Auto-Owners Additional Living Expense Coverage: How Long It Pays, Your Limit, and Temporary Housing on Your Property
Published October 7, 2026. Last updated October 7, 2026.
When a covered loss makes your home unfit to live in, Auto-Owners pays the reasonable increase in your living expenses while you live elsewhere. Auto-Owners calls it additional living expense, and the form we read has no month cap. Temporary housing on your own property is one option an adjuster can approve.
Agile RV Housing is an independent temporary housing provider. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by Auto-Owners Insurance, and coverage decisions on any claim are made by the policyholder's adjuster.
Auto-Owners additional living expense: the short answer
Auto-Owners Homeowners Policy Form 3 calls this Coverage D, Additional Living Expense and Loss of Rents. It pays the reasonable increase in your living expenses needed to keep your normal standard of living while you live elsewhere, for the shortest time to repair or relocate, up to the limit on your declarations.
- How long it pays
- The shortest time required to repair or replace the residence premises, or for you to permanently relocate. The 2-96 edition we read has no month cap. A newer 6-21 edition exists, and we have not read its wording.
- The dollar limit
- A dollar amount printed on your declarations next to Coverage D. The form does not set it as a percentage of your dwelling coverage.
- Where to find your own limit
- The line labeled D, Additional Living Expense and Loss of Rents, on your homeowners declarations page. If you can't find it, ask your agent to read you that line.
If you're unsure how these numbers apply to your repair timeline, call us at (614) 655-4286 and we will go through your declarations page with you. To see how other insurers set these limits, compare loss of use time limits across 11 insurance companies.
What does Auto-Owners additional living expense coverage pay for?
It pays the reasonable increase in your living expenses while you live elsewhere, measured against your normal standard of living. Auto-Owners describes it as paying for expenses if you are unable to stay in your home after a covered loss, such as a hotel stay and food. Your usual bills stay yours.
Here is Coverage D from Auto-Owners Homeowners Policy Form 3, form 17903 (2-96), read in an issued Illinois policy that is a public court record:
If a covered loss makes your residence premises unfit to live in, we will pay, at your option, either: (1) the reasonable increase in your living expenses necessary to maintain your normal standard of living while you live elsewhere; or (2) the fair rental value of that part of the residence premises where you reside, less any charges and expenses which do not continue while the residence premises is unfit to live in.
In the Illinois and Tennessee policies we read, an endorsement, 57444 (1-12), replaced that section. It keeps the reasonable increase in living expenses and drops the fair rental value option for your own residence, while still paying lost rent on a part of the home you rent out.
Coverage D also has a civil authority piece. If a peril the policy insures against damages a neighboring premises and civil authorities prohibit occupancy of your home, Auto-Owners pays additional living expenses for up to two weeks.
How long does Auto-Owners pay additional living expenses?
For the shortest time required to repair or replace your home, or for you to permanently relocate. The 2-96 edition we read sets no month cap, so the repair schedule is the clock. The policy also says these periods will not be shortened by the expiration of the policy.
The form's words:
We will pay for only the shortest time required to repair or replace the residence premises or for you to permanently relocate.
Shortest time required means your adjuster will look at how long the repair should take. Get a written timeline from your contractor, share it early, and send an update when permits, materials, or weather move the date.
A newer edition exists
Auto-Owners itself cited a newer edition of this form, 17903 (6-21), in a 2026 court filing for a policy written in 2024. We have not been able to read that edition's Coverage D wording. If your declarations list 17903 (6-21), the wording on your policy may differ from what we quote here, and your policy controls.
How much will Auto-Owners pay for temporary housing?
Up to the dollar amount shown for Coverage D on your declarations page, for costs that are a reasonable increase over your normal spending. The form does not tie that amount to a percentage of your dwelling coverage, so read the actual figure on your declarations before you choose housing.
That one Coverage D amount covers additional living expense and lost rent together. Money spent on housing early in the claim is money not available later, which is why the monthly cost of your housing matters from the first week.
Is your limit enough?
Take your contractor's written repair timeline in months and divide your Coverage D amount by it. That is your monthly budget for housing plus every other added cost. Compare each housing option against that number.
Don't assume there is no deductible. The Auto-Owners form has no line exempting Coverage D from the deductible. Ask your adjuster. For how carriers size these limits in general, see our guide to loss of use coverage (ALE).
Can you choose your own temporary housing on your Auto-Owners claim?
