Whoever said fairy tales don't come true has never gotten a good look at a house after a Class 5 hurricane. The Big Bad Wolf couldn't have done it better himself! When your home's been wiped out by a disaster (natural or otherwise) you've got enough on your plate to worry about without having to wonder if Fido's got enough room to squeeze you into his double wide doghouse. With additional living expenses, your homeowners insurance provider is making sure you're never left asking, "What do I do now?"

Additional living expenses should be a standard part of any homeowners insurance policy, and if they're not a part of yours it's time to talk to your insurance agent about making some changes. The additional living expenses clause of your policy can make all the difference when it comes to how you're going to be living after an accident. More appropriately, for many people it's the dividing line between having someplace comfortable to stay while their home's being repaired or dining on Ramen and sleeping in their parents' basement!

Mortgage payments are kind of like car payments. Your lender doesn't particularly care whether you have the house or not as long as you're still paying your bill. That means that even if the only thing left of your dining room is the floorboards you're still going to have to pay your mortgage each month. The catch is, you're also going to have to pay to either stay in a hotel or rent another place for a couple of months (or ten) while construction crews are putting your house back together. Unless you have more expendable income than the average American, that's not going to be either pretty or easy. That's where your homeowners insurance provider steps in.

Your homeowners insurance, via your additional living expenses coverage, will help pay for your hotel room, meals in a restaurant, rent and deposits (both security and utility) if you're expecting your house to be uninhabitable for the long run, and renters insurance to cover your new place until the construction crew finishes up. They'll also reimburse you for any rent you lost as a result of the damages (if you were renting out a room or a garage).

All in all, it's a pretty sweet deal, and it definitely takes a load off your mind knowing you're going to be taken care of.

Of course, your homeowners insurance isn't going to let you coast for months on end. The point of additional living expenses is to cover expenditures above and beyond what you'd normally be spending, so they're going to be keeping a pretty close eye on the bills they're paying. Every homeowners insurance provider has their own limits when it comes to additional living expenses as well, so it pays to talk to your agent and find out where your limits are.

Even with its limitations, additional living expenses may be the most important part of your homeowners insurance policy after your home's been involved in an accident. (Right after the part where they say they're paying for repairs, of course.) With additional living expenses tacked on to your insurance coverage you can rest assured you're never going to be fighting Rocko for the dry side of the doghouse!