If you have been confirmed as Category 3 by your local council, please call our claims teams to receive more information and support with your claim on 0800 800 134
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FAQs:
Accommodation Support
Alternative accommodation insurance cover
If you have home or contents insurance with us, we can help with the cost of alternative accommodation, if we agree that your home is uninhabitable.
Alternative accommodation (sometimes called temporary accommodation) benefits have limits, so it’s a good idea to think about how long your home may be uninhabitable and make choices that will make the most of your benefit. In a disaster there can be a lot of pressure on both accommodation supply and building resources, and repairs can take longer than usual.
For more information on temporary accommodation, see the frequently asked questions below.
Other accommodation support
If you don’t have insurance or you have used up your alternative accommodation benefit, there may be other options available for you if you need support with the cost of accommodation.
See our Help and support page for more information.
FAQs:
1
Alternative (Temporary) accommodation benefits are typically limited to either a percentage of your sum insured, or a specific dollar amount.
The amount differs across home and contents insurance policies and your entitlement will also depend on whether you are a tenant or own the home you live in.
Check your insurance policies and schedules to find out how much you are entitled to or contact Vero or your broker.
2
As with any insurance benefit, temporary accommodation has limits, so we encourage you to think carefully about how to use your benefit based on how long your repair or rebuild might take.
If you think you are likely to run out of alternative (temporary) accommodation benefit before your house is repaired, talk to our team for some ideas about how you could use your benefit or take a look at other support options that might be available to you.
3
Temporary accommodation is a limited benefit, and in some cases may run out before homes are fully repaired. It’s important to plan the use of your temporary accommodation benefit carefully if it’s likely your house may take some time to repair.
If your temporary accommodation benefit is ending, check out the other support options that may be available.
4
If you have been prevented from accessing your home by the government or local authorities, you may be eligible for cover under your Alternative Accommodation benefit. Contact us to discuss your specific circumstances.
5
Your insurance will usually cover ‘fair and reasonable’ costs for alternative accommodation (within the limits of your alternative accommodation benefit), and that does take into account your specific circumstances.
Remember that any payment for emergency accommodation will be deducted from your overall alternative accommodation benefit, should you then need to move into longer term accommodation.
We encourage you to think carefully about how to use your benefit to ensure that it supports you for as long as possible, if your home is going to take some time to repair.
6
Possibly. In most cases, if you have been affected by these weather events, you may be able to claim for reasonable costs under this benefit when you stay with family. Contact us to discuss your circumstances.
7
If your home is severely damaged, you may be eligible to receive your alternative (temporary) accommodation benefit as a lump sum. The amount you are entitled to would be calculated based on our estimate of likely time to repair and a reasonable accommodation cost for that time.
If you are eligible, you will be able to use the money to select an accommodation option that suits you, whether that is a temporary rental or a longer-term solution such as a caravan.
Get in touch to find out if this could be an option for you.
8
Under Vero’s home and contents policies, you are entitled to receive only one alternative accommodation benefit.
In general, Home policies provide alternative accommodation to owner-occupiers, while Contents policies provide alternative accommodation to people who are renting a home.
If you own your home but only have Contents insurance with Vero, contact us about whether you are eligible for alternative accommodation.
9
The amount you are entitled to is calculated based on our estimate of the likely time to repair/rebuild your house, and a reasonable accommodation cost for that time, up to the policy limit.
Alternative accommodation benefits don’t provide any additional cover if you choose to delay your repair or rebuild.
If your property is in Category 3 and you accept an offer from the government to buy your property, your alternative accommodation benefit entitlement will come to an end.
10
No. Alternative accommodation payments are based on only the time it would take to repair the damage to your property, and not any additional time required to make improvements or changes.
11
Natural disaster is defined in Vero policies and does not include storm or flood damage. It does include some types of landslip.
If your home has been damaged in a natural disaster, you may be eligible to receive your benefit for longer than 12 months, but alternative accommodation is a capped amount and payments will not be extended you have used the full amount of your benefit.
Disclaimer – The information on this page is of a general nature only, intended to provide guidance about how your claim may be managed. The steps which will be taken to manage your particular claim will depend upon your individual circumstances and your policy wording. Please refer to your policy wording for full details of your insurance cover. If in doubt about what you should do, speak to your Broker or contact Vero on 0800 800 134.
