Reviewed and approved by Samuel Corso, licensed Texas insurance agent.

Published August 16, 2026 · Updated October 1, 2026

What is loss of use coverage on Texas home insurance?

This guide explains what loss of use coverage pays for on a Texas home policy, what limits it, when it applies, and which questions to ask about flood policies and coastal windstorm policies.

The short version. In Texas, loss of use is the heading the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) uses in its fire, smoke and explosion FAQ for additional living expenses, extra costs if you must move because of a covered peril, and can include loss of fair rental value. TDI's tip sheet says most policies pay 10-20% of what your house is insured for, usually up to 12 months or until that is used.

What any one policy covers depends on its own terms, so the aim here is to send you to your declarations page with the right questions.

What the coverage actually pays for

Additional living expenses coverage is one of six coverages that TDI's Home insurance guide says most home policies in Texas include. The guide defines it this way: "Additional living expenses coverage pays if you have to move while your house is being repaired to fix damages your policy covers."

TDI's consumer pages use the name additional living expenses, or ALE. The name loss of use appears in TDI's Frequently Asked Questions about Fire/Smoke/Explosion Damage, which places its ALE questions under a Loss of Use heading and describes loss of use coverage, for policies that include it, as ALE and loss of fair rents or fair rental value. That FAQ was written about fire, smoke and explosion damage, so this guide uses it only for the naming and for the general points it makes about ALE.

The costs involved are the extra ones. TDI's tip sheet When do policies pay for additional living expenses? describes additional living expenses this way: "They are the extra rent, food, and other costs you wouldn't have if you were still in your home." As examples, the same page says you might need to pay hotel bills, eat out, do laundry, or rent an apartment while your home is being repaired.

For one insurer's method, the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) explains on its Additional Living Expenses page that, for the ALE endorsement on a TWIA policy, it calculates necessary and reasonable living expenses after the loss and then deducts your normal living expenses from before the loss. TWIA's own example is a household whose documented monthly food costs go from $1,000 before a loss to $1,500 after it, for an ALE payment of $500. That is TWIA's description of its own endorsement, and another company's policy may work differently.

TDI describes the coverage as reimbursement. Its tip sheet says: "Your insurance company will pay you back for the reasonable amount you spend up to your policy's limit." The same page tells you to save all receipts to show your company. TDI's fire, smoke and explosion FAQ says you must submit receipts to the insurance company to get ALE, and that the company is not required to advance you money, though many will.

In plain terms, you may pay the hotel and restaurant bills first and claim the extra cost back later, so the receipts are the record your claim rests on.

What TDI says about the dollar limit and the time limit

Additional living expenses coverage on a Texas home policy is paid only up to the policy's ALE dollar limits, according to TDI's guide, and TDI's tip sheet says policies usually have a time limit too. For the dollar limit, the tip sheet says it should be listed on your declarations page and suggests asking your company if you're not sure.

On the dollar limit, TDI's pages use slightly different wording, so here is which page says what:

• TDI's tip sheet. In the words of the tip sheet, "Most policies pay 10-20% of what your house is insured for." Its example is a house insured for $200,000 with a 10% limit, which gives $20,000 for additional living expenses.
• TDI's guide. If your policy covers ALE, the guide says, it might be limited to 10 to 20% of the amount of the dwelling coverage on your house.
• TDI's glossary. The Home insurance glossary says: "Policies cap the amount of ALE payable to 20 percent of the policy's dwelling coverage."

The time limit comes from TDI's tip sheet: "Policies usually pay for additional living expenses up to 12 months or whenever you've used your 10-20%." TWIA describes its own ALE endorsement differently. Its ALE page says there is no time limit associated with that coverage, but there is a financial limit, which is the policy limit listed on the declarations page.

Because these descriptions differ, the figure to rely on is the one printed in your own policy. TDI's guide notes that repairs can sometimes take months, advises watching your expenses so that you have enough ALE for the entire time you'll be out of your home, and says that if you reach your policy's ALE dollar limits before your home is fully repaired, you'll have to pay the rest of your additional living expenses out of your own pocket.

