Alternative accommodation on an insurance claim: how it works

In most policies it covers the cost of comparable temporary accommodation for you and your household, and often pets, while the property cannot be lived in. Many policies also cover storage and reasonable moving costs.

Cover is normally capped — commonly a percentage of the buildings sum insured, or a fixed limit — and runs for a defined period. Check both the monetary cap and the time limit in your policy schedule early, because they shape every decision that follows.

Sometimes the insurer or loss adjuster arranges it through a supplier. Sometimes the household finds accommodation and the insurer approves and reimburses, or pays the provider directly.

Households often get a better outcome in the second route, because they know which school run, workplace and family support network actually matters. Get written approval of the property, the weekly cost and the expected duration before you move in, whichever route you take.

For a displaced family, a whole house with a kitchen, washing machine, garden and separate bedrooms is not a luxury — it is the difference between living normally and living out of suitcases. It also tends to cost the claim less per week than equivalent hotel rooms plus meals out.

Practical things to insist on: enough bedrooms for the household, a full kitchen, laundry, parking, and a location that keeps schools and work reachable. Pets need agreeing up front, not after arrival.

Escape of water and small fire claims commonly run six to twelve weeks. Larger fire, subsidence and structural claims frequently run six months or more, especially where drying, strip-out and specialist trades are involved.

Ask the loss adjuster for an indicative repair programme, then book accommodation with the ability to extend. Being moved twice mid-claim is the most disruptive thing that happens to displaced households, and it is usually avoidable by choosing a property that can flex.

• What is the alternative accommodation limit, in money and in time? • Will you pay the accommodation provider directly or reimburse me? • Is this specific property and weekly rate approved in writing? • Are pets, storage and moving costs covered? • Who authorises an extension if the repair programme slips?

Keep every invoice and every written approval. Claims teams change hands, and the paperwork is what carries the agreement forward.

We work with insurers, loss adjusters and households directly. Homes are furnished, bills and council tax are inside the price, and we invoice the insurer or claims handler with the claim reference on every invoice.

Stays can start at short notice and extend as a repair programme changes, so households are not moved again mid-claim. Every booking, including insurer-funded bookings, takes a refundable security deposit returned after checkout.