Hi, I'm Cheryl Bowker, and I'm an Allstate agency owner in Livonia, Michigan. I'm here to talk about additional living expenses coverage.
This coverage is standard on most homeowners, condo and renters insurance policies. If you're unable to live in your home after a covered loss, this coverage may help pay for your increased living expenses, such as hotel bills.
There was this one customer who I'll never forget. She had been with our agency for 27 years.
One day she came home to find her house surrounded by fire trucks. All she could do was watch as her home burned.
She called my office right away — she needed a place for her and her son to stay that night. We worked with the claims team to help find a hotel room for both of them.
The next day the customer and I went to see the house. Half the structure had burned down. The house needed to be demolished and completely rebuilt. She was just devastated.
She had lost everything except the clothes on her back, and she needed somewhere to live. Fortunately, the team assigned to her claim was able to set her up in a condo near her house and her work.
Additional living expenses coverage helped pay for renting the condo and things like kitchen supplies — everything she needed to feel at home. She ended up being in that condo for nearly a year. In all, she incurred about $35,000 in additional costs. Fortunately, she had enough coverage for additional living expenses to cover the cost.
Without additional living expenses coverage, this woman would have had to pay out of pocket for those unexpected costs.
