Nationwide Loss of Use Coverage: Actual Loss Sustained, the 24 Month Limit, and Where an RV Fits

Published October 7, 2026. Last updated October 7, 2026.

If a covered loss makes your home not fit to live in, Nationwide's Coverage D pays the necessary increase in your living expenses while it is repaired. On the current homeowner policy, that coverage is often written as actual loss sustained, with a time limit instead of a dollar figure.

Nationwide loss of use: the short answer

Nationwide's current homeowner policy, form H 00 03 07 16, pays any necessary increase in living expenses so your household can keep its normal standard of living. Payment runs for the shortest time needed to repair or relocate, and will not exceed the actual loss sustained or 24 months from the date of loss, whichever comes first.

How long it pays

The shortest time required to repair or replace the damage, or to settle elsewhere, but no more than 24 months from the date of loss. Some older Nationwide forms capped it at 12 months.

The dollar limit

On the Nationwide declarations pages we read, Coverage D shows ALS, actual loss sustained, with payment not to exceed 24 months, rather than a dollar amount. Your declarations page may differ, so check it.

Where to find your own limit

The Coverage D, Loss of Use line on your declarations page. Look for a dollar figure or the letters ALS. 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 Nationwide loss of use coverage pay for?

It pays the extra cost of living elsewhere while your home is repaired, measured against your household's normal standard of living. Nationwide lists a hotel or apartment, moving, excess grocery or restaurant costs, storage, laundry, transportation, parking, and pet boarding as usually covered. Bills you already had stay yours.

Here is the clause from Your Nationwide Homeowner Policy, form H 00 03 07 16, read in three issued policies from Alabama, Texas, and Missouri that are public court records:

If a loss covered under Section I makes that part of the "residence premises" where you reside not fit to live in, we cover any necessary increase in living expenses incurred by you so that your household can maintain its normal standard of living.

Nationwide's own article calls loss of use additional expenses insurance or part D coverage. On the policy, Coverage D has three parts: additional living expense, fair rental value for a part of the home you rent out, and civil authority prohibits use.

The civil authority part pays for no more than two weeks when a government order keeps you out because of direct damage to a neighboring property. The form also says these periods are not limited by expiration of the policy.

How long does Nationwide pay additional living expenses?

For the shortest time required to repair or replace the damage, or for your household to settle elsewhere, and never more than 24 months from the date of loss. The repair usually finishes first, so the 24 month limit matters mainly on a major rebuild.

From form H 00 03 07 16:

Payment will be for the shortest time required to repair or replace the damage or, if you permanently relocate, the shortest time required for your household to settle elsewhere. Payment will not exceed the actual loss sustained or 24 months from the date of loss, whichever occurs first.

Why some people expect 12 months

Older Nationwide forms used a 12 month cap. The HO 03-A form in a 2012 to 2013 Arkansas policy limited loss of use to the declared limit or 12 months, and an Allied brand form in Pennsylvania capped it at 12 consecutive months. A Virginia form had no month cap at all. If your policy is older or written by a Nationwide affiliate, the form numbers on your declarations page tell you which rule applies.

Give your adjuster a written repair timeline from your contractor early, and update it when the schedule moves. Shortest time required is measured against that timeline.

How much will Nationwide pay for temporary housing?

On the current form, payment will not exceed the actual loss sustained or 24 months, whichever comes first. On the declarations pages we read, Coverage D was written as ALS, actual loss sustained, instead of a dollar figure. Spending still has to be a reasonable, necessary increase over your normal costs.

The Coverage D entry on those declarations pages read:

COVERAGE-D-LOSS OF USE ALS* *ACTUAL LOSS SUSTAINED PAYMENT NOT TO EXCEED 24 MONTHS

Actual loss sustained means Nationwide pays the real, documented increase in your costs rather than drawing down a fixed dollar pot. That puts the weight on two things: the reasonableness of each expense, and the receipts that prove it. The form requires receipts for additional living expenses as part of your proof of loss.

Is your coverage enough?

If your declarations show ALS, the questions are time and reasonableness. Check that your contractor's timeline fits inside 24 months, and choose housing your adjuster can approve as a necessary increase. If your declarations show a dollar figure, divide it by the timeline in months to get your monthly budget.

