As the intensity of natural disasters -- ranging from hurricanes to wildfires—continues to ratchet up, evacuations are becoming more common for property owners and renters. Ready.gov recommends identifying “several places you could go in an emergency such as a friend’s home in another town or a motel” and choosing “destinations in different directions so that you have options during an emergency,” (2024).
Grabbing what you can carry and running for the hills from life-threatening danger is stressful enough, but evacuees are also faced with overcoming the steep costs associated with fleeing.
According to NPR news site WBHM, evacuation costs including food, fuel, lodging, and other out-of-pocket expenses, has “ballooned into the thousands” for many individuals and families, adding that Hurricane Harvey saw costs between $1,500-3,000 for evacuating Houstonians (Bisaha, 2024). To offer a big picture perspective of this impact, a recent study estimates that the total cost of hurricane evacuations range from $11 million to $120 million per storm (Gellman, et al., 2022).
Fortunately, most property insurance policies will cover some of your living expenses if you are unable to live at home due to a covered loss. This is called additional living expenses (ALE) coverage, or loss of use. ALE can go towards covering meals while displaced, hotel or Airbnb stays, mileage depreciation and gas or tickets for transportation.
ALE coverage also applies if you have been issued a mandatory evacuation order by local or state agencies to escape a wildfire, hurricane or other natural disaster. In these instances, the “full policy deductible will apply and depending on the terms of your specific policy, there may be a sub-limit and/or a time limit (i.e. up to 30 days) on ALE claims due to evacuation orders” (Acera Insurance, n.d.).
One notable exclusion to be aware of: Staying at a hotel due to a power outage is not eligible for ALE reimbursement. Many policyholders assume that power outages are a covered cause, especially in places like Texas where the thought of living without air conditioning in the heat and humidity is almost unthinkable. However, this is not the case.
Tiger Tip: Some policies also include a food loss provision that will cover the cost to replace spoiled food in your fridge and freezer. Be sure you keep all receipts for incurred expenses, as you'll need to submit them to your insurance carrier for reimbursement!
“Generally, homeowners’ policies can only help defray the costs of evacuating when coverage is triggered by physical damage to the residence. These policies don’t provide coverage when no damage is sustained,” making evacuating a costly gamble if the policyholder is unsure whether their property will be impacted (Talus, n.d.).
Tiger Tip: It is always a good idea to hire a professional to complete an interior and exterior inspection of your property after a natural disaster, even if you don’t see any visible damage. Public Adjusters are trained to spot subtle damage that is easy to miss but can be costly down the road.
There are other steps homeowners can take to help offset the extra expenses incurred during disaster evacuations that do not result in home damage, however, such as by adding a mandatory evacuation endorsement to their existing homeowners insurance policy (Talus, n.d.).
As storms continue to strengthen in intensity, natural disasters will “drive evacuees further away from home for longer,” further increasing the cost to evacuate. “FEMA can cover some of those evacuation costs” that their property insurance policies won’t cover, but only “after a major disaster declaration — which typically happens after the storm has already passed” (Bisaha, 2024).
Remember that Public Adjusters are skilled insurance whizzes and consumer advocates. Contact the Tiger Adjusters team for help understanding your policy and pursuing a fair settlement for applicable ALE resulting from a natural disaster evacuation, along with your property damage claim.
Acera Insurance (n.d.). Does my home insurance cover evacuation expenses? Retrieved January 16, 2025, from https://acera.ca/does-my-home-insurance-cover-evacuation-expenses/
Bisaha, S. (2024, October 18). 1 reason people don’t evacuate for hurricanes? Rising costs, and they’re getting pricier. WBHM. Retrieved January 16, 2025, from https://wbhm.org/2024/1-reason-people-dont-evacuate-for-hurricanes-rising-costs-and-theyre-getting-pricier/#:~:text=Back%20then%2C%20costs%20typically%20ranged,%241%2C500%20to%20%243%2C000%20for%20evacuations.
Gellman, J., Hennighausen, H., Watson, B., & Berry, K. (2022). The Cost of Hurricane Evacuations. https://jacobgellman.github.io/files/gellman_et_al_2024-cost_hurricane_evacuations.pdf
Kasperowicz, L. (2024, December 10). Additional living expenses coverage: A complete guide. Insurance.com. Retrieved January 16, 2025, from https://www.insurance.com/home-and-renters-insurance/natural-disasters/additional-living-expenses.html
Ready.gov (2024, October 7). Evacuation. Retrieved January 16, 2025, from https://www.ready.gov/evacuation
Talus, A. (n.d.). Mandatory Natural Disaster Evacuations Prove Costly for Homeowners. CRC Group. Retrieved January 16, 2025, from https://www.crcgroup.com/Tools-Intel/post/Mandatory-Natural-Disaster-Evacuations-Prove-Costly-for-Homeowners
