Kimberley Wren asked 2 years ago Hi,
If you evacuate due to a declared state of emergency, and there is no electricity, no heat, no hot water, does this deem your home temporarily uninhabitable? Would our insurance cover our ALE? We had to leave our home for many days in January for this reason. We are wondering if we should file a claim?
-hobbitywoman
Sandra L. Moriarty Expert answered 2 years ago Hi Kimberley,
Thanks for your question and for reaching out to UP. Sorry to hear about your difficulties.
CA Insurance Code Section 2060 (effective 7/1/2021) provides: “[i]n the event of a state of emergency, as defined in Section 8558 of the Government Code, that is accompanied by an order of civil authority restricting access to the home, related to a covered peril, additional living expense coverage shall be provided for at least two weeks. Additional extensions of two weeks shall be provided to a policyholder for good cause, but shall be subject to other policy provisions.”
If the loss was a declared emergency, and related to a covered peril, they you would have two weeks coverage. You don’t mention why you were evacuated, which makes a difference, as does the wording in your policy. For instance, if you were evacuated because of flood threats, and the policy was not a flood insurance policy, you might not have any coverage. If you are in the CZU or other burn area, however, and the threat was landslides from the burn scar, then you should have some coverage, in my opinion. Commissioner Lara agrees: https://www.insurance.ca.gov/0400-news/0100-press-releases/2023/release001-2023.cfm
Hope this helps. Remember to put everything in writing!
Best,
Sandy