meals above your usual grocery costs while you have no kitchen. Laundry service if you have no machines. Extra mileage if the temporary housing is farther from work and school. Pet boarding. Storage of belongings. Furniture rental if the rental is unfurnished. Some carriers cover other reasonable items; ask.
What it does not pay
Your mortgage, which continues. Utilities at the damaged house, which you keep paying. Groceries you would have bought anyway. Upgrades in lifestyle. Costs after the house is habitable or after the time cap.
Limits and time
The limit is a dollar figure or a percentage of the dwelling coverage, commonly twenty to thirty percent. Some policies also cap the duration, often twelve or twenty-four months. For a large fire with a long rebuild, both can matter; ask your adjuster for the numbers on day one and plan the housing choice around them. A rental is almost always more efficient than a long hotel stay against a fixed limit.
Receipts
Everything, from the moment you leave the house. Photograph receipts into a folder on your phone with the claim number. Carriers reimburse documented expenses and reconcile any advance against them; undocumented costs are not paid.
The advance
Most carriers will issue an ALE advance within days of the loss for immediate costs: a few nights of hotel, clothes and essentials. Ask for it on the first call. It is reconciled later against receipts.
Common mistakes
Not asking about the limit until it is nearly spent. Staying in a hotel for months when a rental would have been approved. Not keeping meal receipts because the amounts felt small. Accepting the carrier's first offer of a rental that is far smaller than the home without discussing comparability. Moving back in before the house has passed its odor check because the limit is running down; talk to the adjuster about the rebuild timeline instead.
Renters and condo owners
Renters policies include loss of use for the tenant; the landlord's policy does not pay the tenant's hotel. Condo unit owner policies include it; the association's master policy does not cover individual owners' living expenses.
