You are not supposed to know this process by heart. A fire, a burst pipe, a storm — and suddenly the house you pay a mortgage on is not a place to sleep. This library is a calm path from tonight through the first night back in your own kitchen. Read it in order. When a chapter points you to the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI), the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), the Insurance Information Institute (III), Travelers, 2-1-1 Texas, the American Red Cross, or the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), open that page. Those organizations are the authorities. We are the librarian, and, when the rebuild will take months, we are a chapter of comparable housing in Dallas–Fort Worth — not a public adjuster, not a lawyer, and not tonight’s shelter.
Jubilee Homes stands in two places at once: advocate for the insured, and partner to the file. We want your household to keep a normal standard of living — school, pets, a kitchen when the repair calendar is measured in months — and we want the claim professional to have a clean, comparable option they can authorize. We do not interpret your policy. We do not decide what is covered. Coverage decisions belong to the claim professional assigned to your loss, reading the contract you bought.
Public contact. Jaclyn, Fort Worth. Phone (817) 518-2399. Email inquiries@jubilee.homes. Website jubilee.homes. There is no public walk-in office, and we do not publish a street address. We do not knock on doors after fires or storms. If you found this library, you came to us, or your desk sent you.
Where should I start?
Start at Chapter 1 if you still need a safe place to sleep tonight. Start at Chapter 2 if you are already in a hotel and have not opened a claim. Start at Chapter 3 if the claim is open and you are trying to understand Additional Living Expense — also called ALE, Coverage D, or Loss of Use — without treating a housing company as the last word. Keep Chapter 6 open on your phone as a receipt kit. Print Chapter 10 when you are ready to send one packet to your adjuster.
A few rules we keep for you, and for the partnerships that make housing on a claim possible:
- We never invent a monthly rent, a Dallas–Fort Worth hotel rate, or a made-up monthly housing figure. Your declarations page and your claim professional hold those numbers.
- We never tell you to leave coverage unused, to shop for a larger or “better” house, to take over the claim, or to treat the carrier as an opponent. That language damages files and families.
- We do not ask you to type a claim number into a public form. Share it privately with your carrier, your assigned claim professional, and a housing contact the desk has agreed to speak with.
- Hotels first. A furnished home with a kitchen belongs in the conversation when the contractor is talking about months, not nights.
- Pets and school are about comparability — keeping the life you already had — not about upgrades.
- When you have a coverage question, ask the adjuster. When you have a Texas insurance question the desk cannot settle, call TDI.
The 10 questions families ask, in the order they come up
Read down the page as the weeks unfold. Each question links to a plain-language chapter.
- 1The first hours01 — What do I do tonight if my home isn’t safe?
Safety, 2-1-1, Red Cross, a city shelter if one is open. We are not that shelter.
- 2As soon as you can make a call02 — How do I file a homeowners insurance claim in Texas?
First Notice of Loss to your carrier. Keep the claim number off the street.
- 3Once a claim number exists03 — How long does ALE last, and what does it pay for?
What Additional Living Expense pays, and what it does not. Mortgage continues. Flood is different.
- 4Days, then weeks04 — Does insurance pay for a house instead of a hotel?
Hotel for the short stay. Kitchen housing if the rebuild is months. A blank comparison, not sample dollars.
- 5When the repair calendar runs to months05 — Can I pick my own rental after a claim?
How to propose a comparable furnished option to the adjuster — city, beds, pets, dates, housing contact.
- 6Every day you are out06 — What receipts do I keep for an ALE claim?
Receipts: housing, meals, laundry, mileage, storage, pets, utilities, and your baseline.
- 7While vendors appear07 — Do pets and school count, and how do I avoid claim scams?
Pets and school as comparability. Contractor and public-adjuster warnings from TDI. We house; we do not repair.
- 8When the house is nearly livable08 — How do I end my temporary housing and go home?
Ending the stay, about 30 days’ notice, extra nights if the rebuild slips — ask before you extend.
- 9Whenever you want the primary sources09 — Where can I check this myself? Official TDI, NAIC, and Red Cross links
Annotated links, not our paraphrase standing in for the regulator.
- 10When you email the desk10 — What do I send my adjuster? (one-page packet)
One printable page: the packet to send your adjuster.
Quick answers
Short answers, taken from the chapters. Open the chapter for the full picture and the sources.
What do I do tonight if my home isn’t safe?
If the house is not safe, leave it. Gas smell, active fire, standing water near electrical panels, or a ceiling coming down are 9-1-1 problems. For a bed tonight, call 2-1-1 Texas (dial 2-1-1 or 877-541-7905) or the Red Cross (1-800-733-2767). Jubilee Homes is not an emergency shelter. In the morning, call your insurance company and open the claim. Read chapter 01 →
How do I file a homeowners insurance claim in Texas?
Tell your insurance company the house was damaged. That first call is often called First Notice of Loss (FNOL). Give the policy number, the address, what happened, whether the house is safe, where you are sleeping, and a working phone number, then ask for the claim number and the name of the claim professional who will own the file. Keep the claim number private from random vendors. Read chapter 02 →
How long does ALE last, and what does it pay for?
The Texas Department of Insurance says additional living expenses are “the extra rent, food, and other costs you wouldn’t have if you were still in your home,” paid up to the limit on your declarations page. TDI notes that policies usually pay up to 12 months or until the percentage of the house’s insured value is used. You still pay your mortgage. Flood is the large exception: NFIP policies don’t pay for additional living expenses. Read chapter 03 →
Does insurance pay for a house instead of a hotel?
