Loss of Use Coverage by Insurance Carrier: Time Limits and Policy Language

Last updated November 12, 2026.

Every policy on this page pays the extra cost of living somewhere else after a covered loss, and that can include an RV on your own property while the house is repaired. Where they differ is the time limit, which runs from 12 months to no month cap at all. USAA pays for 12 months unless the event is assigned a Property Claims Service catastrophe code, State Farm pays for 24, American Family's current form sets no month cap, and Chubb allows two years from the date of loss but, in several states, wants your decision to repair or relocate within 180 days.

The same company can sell forms with different clocks. The form numbers on your declarations page decide which row of the table is yours.

How long does each insurance company pay for temporary housing?

On every policy form we could read, additional living expense stops at the shortest time needed to repair the home or settle elsewhere. Many forms put a month cap on top of that, 12 months, 24 months or two years, and several have none. Erie's limits come from the company's own published statements, because its form was not available.

We could not find the Chubb, Nationwide or Auto-Owners homeowners forms on their own websites or on a state regulator's site. The clause wording in those three rows comes from issued policies filed in public federal court cases, each listed under Sources with its court and case number. Editions vary by state and change over time, and the forms named on your own declarations page control your claim.

Why can one company show two different time limits?

Because the form sets the clock, not the company. Farmers Smart Plan Home leaves the time period to your declarations page, while the earlier Farmers forms 56-5544 and 56-5536 say 24 months and Protector Plus says 12.

Travelers' Quantum Home 2.0 stops at 24 months, and its older HO-3 forms carry no month cap. Most of Allstate's posted forms stop at 12 months, Virginia's AVP579 has no month cap, and Nevada's endorsement AVP319-1 moves House & Home to 24.

American Family's 1994 Nevada forms limited loss of use to the actual loss within 12 months of the date of loss. Its current form has no month cap. Erie's limit turns on the bundle you bought: 12 months standard, or 24 with Plus or Select.

Where do you find your own loss of use limit?

On your declarations page, the personalized pages at the front of your policy that list each coverage and its limit. Read the form numbers printed there too, because they decide which time limit applies. The coverage letter changes from carrier to carrier, so look for the words loss of use or additional living expense rather than a letter.

• State Farm lists it as Coverage C, Loss of Use. One Coverage C limit covers additional living expense, fair rental value and prohibited use together.
• Allstate lists Additional Living Expense by name on most posted forms. Virginia's AVP579 calls it Coverage D, Loss of Use.
• American Family's current form uses Coverage D. On its 1994 forms, loss of use is Coverage C, and Coverage D is personal liability, so someone holding a 1994 policy who reads the D line is looking at the wrong coverage.
• Chubb prints its limits on a Coverage Summary, its version of a declarations page. Chubb's Masterpiece comparison sheet shows no stated limit for loss of use, with caps in AL, CA, FL, HI, LA, MS, SC and WY; the Alabama and Florida forms cap it at 30% of house coverage.
• Nationwide declarations on three issued policies in federal court records show Coverage D as ALS (actual loss sustained), payment not to exceed 24 months, with no dollar figure.
• Farmers Smart Plan Home prints the time period that caps additional living expense on the declarations, not in the form.
• USAA tells members to find the declarations under My Documents, then Insurance, then the most recent homeowners policy.

On State Farm, USAA, Farmers, Travelers and Liberty Mutual forms, one limit covers additional living expense, rental income and civil authority evacuations combined. Hotel nights in the first weeks come out of the same number that has to last through the rebuild. For how the coverage works in general, see our guide to loss of use coverage (ALE).

After a house fire, start with our guide to temporary housing after a house fire, which covers the hotel nights, the adjuster's approval, and the RV on your lot.

Can you choose your own temporary housing with any of these carriers?

Yes, if the choice is reasonable and the housing and rate are approved in writing before you move in. None of the carriers' forms we read lists required types of housing. They pay the increase in living costs needed to keep your household at its normal standard of living, and an RV on your own property can meet that test.

Several of these insurers offer to help find housing. That help is worth taking if it fits your family, and it does not take away your choice.

• Travelers says it can provide names of housing companies that are not affiliated with Travelers, and that you are not required to use them. Its claim guide also says ALE should be pre-approved by your claim professional, except in an emergency.
• USAA says it has partnered with temporary housing vendors, and that a vendor may contact you directly to confirm housing.
• Liberty Mutual says your claims representative can help you find temporary housing.
• Chubb sources housing through its Trusted Service Network and talks about finding a similar home in your school district where one is available.

None of the twelve carriers names its housing vendor on the pages we checked. For what makes a housing choice reasonable, read how to choose your own temporary housing.

What happens when a housing agency manages your temporary housing?

Some insurers hand the housing side of a claim to a national temporary housing agency, and that agency arranges where you stay. Agile RV Housing is set up to bill through the systems of ALE Solutions, Alacrity, Sedgwick, CRS and National Corporate Housing, so an RV on your own property can go through the agency already working your file.

