More Surprises in Your Insurance Policy for your Hurricane Sally Claim

More Surprises in Your Insurance Policy for your Hurricane Sally Claim

Hurricane Sally has exposed what I consider some very questionable underwriting tactics that recently have been written into some property insurance policies. A few examples are, limiting emergency service to a fixed cost or not to exceed a set amount which exposes the policyholder to higher out of pocket expenses. As an example, emergency services for mitigation efforts were not limited in Coverage A (your building limit of liability) in prior policy periods. Now we are seeing examples where only a small percent of Coverage A is being made available for emergency services.


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Additional Living Expenses Explained for Hurricane Sally Storm Damage Policyholders

Additional Living Expenses Explained for Hurricane Sally Storm Damage Policyholders

If your Florida home was severely damaged by Hurricane Sally to the extent that it is uninhabitable to live in, most insurance policies provide a coverage called “Additional Living Expense” or “A.L.E.” if it is a covered loss. Under the Additional Living Expense coverage, you and your family may be entitled to rent another home of the same size, like kind and quality as well as be reimbursed for any extra expenses you incur such as food and temporary lodging.


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Chattanooga tornado victims are entitled to Additional Living Expenses from their insurer

Chattanooga tornado victims are entitled to Additional Living Expenses from their insurer

If your home was destroyed or severely damaged from the Chattanooga area tornadoes to the extent that it is uninhabitable for you or your family to live, your insurance policy may provide a coverage called “Additional Living Expense” or “A.L.E.” But after speaking with some homeowners who have gone without power for weeks it appears, they need to press the issue with their home insurers. Checkout this recent local news story that makes our point: Ooltewah man still without power six and one half weeks after tornadoes

 


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Policyholder Question – Is a Vacation Home Entitled to Additional Living Expenses (ALE)?

Policyholder Question – Is a Vacation Home Entitled to Additional Living Expenses (ALE)?

Q. If the home is a vacation home that is destroyed, are we entitled to ALE? The ALE coverage on the loss statement they sent us says zero but we are going to have to incur multiple airline trips and rental bills in order to set up demolition and then the complete rebuilding of our home. Hope you can help with this information.

A. Thank you for the question and just so you know this is a frequent problem for owners of second homes when there is a loss they must attend to. 


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Additional Living Expenses Explained for Hurricane Michael Storm Damage Policyholders

Additional Living Expenses Explained for Hurricane Michael Storm Damage Policyholders

If your Florida home was severely damaged by Hurricane Michael to the extent that it is uninhabitable to live in, most insurance policies provide a coverage called “Additional Living Expense” or “A.L.E.” if it is a covered loss. Under the Additional Living Expense coverage, you and your family may be entitled to rent another home of the same size, like kind and quality as well as be reimbursed for any extra expenses you incur such as food and temporary lodging.


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Policyholder Question: Additional Living Expense (ALE) Conflicts and Cash Out Offers

Policyholder Question: Additional Living Expense (ALE) Conflicts and Cash Out Offers

One of the things I like about blogging, is that the tips and advice you provide policyholders about issues they are having with their insurance claims stays up indefinitely and can assist people having the same claim problems. I recently responded to reader question from a 2013 guest blog post on the Merlin Law Group Property Insurance Coverage Law Blog that I had the privilege of contributing to. The article titled: Insurance Companies Using Preferred Contractors to Settle Claims Not in Policyholders Best Interest discussed how insurance companies send out their preferred vendors who then try to control costs to the consternation of the policyholder.


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Additional Living Expenses Explained for Policyholders Displaced by Hurricane Irma Storm Damage

Additional Living Expenses Explained for Policyholders Displaced by Hurricane Irma Storm Damage

If your Florida home was severely damaged by Hurricane Irma to the extent that it is uninhabitable to live in, your insurance policy may provide a coverage called “Additional Living Expense” or “A.L.E.” if it is a covered loss. Under the Additional Living Expense coverage, you and your family may be entitled to rent another home of the same size, like kind and quality as well as be reimbursed for any extra expenses you incur such as food and temporary lodging.


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Policyholder Question - Can the Insurance Company Deny ALE if I have a Second Home?

Policyholder Question - Can the Insurance Company Deny ALE if I have a Second Home?

The following is an insurance claim question we answered for a policyholder through the United Policyholders Ask an Expert Forum.

Q. What are the insurance company's responsibilities to their policyholders with regard to providing any adjuster's reports, ALE expenses and any timeline they are ruled by?  Insurance company says I am not eligible for ALE because I have a second home. Any guidance you could give would be appreciated. 


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Additional Living Expenses Explained for Policyholders with Storm Damage from Hermine

Additional Living Expenses Explained for Policyholders with Storm Damage from Hermine
If your Florida home was severely damaged from Hurricane Hermine to the extent that it is uninhabitable to live in, your insurance policy may provide a coverage called “Additional Living Expense” or “A.L.E.” Under the Additional Living Expense coverage, you and your family may be entitled to rent another home of the same size, like kind and quality as well as be reimbursed for any extra expenses you may incur such as food and temporary lodging.
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Additional Living Expenses Explained for Tampa Flood Homeowners

Additional Living Expenses Explained for Tampa Flood Homeowners
If your home was severely damaged from the recent Tampa Bay flooding to the extent that it is uninhabitable to live in, your insurance policy may provide a coverage called “Additional Living Expense” or “A.L.E.” Under the Additional Living Expense coverage, you and your family may be entitled to rent another home of the same size, like kind and quality as well as be reimbursed for any extra expenses you may incur such as food and temporary lodging.
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"On Property" Insurance Claim Tips Blog

Tips and advice about how to properly file and protect your property damage insurance claim and get a fair settlement. We invite all readers to ask questions about their claim so our public adjusters can post answers for others to benefit. Insurance claim expert guest bloggers welcome to submit posts via our contact form.

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Local Office

Tutwiler & Associates Public Adjusters, Inc.
Licensed Public Insurance Adjusters & Loss Consultants
Offices: Tampa, Orlando, Palm City, Ft. Myers, Florida; Dallas, TX; Pittsburgh, PA

Executive Office
4300 W. Cypress St.
Suite 780
Tampa, FL 33607
Phone: 813.287.8090
Toll Free: 800.321.4488

Licensed in Florida # W840088 &
Texas #1399706 plus 16 other states
and the Virgin Islands