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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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.Read More

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.Read More