Q&A Insurance questions: Here are some answers

By PURVA PATEL

Q: Will I get reimbursed for not being able to live in my house?

A: Most homeowner policies provide living expenses — called "additional living expenses" on policies — to pay for the increased costs of being out of your home because it's uninhabitable.

This could include hotel bills, additional travel, additional meal costs, boarding of pets, long-distance calls or any costs that you wouldn't normally incur, said Steve Mostyn, a Houston attorney who represents consumers. You may even have reimbursable expenses while living in the house, for example, if your kitchen was destroyed, forcing you to eat out.

Some policies will pay if you don't have damage but can't live in your house because of a power outage or an evacuation order — though that's rare.

Usually the home must be uninhabitable because of physical damage from something you're insured for, such as a hurricane or fire. So if your house was flooded — which most private home insurance policies don't cover — you may not be able to get any living expenses from your home insurer. If wind damaged your home, you'll likely get paid by the company you have your windstorm coverage with, Mostyn said.

Policies issued by the government-backed National Flood Insurance Program won't pay for living expenses.

Q: Can I get paid for loss of use?

A: Loss-of-use coverage typically applies when the home is used to generate income and that income is lost because of something you're insured for, such as a hurricane or fire, said Chris Martin, a Houston attorney who represents insurers. For example, he said, the owner of a rental house can get the rent value if the tenants have to move out because of damage.

Q: Why is my deductible so high?

A: Many homeowners policies have had separate deductibles for wind damage since Hurricane Andrew pummeled South Florida in 1992, but in recent years they've been transitioning from flat amounts to a percentage of a home's insured value.

A hurricane deductible applies to wind damage from Hurricane Ike in coastal areas, according to the Insurance Information Institute, an industry trade group. Depending on the policy, hurricane deductibles usually vary between 1 and 15 percent of the amount the property is insured for.

If you live on the coast and are insured by the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, deductibles range from a standard 1 percent to 5 percent, though policyholders also could have selected a $100 or $250 flat deductible.

Q: Should I get a public adjuster?

A: A public adjuster is an insurance claims adjuster that policyholders can hire to represent them, helping through the claims process, presenting their case to the insurer and doing follow-up. They can help fill the gap between what a policyholder knows and what the insurance adjuster knows, said Mark Kincaid, an insurance attorney in Austin representing consumers.

But they can't argue about what a policy legally covers, he said.

The cost also comes out of your pocket — usually based on a percentage of the claims payment you receive — so it may not be worth it on a small claim. You could also hurt your relationship with your insurance company come renewal time by bringing in your own expert, so it may be something you'd want to consider after working with your insurance company's adjuster first, said Joe Williams, a risk management consultant in Houston.

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