Don't assume there is no deductible. The current form has no Coverage D deductible waiver, though an older Nationwide form and a Loyalty Rewards endorsement for civil authority did. Ask your adjuster. For how carriers size limits in general, see our guide to loss of use coverage (ALE).

Can you choose your own temporary housing on your Nationwide claim?

Yes, as long as the choice is reasonable for your household and approved in writing first. Nationwide's form pays the necessary increase in living expenses you incur. It does not name a hotel or an apartment as required housing. A reasonable option you choose, such as an RV on your property, 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: choosing your own temporary housing after an insurance claim.

How do you ask Nationwide for an RV?

Talk to your adjuster early and put the request in writing. Say the home is not fit to live in, that your family wants to stay on the property, and that a written estimate for a furnished RV is ready. On an actual loss sustained policy, a clear written estimate is what the adjuster needs.

What to say to your adjuster

Our home isn't fit to live in and we want to stay on our property during the repair. 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 Nationwide 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 Nationwide 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 Nationwide for an advance on additional living expenses?

You can ask. Nationwide's form requires receipts for additional living expenses, so the normal pattern is that you pay first and are reimbursed. An advance is something your adjuster can approve, not a policy promise, so request it in writing and say what it is for.

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 an RV stretch Nationwide loss of use 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 loss of use each month than an extended hotel stay. On an actual loss sustained policy, a lower and steadier monthly cost is also easier for an adjuster to approve as reasonable.

The items on Nationwide's usually covered list shrink, too. A kitchen replaces restaurant meals. Pets stay home. The commute does not change.

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 of every option by region, see what temporary housing actually costs, by region.

Item	What the policy says	Source	Date checked
Coverage section name	Coverage D, Loss of Use	H 00 03 07 16, Your Nationwide Homeowner Policy	2026-10-07
Additional living expense	Any necessary increase in living expenses so the household can maintain its normal standard of living	H 00 03 07 16, Coverage D.1	2026-10-07
Time limit	Shortest time to repair or settle elsewhere; not to exceed actual loss sustained or 24 months from the date of loss	H 00 03 07 16, Coverage D.1	2026-10-07
Declarations entry	ALS, actual loss sustained, payment not to exceed 24 months (on the declarations we read)	Alabama, Texas, and Missouri issued policies	2026-10-07
Fair rental value	Not to exceed actual loss sustained or 24 months	H 00 03 07 16, Coverage D.2	2026-10-07
Civil authority period	No more than two weeks, after direct damage to neighboring premises	H 00 03 07 16, Coverage D.3	2026-10-07
Deductible	No Coverage D waiver in the current form	H 00 03 07 16	2026-10-07
Older forms	HO 03-A and an Allied brand form capped at 12 months; a Virginia form had no month cap	Issued policies in public court records	2026-10-07
Policy expiration	Periods are not limited by expiration of the policy	H 00 03 07 16	2026-10-07

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
• Auto-Owners additional living expense coverage

Questions homeowners with Nationwide claims ask

Sources

• Your Nationwide Homeowner Policy, form H 00 03 07 16, Nationwide Mutual Fire Insurance Company, Alabama policy 2018 to 2019. Certified policy filed in a public federal court record (N.D. Ala.). Checked 2026-10-06.
• Your Nationwide Homeowner Policy, form H 00 03 07 16, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, Texas policy 2021 to 2022. Certified policy filed in a public federal court record (S.D. Tex.). Checked 2026-10-06.
• Your Nationwide Homeowner Policy, form H 00 03 07 16, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, Missouri policy 2023 to 2024. Policy filed in a public federal court record (E.D. Mo.). Checked 2026-10-06.
• Nationwide, What is Loss of Use Coverage? Checked 2026-10-06.
• Nationwide, homeowners insurance coverage. Checked 2026-10-06.

Nationwide does not post its homeowner forms publicly, so the policy language here comes from issued policies that became public court records. We cite the form, issuing company, policy years, and court district rather than the policyholders. Your own declarations page and policy control your claim. Nothing here is legal advice or a coverage determination.

Have an open Nationwide claim?

We prepare the written estimate your adjuster needs and handle the placement from approval to move-in.