One way to watch your expenses is to divide your limit by what you are spending each month. The result is a rough count of the months the limit would last at that pace.

When TDI says the coverage applies and when it doesn't

Additional living expenses coverage applies, according to TDI's tip sheet, if you can't stay in your home because it was damaged by an event covered by your policy. TDI's blog post Can I make an insurance claim for additional living expenses?, written for Texans with flood damage, words it more cautiously, saying homeowners and renters policies may cover additional living expenses in that situation.

Both pages give the same example, in which you need to move out during repairs because a tornado damaged your house and your home policy covers tornadoes. The example has two parts, damage to the home and a cause the policy covers.

Both pages also give a counter-example. In the words of TDI's blog post: "If you left your house because of a power outage or evacuation – and your home wasn't damaged – your policy won't cover additional living expenses." The tip sheet makes the same statement about a power outage and does not mention evacuation. TDI's fire, smoke and explosion FAQ says a policy probably will not pay for a hotel until power is restored, and that a homeowners policy generally provides ALE only if your home is damaged by a peril covered in your policy and, because of the covered damage, the residence is unfit to live in.

On evacuation, TDI's pages differ. The blog post's sentence above says your policy won't cover additional living expenses if you left because of an evacuation and your home wasn't damaged. The FAQ, asked whether a homeowners policy pays additional living expenses if you have to evacuate, says it depends on the policy, and that some policies pay if a civil authority prohibits you from using your residence because of direct damage to neighboring premises caused by a covered peril, coverage it says is generally limited to two weeks.

For a reader, the question to ask is whether the home itself was damaged by something the policy covers. For an evacuation, the answer is in your own policy, so read it or ask your agent or company.

Flood and coastal wind in Texas: what TDI and TWIA say

For flood damage, and for wind damage on the Texas coast, the answer on additional living expenses can depend on which policy you have. This section sets out what TDI's tip sheet says about flood and wind, and what TWIA's ALE page says about its own endorsement.

Flood. Most policies don't cover flood damage, according to TDI's tip sheet, which adds that people often buy flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). It then says: "NFIP policies don't pay for additional living expenses." Some homeowners policies have flood coverage, the same tip sheet says, and if yours does, it might pay for additional living expenses. If your home policy includes flood coverage, it probably will pay for them, according to TDI's blog post.

Wind on the coast. If you don't live on the Texas coast or Galveston Bay, TDI's tip sheet says, your policy probably covers wind damage and includes additional living expenses coverage. For people who live on the coast and have a TWIA policy, it suggests asking whether you have the extra coverage for additional living expenses, and says the coverage is available for your primary residence, not a secondary home.

TWIA's ALE page describes ALE as coverage you may have purchased as an endorsement to the TWIA policy for your primary residence, and says: "ALE is not automatically included in TWIA policies, and is not available for secondary residences." The page says to review your policy declarations page and look for endorsement TWIA-311, along with the limit of available coverage. It also says that when flooding is the reason you can't live in the property, there is no coverage for the additional living expenses under the TWIA policy.

Put together, a flood or a coastal windstorm can involve a policy other than your home policy, and each policy answers the living-expenses question separately. The tip sheet suggests calling your agent or company to ask if you have wind or flood coverage in your policy or if you have a NFIP or TWIA policy.

Which policy types TDI says include it

Additional living expenses coverage is described by TDI as part of several policy types besides a homeowners policy. TDI's tip sheet says most home, renters, and condo insurance pay some additional living expenses if you can't live in your house while your insurance is paying to repair it.

• Renters insurance. Renters insurance provides personal liability coverage and additional living expenses, along with covering a policyholder's belongings, according to TDI's glossary.
• Condominium insurance. In TDI's guide, condominium insurance covers your personal property and the interior of your unit, provides liability protection, and pays additional living expenses.
• Townhouse insurance. In the same guide, townhouse insurance covers your personal property and provides liability and additional living expenses coverage.
• Mobile home insurance. Also in the guide, mobile home insurance covers the mobile home, your personal property, and additional living expenses.

