LOSS OF USE HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE

As a Texas homeowner, you are not required by law to purchase homeowners insurance. If you owe money on your home, however, your lender will require you to have a homeowners policy. Your home is likely one of the biggest investments you will ever make, and purchasing a homeowners insurance policy is the prudent thing to do, regardless, as there are countless perils that regularly threaten to cost you for repairs or replacement.

There are typically six common coverages included in a Texas homeowners policy. Today we are going to take a look at the Loss of Use coverage. Most homeowners realize that their insurance covers losses such as fire damage, vandalism, and weather-related damage to their homes. You might not be as familiar with the loss of use coverage portion of your policy.

To illustrate how this type of coverage works, let’s look at what happened to Harriet Hickory:

Ms. Hickory bought a house in Aldine, Texas. She rented out her upstairs studio apartment to a coworker, which worked well for both of them and their shared daily commute. Seven months after purchasing her home, Harriet woke up to howling wind coming through her bedroom ceiling. A large tree branch had fallen from an oak tree in the yard during a thunderstorm, breaking through the roof. Thankfully Harriet wasn’t hurt, but her roof was damaged so extensively that she and her renter were unable to stay in her home until repairs were made.

There was a motel in Houston where Ms. Hickory settled in during her home repairs. She also had to find a boarding place for her German shepherd, since pets were not allowed in the motel. Harriet normally made her meals from scratch, but without a kitchen, she found herself eating out every day. All of these expenses quickly added up as Harriet’s lifestyle was so abruptly changed. Thankfully, the loss of use coverage in her homeowner’s policy was able to cover most of the expenses that were caused due to her displacement. That means her motel room, her dog’s boarding, her extra food expenses, the loss of rent money, and the extra gas money due to more miles to Harriet’s daily commute were reimbursed. This made the inconvenience of the whole fiasco much more bearable as she waited for the repairs to be completed.

Keep in mind, this coverage only pays for the added cost of living that goes above your normal expenses. It will not cover expenses you were responsible for before the covered damages were done to your home, such as your mortgage, childcare, etc.

Give Armstrong Insurance a call to speak with an agent about how much loss of use coverage you might require. We can adjust your policy accordingly, as our goal is to make sure your policy fits your needs.