If your home is badly damaged by a flood, fire, escape of water or another insured event, there may be a period when it is simply not practical — or safe — to continue living there.
In these circumstances, your insurer may agree to provide temporary or alternative accommodation while repairs are completed. Depending on the circumstances and your insurance policy, this could mean anything from a short hotel stay to several months living in a fully furnished apartment or house.
For families and individuals facing a longer period away from home, finding the right accommodation can make a significant difference to how disruptive the experience becomes.
What is insurance accommodation?
Insurance accommodation is temporary accommodation used when someone has to move out of their normal home following an insured event.
Typical situations include:
- Flood damage
- Fire or smoke damage
- Escape of water or major leaks
- Storm damage
- Structural damage
- Extensive building or repair work following an insurance claim
- Damage that leaves essential facilities such as bathrooms or kitchens unusable
The precise circumstances in which accommodation is covered will depend on your individual insurance policy and the insurer’s assessment of the claim.
You may also hear insurers, loss adjusters and relocation companies refer to this as alternative accommodation, temporary accommodation or insurance relocation accommodation.
Who arranges temporary accommodation?
There is no single process.
In some cases, an insurance company or loss adjuster will arrange accommodation directly. In others, a specialist relocation company may be instructed to find suitable accommodation.
Sometimes the homeowner or tenant is asked to identify suitable properties themselves and provide the details to the insurer for approval.
If you are looking for insurance accommodation in Maidstone, for example, it can therefore be useful to identify suitable furnished properties early and discuss them with the person managing your insurance claim.
How long might you need to move out for?
One of the difficulties with insurance repairs is that the timescale is not always known at the beginning.
A relatively straightforward repair might require accommodation for only a few weeks.
More extensive damage can involve:
- Assessing the damage
- Removing damaged materials
- Drying the property
- Obtaining quotes and approvals
- Carrying out structural or remedial work
- Replacing kitchens, bathrooms or flooring
- Decorating
- Final inspections before the property can be occupied again
As a result, an initial estimate of several weeks can sometimes become several months.
This is one reason why accommodation suitable for long-term living can be preferable to somewhere designed primarily for a short visit.
Hotel or furnished apartment?
For the first few nights after an emergency, a hotel can be a perfectly practical solution.
The situation becomes very different if you are going to be away from home for a month, three months or perhaps even longer.
Living in a hotel room for an extended period can be restrictive, particularly for families.
A furnished serviced apartment can provide:
- A proper kitchen
- Separate bedrooms
- A living and dining area
- Washing and laundry facilities
- Wi-Fi
- Television and entertainment
- Parking
- Space for children
- Greater privacy
- Somewhere that feels considerably more like a normal home
Being able to cook a normal meal, wash your own clothes and sit in a separate living room may sound like small things, but they become increasingly important when temporary accommodation becomes your home for several months.
Staying close to your normal life
Location is another important consideration.
Following damage to your home, there is already plenty to deal with. Moving a long distance away can create additional disruption.
Families may want to remain close to:
- Schools
- Work
- Friends and relatives
- Childcare
- Existing medical services
- Their damaged property
- Contractors carrying out repairs
For this reason, insurers and relocation providers will often look for appropriate accommodation within a reasonable distance of the policyholder’s normal home where suitable options are available.
What should you look for in long-term insurance accommodation?
If you expect the stay to last more than a few weeks, think about the property as somewhere you are actually going to live, rather than somewhere you are simply going to sleep.
Questions worth asking include:
- Is there a fully equipped kitchen?
- Is there enough bedroom space for everyone?
- Are washing facilities provided?
- Is parking included?
- Is fast Wi-Fi available?
- Are utilities included?
- Is bedding supplied?
- Can the stay potentially be extended?
- Is the accommodation professionally managed?
- Is the location convenient for everyday life?
Flexibility is particularly valuable because insurance repair schedules can change.
Insurance accommodation in Maidstone
St Andrews Apartments provides fully furnished serviced apartments in Maidstone suitable for guests requiring temporary accommodation following an insurance claim.
Our two-bedroom apartments are particularly suited to longer stays, with fully fitted kitchens, separate living areas, Wi-Fi, laundry facilities, two bathrooms and allocated parking.
We regularly accommodate guests staying for several weeks or months and can work with homeowners, tenants, insurers, loss adjusters and relocation companies.
If your home has been damaged and you need somewhere comfortable to live while repairs are completed, see our dedicated page for temporary insurance accommodation in Maidstone or contact us to discuss your dates and anticipated length of stay.
Insurance policies and individual claims vary. Always confirm the accommodation available under your policy with your insurer or claims representative.