If you want to stay on your property, say so the first time the coordinator calls. Something this short works: "We'd like to stay on our own property in an RV while the house is repaired. Agile RV Housing is set up to bill through your system. Please ask them for a written estimate for our address."

Give us the coordinator's name and email, and we'll send the written estimate straight to them. The agency's approval process stays the same. Only the housing changes.

Can you get money for housing before you pay for it?

Sometimes. State Farm, Farmers and Chubb each say on their own websites that they can put money toward temporary living expenses before the final settlement. Travelers' claim guide sets the opposite default: ALE covers only expenses you've already paid. With any carrier, ask your adjuster in writing for an advance or for direct payment to the housing provider.

• State Farm says it can issue an advance payment toward covered damages and additional living expenses when the home is uninhabitable, deducted later from the final settlement.
• Farmers says that when appropriate, you can receive a check on the spot for temporary living expenses.
• Chubb says that when covered damage makes the home uninhabitable, it can pay in advance for temporary living expenses, clothing and other immediate needs.

Two states require an advance on request after a covered total loss. Louisiana requires three months of increased living expenses (R.S. 22:1338). California, after a declared state of emergency, requires no less than four months of living expenses (Insurance Code 2061(a)).

On most of our placements, the adjuster approves our written estimate and pays us directly. Families usually don't front the cost of the RV.

What does Agile handle once the RV is approved?

The property work and the paperwork: a zoning check, a walk of the site, a licensed electrician for the 50 amp outlet, the sewer tie-in, delivery, leveling and setup, and an itemized invoice billed to your insurer or the housing agency. You work out coverage with your adjuster. We take care of the RV, start to finish.

Move-in is about four days from approval. What can move that date is the electrical contractor's schedule, since the 50 amp outlet has to go in before the RV does.

Units are sized to the household. A family of five needs two hotel rooms, and two rooms at typical ALE-approved rates pass $140 a night before meals, pet fees and laundry. One unit is $120 to $140 a night, tax included. Delivery and setup are quoted separately for each property. For a sourced comparison, see what temporary housing costs by region.

Placements have a 30 day minimum, then run month to month, and average about five months. Michael Wojciak, our founder, has ten years in RV rental and fleet operations.

Sources

• Issued Chubb Masterpiece policy, Illinois Deluxe House Coverage form 0800012 (ed. 09/25/17), Chubb National Insurance Company, filed in U.S. District Court, N.D. Ill., No. 1:20-cv-01069, Doc 1-1. Checked 2026-10-26.
• Certified Chubb Masterpiece policy, Alabama Deluxe House Coverage form 0800001 (ed. 10/22/18), Pacific Indemnity Company, filed in U.S. District Court, N.D. Ala., No. 2:22-cv-00021, Doc 101-2. Checked 2026-10-26.
• Certified Chubb Masterpiece policy, Florida Deluxe House Coverage form 0800009 (ed. 07/01/19), Federal Insurance Company, filed in U.S. District Court, M.D. Fla., No. 6:22-cv-01447, Doc 10-1. Checked 2026-10-26.
• Chubb Indemnity Insurance Company, Answer quoting Minnesota Masterpiece policy wording, U.S. District Court, D. Minn., No. 0:26-cv-01689, Doc 22. Checked 2026-10-26.
• Court order quoting a California Chubb Deluxe House Coverage policy, U.S. District Court, N.D. Cal., No. 3:21-cv-09975, Doc 287. Checked 2026-10-26.
• Issued Nationwide policy, form H 00 03 07 16, Alabama, term 2018 to 2019, filed in U.S. District Court, N.D. Ala., No. 7:22-cv-00689, ECF 1-3. Checked 2026-10-26.
• Issued Nationwide policy, form H 00 03 07 16, Texas, term 2021 to 2022, filed in U.S. District Court, S.D. Tex., No. 4:22-cv-01231, ECF 19-1. Checked 2026-10-26.
• Issued Nationwide policy, form H 00 03 07 16, Missouri, term 2023 to 2024, filed in U.S. District Court, E.D. Mo., No. 4:26-cv-00650, ECF 1-1. Checked 2026-10-26.
• Issued Auto-Owners policy, Homeowners Policy Form 3, 17903 (2-96), Illinois, term 2016 to 2017, filed in U.S. District Court, C.D. Ill., No. 3:18-cv-03190, ECF 1-2. Checked 2026-10-26.
• Auto-Owners Insurance Company complaint citing Homeowners Policy Form 3, 17903 (6-21), U.S. District Court, N.D. Ga., No. 2:26-cv-00019, ECF 1. Checked 2026-10-26.

What if your carrier isn't listed or your policy is hard to read?

Bring your declarations page to a phone call. We'll read it with you, find the form numbers and the loss of use limit, and work out what your coverage can pay toward an RV on your own property, whichever carrier wrote the policy.

Phones are answered 7 am to midnight Eastern, every day. If you'd rather start online, request info or check your property first.

Call (850) 605-4922 with your declarations page in hand.