A hotel is usually the first good decision because it is fast and needs no lease. When the contractor and the claim professional are talking about months, a furnished home with a kitchen, laundry, and room for your household and pets can be a comparable way to keep a normal standard of living, if the claim professional agrees it fits the file. Some desks reimburse you after you pay; others authorize direct billing. Ask before you sign. Read chapter 04 →
Can I pick my own rental after a claim?
Ask your own claim professional: “Are we required to use a named housing vendor, or may we send a comparable option for you to review?” Travelers’ public guide, for example, says the housing companies it names are not affiliated with Travelers and you are not required to use them; other companies write their own rules. Send one clear comparable option and wait for the desk to authorize it before you sign. Read chapter 05 →
What receipts do I keep for an ALE claim?
Keep every receipt, in two columns from the first week: baseline (what you spent before the loss) and displacement (new costs because the house is unlivable), covering housing, meals while there is no kitchen, laundry, mileage, storage, pets, and utilities. The difference is the conversation, and the mortgage is not part of the increase. Send receipts in chronological order with a short description on each. Read chapter 06 →
Do pets and school count, and how do I avoid claim scams?
Pets that already lived with you and the school your children already attend are about comparability, keeping a normal standard of living, not an upgrade. Tell the adjuster the truth about your animals from day one. On scams, TDI says to get written estimates, get more than one bid, not pay in full up front, and never sign a contract with blanks. You are not required to hire a public insurance adjuster. Read chapter 07 →
How do I end my temporary housing and go home?
The opinion that matters for ALE is the claim professional’s reading of the policy and the period of restoration, so ask for the date you should plan to be back. As a working rule, give your housing contact about 30 days’ notice. If the rebuild slips, tell your claim professional the same day and ask before you stay extra nights. Read chapter 08 →
Where can I check this myself? Official TDI, NAIC, and Red Cross links
Read the pages of the Texas Department of Insurance, the NAIC, the Insurance Information Institute, Travelers’ Loss of Use guide, 2-1-1 Texas, the American Red Cross, the NFIP, and FEMA. If a source page and this library ever differ, the source page wins. The TDI Help Line is 800-252-3439. Read chapter 09 →
What do I send my adjuster? (one-page packet)
Email the assigned claim professional a one-page packet: the contractor’s livable-again estimate, your household facts (adults, children, pets, bedrooms), the option under review with a housing contact, and your questions (Is it comparable? May we proceed? Direct-bill or reimbursement?). Attach hotel folios, a baseline sketch, and the contractor timeline. Leave the claim number off anything public. Read chapter 10 →
Where can I check this myself? Go to the authorities
Click through. Read their words. If our chapter and their page ever seem to differ, their page wins, and you should still ask your claim professional how it applies to your policy.
Texas Department of Insurance (your state regulator)
- When do policies pay for additional living expenses?
- Home insurance guide (includes the Additional Living Expenses claims section)
- Steps to getting your home or car insurance claim paid
- How do I file a homeowners insurance claim? (PDF)
- FAQ: homeowners insurance and disaster claims
- Public adjusters: what to know before you hire one
- Roofing and insurance: know the law
- New state law cracks down on roof scams
- File a complaint
- Look up a licensed agent or adjuster
- Help Line: 800-252-3439 (weekdays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central, as TDI publishes)
National Association of Insurance Commissioners
Insurance Information Institute
A carrier’s own Loss of Use page (Travelers — useful even if they are not your company)
Tonight’s help (not Jubilee)
- 2-1-1 Texas — or dial 2-1-1 / 877-541-7905
- 2-1-1 disaster assistance (Texas Health and Human Services)
- 2-1-1 North Texas
- Red Cross North Texas — get help
- Find an open Red Cross shelter · redcross.org/shelters
- Red Cross: 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767)
Flood (there is usually no ALE on an NFIP policy)
- TDI: NFIP policies don’t pay for additional living expenses
- FloodSmart — National Flood Insurance Program
- NFIP: what coverage includes — living expenses such as temporary housing are not covered
- FEMA disaster assistance · FEMA Helpline 1-800-621-3362 (if a presidential disaster is declared)
If a contractor or roof scam is at the door
- Texas Attorney General Consumer Protection Hotline: 800-621-0508 (TDI does not license building contractors; TDI points contractor complaints here)
What does Jubilee Homes do in all this?
When the claim professional and the contractor agree the house will not be livable for as long as the repairs take, we can show a furnished, pet-friendly home in the Dallas–Fort Worth city or school area that keeps your household together. If the desk authorizes it, we can direct-bill the file so you are not floating the housing invoice while you wait on reimbursement. We coordinate availability, move-in, and a simple extension if the rebuild slips and the desk says yes first.
We will not tell you what your policy owes. We will not speak for you on coverage. We will not repair the house. We will not publish a street address. One person answers: Jaclyn.
Next: Chapter 1 — What do I do tonight if my home isn’t safe?.
Informational, not legal or insurance advice. Check your own policy and ask your claim professional what applies to your loss. If a source page and this library ever differ, the source page wins.
This page is not legal advice. We do not interpret insurance policies. Coverage decisions belong to your claim professional. For questions about insurance in Texas, call the Texas Department of Insurance Help Line at 800-252-3439. Jubilee Homes does not cold-contact families after fires or storms.