Yes, as long as the choice is reasonable for your household and approved in writing before you move in. Auto-Owners' form pays the reasonable increase in your living expenses while you live elsewhere. It does not name a hotel or any other required housing, so a reasonable option you choose fits that wording.
Your adjuster, or a temporary housing agency working on the claim, may suggest a hotel or a rental. Those suggestions are help, and often good help. They do not decide where your family lives. What the policy decides is what gets paid: the increase in your living costs needed to keep your household at its normal standard of living.
The step that protects you is simple. Get the housing and the nightly rate approved in writing before anyone moves in. We coordinate that approval with your adjuster or the housing agency on your file.
More on how this works, and what makes a choice reasonable: your right to choose reasonable temporary housing.
How do you ask Auto-Owners for an RV?
Call your adjuster, then confirm in writing. Say the home is unfit to live in, that your family wants to stay on the property, and that a written estimate for a furnished RV is ready. The policy measures housing against your normal standard of living, and staying on your own property keeps most of it intact.
What to say to your adjuster
Our home is unfit to live in and we want to stay on our property while it's repaired. Can we use a furnished RV placed here as our additional living expense housing? Agile RV Housing can send you a written estimate today.
What to say if a housing agency is handling your housing
Some Auto-Owners claims hand housing to a national temporary housing agency such as ALE Solutions, Alacrity, Sedgwick, CRS, or National Corporate Housing. Those agencies place families every day, and a household that already knows it wants an RV on its own property makes their job easier. Tell the agency coordinator:
We want to stay on our property during the repair. Please add a furnished RV placed here to our housing options. Agile RV Housing can send you a written estimate today, and they already bill through your system.
What we handle from there
- A zoning check for your property, so the placement is allowed where you live.
- A site walk to plan where the unit sits and how it connects.
- A licensed electrician for the 50 amp outlet.
- The sewer tie-in.
- Delivery, leveling, and setup.
- Billing coordinated with Auto-Owners or the housing agency, with an itemized invoice.
Move-in is usually about four days from approval. The main variable is scheduling the electrical contractor.
Can you ask Auto-Owners for an advance on additional living expenses?
You can ask. The Auto-Owners form says nothing about advances, and it pays a loss after you send proof of loss and the amount is agreed, which usually means receipts first. An advance is a request your adjuster can consider, so make it in writing and list what it covers.
United Policyholders, a nonprofit that advises homeowners on claims, tells displaced families to ask the insurer for an advance while noting that "ALE benefits are generally paid on a reimbursement basis." See its property damage claims FAQ.
Put the request in writing, to your adjuster, and say what the money is for: deposits, the first weeks of meals, transportation, pet boarding. A short email is enough:
Our home is not livable and we have moved out. Please consider an advance on our additional living expense coverage to cover our first weeks of displacement costs. We will submit receipts for everything it is used for.
The housing itself is often a separate question. On most of our placements the adjuster approves our written estimate and pays us directly, so the RV is not a cost your family fronts and waits to get back. When a housing agency manages the file, we bill through its system instead.
Why does a temporary housing trailer stretch Auto-Owners coverage further?
Because one unit sized to your household replaces the hotel rooms your family actually needs. A family of five needs two hotel rooms, and two rooms at typical adjuster-approved rates pass $140 a night before meals, pet fees, and laundry. One unit is $120 to $140 a night, tax included.
That is why an RV placement draws substantially less against your Coverage D amount each month than an extended hotel stay. A kitchen means groceries instead of restaurant bills. Pets stay home. The kids stay in the same school.
With no month cap on the 2-96 form, your Coverage D dollar amount is the only thing that can end your housing before the repair is done. A slower monthly draw is what keeps it from running out.
Whether a temporary unit is allowed on your land is a zoning question, separate from your policy. Our guide to living in an RV on your property during a rebuild explains how to check. Our placements average about five months, with a 60 day minimum and month to month after that. Delivery and setup are quoted per property. For sourced costs by region, see what temporary housing actually costs, by region.
