09 — Where can I check this myself? Official TDI, NAIC, and Red Cross links

This bibliography is the authority list for the library. We summarized in the chapters so a tired family can keep reading. We did not paste the articles, and we are not the regulator. If a sentence in Chapters 1–8 ever feels sharper than the source, open the source. Coverage still belongs to your claim professional and the policy you bought.

Texas Department of Insurance — the Texas regulator

TDI is where a Texas household goes for consumer explanations, license lookups, and complaints about companies, agents, and adjusters. Help Line: 800-252-3439, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central as TDI publishes.

• When do policies pay for additional living expenses? — TDI’s plain definition of ALE (extra rent, food, and other costs you would not have at home); reasonable reimbursement up to the declarations-page limit; the 10–20% / about-12-months consumer sketch; power-outage-without-damage; NFIP does not pay ALE; TWIA extra-coverage question for coastal primary residences. Last updated on TDI’s page 4/10/2025 at the time we checked.
• Home insurance guide — the six coverages in a typical Texas home policy, including ALE; claims conduct (photos, tarps, receipts, how to stay reachable); Texas claim-handling clocks; ALE limited in the guide to 10–20% of dwelling on many policies and the warning not to run out before the repairs end. TDI listed this guide as last updated 6/1/2026 when we checked.
• Steps to getting your home or car insurance claim paid — file promptly; 15-day acknowledgment; 15 business days to accept or reject after the company has what it needs (with a possible 45-day extra if they explain); five business days to pay after agreement; catastrophe extensions.
• How do I file a homeowners insurance claim? (PDF) — first steps, what to expect, how to complain.
• FAQ: homeowners insurance and disaster claims — mortgagee checks, partial payments, talking to the company before you endorse a check you think is too small.
• Public adjusters: what to know before you hire one — optional, licensed, fee up to 10% of the whole settlement in TDI’s explanation, 72-hour cancel, cannot be your contractor, cannot keep you from talking to the company, should not door-knock during a disaster or after 9 p.m.
• Roofing and insurance: know the law — a contractor cannot act as a public adjuster on the same job; cannot advertise that they will handle the claim; deductible waiver/rebate is not legal to offer.
• New state law cracks down on roof scams — written estimates, multiple bids, no full pay up front, no blank contracts; Attorney General 800-621-0508 for contractor issues.
• File a complaint — TDI can help with companies, agents, and adjusters it regulates; not with building contractors.
• Who to call — TDI vs. other agencies; contractors go to the Texas Attorney General.
• Look up a licensed agent or adjuster
• Consumer Bill of Rights for home and renters insurance is discussed inside the home insurance guide; your company must give you a copy at issue or renewal.

National Association of Insurance Commissioners

NAIC is the organization of state insurance regulators. It is not a substitute for TDI, and it does not adjust your claim.

• What are Additional Living Expenses and how can insurance help? (13 Jan 2025) — ALE pays expenses beyond normal living expenses; the policy will not pay all living expenses; mortgage continues; hotel bills and reasonable restaurant meals if there is no kitchen; keep receipts; dollar and/or time limits; ask the agent, company, or adjuster; if you need help, contact your state department of insurance.

Insurance Information Institute

III is an industry-funded educational organization. Useful for plain-language lists of what ALE often includes (storage, extra mileage, pet boarding, laundry, higher utilities). Not a regulator and not your policy.

• III home
• Relocated due to a covered event? You may be eligible for Additional Living Expenses — temporary housing, moving, groceries or restaurants, storage, laundry, extra transportation, parking, pet boarding; typical consumer sketch of about 20% of dwelling or a time limit such as 12 months; NFIP does not include ALE.
• Ordered to evacuate? You might have coverage for additional living expenses — mandatory evacuation vs. leaving because the power is out; comparable size and quality; flood/NFIP exception again.

Travelers — a carrier’s own Loss of Use pages

Linked because they state, in public, two things families and desks both need: the definition of the period of restoration, and the vendor sentence. If Travelers is not your company, treat these as a clear example, not as your contract.

• Understanding your Loss of Use claim — Additional Living Expenses — ALE for the time reasonably required to make the home habitable; additional, reasonable costs above ordinary spend, not expenses beyond the pre-loss standard of living; housing companies they may name are not affiliated and you are not required to use them; on this guide, ALE applies to incurred expenses (pay, then reimburse) and should be pre-approved except in an emergency; work with the claim professional and the contractor on the timeline; mortgage still due (FAQ on that page); additions to the structure are not the restoration period.
• What is Loss of Use coverage? — Loss of Use / ALE / Coverage D in Travelers’ product language.

2-1-1 Texas and Texas disaster help

Jubilee is not tonight’s shelter. These are.

• 211texas.org — statewide, 24/7. Dial 2-1-1 or 877-541-7905.
• 2-1-1 disaster assistance (Texas Health and Human Services) — 9-1-1 for life-threatening emergencies; 2-1-1 for local food, housing, and benefits questions.
• 2-1-1 North Texas
• Texas Division of Emergency Management — resources for Texans — 2-1-1, shelter-finding pointers, FEMA registration when a declaration exists.

American Red Cross — North Texas

• Red Cross North Texas — Get Help
• Find an open shelter
• redcross.org/shelters — live map. Do not rely on a printed address.
• Phone: 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767)
• Red Cross states that disaster assistance is free, that pets are welcome at Red Cross shelters, and that identification is not required to enter.

Flood — National Flood Insurance Program and FEMA

• TDI’s ALE page, already listed, is the Texas consumer sentence: NFIP policies don’t pay for additional living expenses.
• FloodSmart.gov — the public NFIP site.
• NFIP coverage: what is not covered — additional living expenses / temporary housing listed among exclusions for building and contents coverage.
• What is covered by a flood insurance policy for homeowners? — temporary housing and ALE incurred while the building is repaired or unoccupiable are not covered.
• NFIP Claims Handbook (PDF) — NFIP does not cover ALE; if a presidential disaster is declared, FEMA Individual Assistance may be a separate path.
• disasterassistance.gov · FEMA Helpline 1-800-621-3362
• FEMA: assistance for survivors who have insurance — tell FEMA about all insurance; FEMA cannot duplicate it; ALE/Loss of Use on a homeowners policy is not the same as NFIP.

Other Texas doors this library pointed at

• Texas Attorney General Consumer Protection (contractors, deductible-waiver offers): 800-621-0508
• Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (coastal wind): twia.org · TDI coastal assistance 855-352-6278 as published in TDI’s home guide
• This library’s home on the public web: jubilee.homes

How we used these pages

We quoted short, attributable phrases where the exact wording is the point — TDI’s “extra rent, food, and other costs you wouldn’t have,” NAIC’s mortgage sentence, Travelers’ “you are not required to use them,” TDI’s “NFIP policies don’t pay for additional living expenses.” Everything else is a summary with a link. We did not scrape full articles. We did not invent a Dallas–Fort Worth rent, a hotel average, or a sample ALE monthly budget. We did not replace TDI with our own “official” definition.

If a URL has moved, search the organization’s name plus the title rather than trusting a housing company to be the archive. Then ask your claim professional how, if at all, it applies to your file.