What Coverage D provides
Coverage D, often labeled Loss of Use, pays two things when a covered loss forces you out of your home: additional living expense (ALE), the extra cost of living somewhere else while repairs happen, and, for rental properties, fair rental value lost while a unit cannot be rented. ALE covers only the difference between your normal cost of living and your elevated cost, not your ordinary expenses like the mortgage. Typical covered items include temporary housing, extra meal costs above your normal grocery spending, pet boarding, and added commuting or storage costs.
How the limit works
Coverage D is usually set as a percentage of Coverage A, and it is capped either by a dollar limit, a time limit, or both, depending on the policy. Because the trigger is that the home is uninhabitable, the clock generally runs for the reasonable time needed to repair or rebuild, which can end before the dollar limit is reached if the carrier argues repairs should have gone faster. Keep every receipt and document the dates the home was unlivable.
Florida specifics
After hurricanes, Florida carriers frequently dispute whether a home is truly uninhabitable, cut ALE for insufficient documentation, or stop payments early. Coverage D is tied to the period of restoration, so a delayed or underpaid structural repair can indirectly shrink your loss of use payments. If a carrier denies loss of use while the home remains unsafe, treat it as a disputed claim and document the conditions that make the home unlivable.