Auto-Owners additional living expense facts at a glance
| Item | What the policy says | Source | Date checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coverage section name | Coverage D, Additional Living Expense and Loss of Rents | Homeowners Policy Form 3, 17903 (2-96) | 2026-10-07 |
| Additional living expense | Reasonable increase in living expenses necessary to maintain your normal standard of living while you live elsewhere | 17903 (2-96); endorsement 57444 (1-12) | 2026-10-07 |
| Time limit | Shortest time to repair or replace, or to permanently relocate. No month cap | 17903 (2-96); 57444 (1-12) | 2026-10-07 |
| Fair rental value option | Offered in the 2-96 base form; removed by endorsement 57444 (1-12) | 17903 (2-96); 57444 (1-12) | 2026-10-07 |
| Civil authority period | Up to two weeks, when a neighboring premises is damaged and civil authorities prohibit occupancy | 17903 (2-96) | 2026-10-07 |
| Dollar limit | Dollar amount on the declarations for Coverage D. No percentage in the form | Homeowners Policy Declarations 17560 (01-14) | 2026-10-07 |
| Deductible | No Coverage D deductible exemption in the form | 17903 (2-96) | 2026-10-07 |
| Policy expiration | Periods will not be shortened by the expiration of the policy | 17903 (2-96) | 2026-10-07 |
| Newer edition | 17903 (6-21) is in use. Its Coverage D wording was not available to us | Auto-Owners court filing, 2026 | 2026-10-07 |
Auto-Owners does not post its homeowners forms publicly. We read the 2-96 edition in an issued Illinois policy that is a public federal court record. Newer editions may differ, and your declarations page lists the forms that control your claim.
Loss of use guides for other insurance carriers
Each carrier words this coverage differently and sets its own clock. Our loss of use coverage guide by insurance carrier compares all eleven side by side, and our guide to loss of use coverage (ALE) explains how the coverage works in general.
- State Farm loss of use coverage
- Allstate additional living expense coverage
- USAA loss of use coverage
- Farmers loss of use coverage
- Erie additional living expenses coverage
- Liberty Mutual and Safeco loss of use coverage
- American Family loss of use coverage
- Travelers loss of use coverage
- Chubb additional living expenses coverage
- Nationwide loss of use coverage
Questions homeowners with Auto-Owners claims ask
Does Auto-Owners have loss of use coverage?
Yes, under a different name. Auto-Owners calls it Additional Living Expenses on its website and Coverage D, Additional Living Expense and Loss of Rents, in its homeowners policy. It is the same kind of coverage other carriers call Coverage D, Loss of Use.
How long does Auto-Owners pay additional living expenses?
For the shortest time required to repair or replace your home, or for you to permanently relocate. The 2-96 edition of the homeowners form sets no month cap. A newer 6-21 edition exists, so check the form numbers on your declarations page.
How much can I spend on temporary housing with Auto-Owners?
Up to the Coverage D amount on your declarations page, on costs that are a reasonable increase over your normal spending. Divide that amount by your contractor's repair timeline in months to see your monthly budget for housing and other added costs.
Can I put a temporary housing trailer on my property during an Auto-Owners claim?
Often, yes. The policy pays the reasonable increase in living expenses to keep your normal standard of living and does not list approved housing types, so your adjuster can approve an RV on your property. Local zoning also has to allow it, and we check that for you.
Does Auto-Owners pay additional living expenses if I'm evacuated?
For up to two weeks when a peril the policy covers damages a neighboring premises and civil authorities prohibit occupancy of your home. Ask your adjuster how that applies to your evacuation.
Can I choose my own temporary housing with Auto-Owners?
Yes, as long as the choice is reasonable for your household. The policy pays the reasonable increase in living expenses while you live elsewhere and does not require a particular kind of housing. Get the housing and the nightly rate approved in writing before you move in.
Sources
- Auto-Owners Homeowners Policy Form 3, form 17903 (2-96), with endorsement 57444 (1-12) and Homeowners Policy Declarations 17560 (01-14), Auto-Owners Insurance Company, Illinois policy 2016 to 2017. Issued policy filed as an exhibit in a public federal court record (C.D. Ill.). Checked 2026-10-06.
- Auto-Owners Insurance Company complaint for declaratory judgment, filed January 2026, citing Homeowners Policy Form 3, 17903 (6-21), public federal court record (N.D. Ga.). Checked 2026-10-06.
- Auto-Owners Insurance, homeowners coverages, Additional Living Expenses. Checked 2026-10-06.
- Auto-Owners Insurance, homeowners insurance. Checked 2026-10-06.
Auto-Owners does not post its homeowners forms publicly, so the policy language here comes from an issued policy that became a public court record. We cite the form, edition, issuing company, and court district rather than the policyholder. Your own declarations page and policy control your claim. Nothing here is legal advice or a coverage determination.
Have an open Auto-Owners claim?
We prepare the written estimate your adjuster needs and handle the placement from approval to move-in.