These are TDI's general descriptions of each policy type. They don't tell you the limit on your own policy, which is why the declarations page is the place to look.

What to check before you need it

Before a loss, you can check a few things about the loss of use or additional living expenses coverage on your Texas home policy. These are steps you can take, with TDI's and TWIA's pages cited for the facts inside them.

• Find the limit on your declarations page. TDI's tip sheet says the limit should be listed on your declarations page and suggests asking your company if you're not sure.
• Convert any percentage into a dollar figure. Then work out how many months that figure would last at a monthly cost you think is realistic for your household.
• Ask about flood. NFIP policies don't pay for additional living expenses, according to TDI's tip sheet, which adds that some homeowners policies have flood coverage that might pay for them. Ask whether your home policy has flood coverage of its own.
• On the coast, ask about TWIA's ALE endorsement. ALE is not automatically included in TWIA policies and is not available for secondary residences, according to TWIA's ALE page.
• Check the dwelling amount. If your ALE limit is a percentage of your dwelling coverage, as TDI's guide says it might be, a dwelling amount set too low would make the ALE limit lower too.
• Keep all receipts. TDI's tip sheet says to save all receipts to show your company.
• Tell the company where you are. If you have to move, TDI's guide says to give your adjuster and company your new address and a phone number where you can be reached.

Key facts

• Additional living expenses coverage is among six coverages that TDI's guide says most home policies in Texas include, and the guide says it pays if you have to move while your house is being repaired to fix damages your policy covers.
• The name loss of use appears as a heading over the additional living expenses questions in TDI's fire, smoke and explosion FAQ, where loss of use coverage can also include loss of fair rents or fair rental value.
• If you can't stay in your home because it was damaged by an event covered by your policy, the insurance company will pay you back for the reasonable amount you spend up to your policy's limit, according to TDI's tip sheet, which also tells you to save all receipts to show your company.
• Most policies pay 10-20% of what your house is insured for, and policies usually pay up to 12 months or until that 10-20% is used, according to the TDI tip sheet. TDI's glossary says policies cap ALE at 20 percent of the policy's dwelling coverage.
• If you left your house because of a power outage and your home wasn't damaged, your policy won't cover additional living expenses, according to TDI's tip sheet. TDI's blog post says the same of an evacuation, while TDI's fire, smoke and explosion FAQ says evacuation depends on the policy and that some policies pay if a civil authority prohibits you from using your residence because of direct damage to neighboring premises caused by a covered peril, generally limited to two weeks.
• On flood, TDI's tip sheet says most policies don't cover flood damage, that NFIP policies don't pay for additional living expenses, and that a homeowners policy with flood coverage might pay for them.
• For TWIA policies, ALE is not automatically included and is not available for secondary residences, and the coverage has no time limit but does have a financial limit listed on the declarations page, according to TWIA's ALE page.
• Condominium, townhouse and mobile home insurance include additional living expenses in TDI's guide, and renters insurance does in TDI's glossary.

Sources: Texas Department of Insurance, When do policies pay for additional living expenses?, Can I make an insurance claim for additional living expenses?, Home insurance guide, Home insurance glossary and Frequently Asked Questions about Fire/Smoke/Explosion Damage; Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, Additional Living Expenses. This page is general information, not legal advice.

Take the next step

Before you need it, find the living-expenses limit on your declarations page, turn it into a dollar figure, and ask your agent or company how your policy handles flood and, on the coast, wind.

If a storm is what brought you here, how to file a hail or storm damage claim in Texas covers the steps that run alongside this, and how the wind and hail deductible works explains the deductible that may apply to a storm claim. If you're sizing coverage from scratch, how to choose home insurance in Texas walks through setting the dwelling amount.

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