ALE documentation checklist: the monthly packet that gets living expenses reimbursed

Key facts

• The regulator's method: a baseline from bank statements, receipts sorted temporary versus normal, a monthly packet, and screenshots of local rents (Washington OIC).
• Survivors recommend one bank account per coverage and receipts labelled by category (United Policyholders).
• Covered increases include lodging, meals with no kitchen, laundry, storage, moving, pet boarding and extra transport.
• The statutory extension triggers are permit delays, material shortages and contractor availability; keep the documents that prove them.

Print this packet

The six steps

1. Set the baseline. From three months of bank statements before the loss, write down normal monthly housing, food, utilities, fuel and laundry. ALE pays the increase above this line.
2. Open one account per coverage. Route ALE payments to an account used for nothing else. Label every receipt with the coverage it belongs to.
3. Sort receipts weekly. Two piles: temporary costs caused by the loss, and normal costs you would have paid anyway. Only the first pile goes in the packet, with the increase shown.
4. Capture the market. Screenshot three comparable rentals near your home with dates. This is the evidence for a comparable-housing rate and for an extension.
5. Send the monthly packet. Same day each month: cover page with the claim number, the baseline, the month's receipts by category, the market screenshots, and the running total against the dollar cap.
6. File the extension early. By month 10 on a 12-month form, or month 20 on a 24-month form, send the written extension request with the permit receipt, the contractor's delay letter and any supplier backorder notice.

Baseline worksheet

Three months before the loss, averaged. Fill from bank and card statements.

Receipt categories, in packet order

1. Housing (rent, nightly rate, pad fee)
2. Deposits and fees
3. Food above baseline
4. Laundry
5. Storage and moving
6. Pet boarding
7. Transportation above baseline
8. Utilities at the temporary address
9. Other increases, itemized

Monthly cover page

• Claim number, policyholder, temporary address, month covered.
• Baseline total, this month's total, and the increase claimed.
• Running total claimed against the dollar cap; months used against the time cap; the extension request date.
• Three dated market screenshots for comparable rentals near the home.

Questions to ask the adjuster, in writing

• What is my ALE dollar cap and my time cap in months?
• Does an extension require a written request before the period ends, and what documentation do you want with it?
• What comparable housing rate have you set, and how was it computed?
• Will you accept an RV on my lot or a monthly park pad as comparable housing?
• How should flood living expenses be separated if a flood policy also applies?
• Will you pay an advance, and against what documentation?

This packet is educational, not legal or claims advice.

Questions people ask

What is the baseline and why does it matter?

Your normal monthly housing, food, utilities, fuel and laundry from three months of statements before the loss. ALE pays only the increase above this line, so without it the adjuster has nothing to measure against.

Which receipts count?

Anything caused by the loss and above normal: rent or nightly rate, deposits and fees, meals when you have no kitchen, laundry, storage, moving, pet boarding, extra fuel, utilities at the temporary address. Normal costs you would have paid anyway do not.

How often should I send the packet?

Monthly, on the same day, in the same order: cover page, baseline, receipts by category, market screenshots, running totals against both caps. Consistency is what makes it approvable on receipt.

What do I ask the adjuster up front?

Your dollar cap and time cap, whether an extension needs a written request and what documents, the comparable housing rate and how it was computed, whether an RV or park pad counts, and whether an advance is available.

Is this legal advice?

No. It is an educational checklist built from regulator guidance and published survivor practice. For a disputed claim, a public adjuster or an attorney is the right call.

What to do next

1. Print the packet and fill the baseline worksheet from three months of statements.
2. Open an account that receives ALE money only.
3. Sort receipts weekly into the packet categories.
4. Send the first packet at the end of month one, with the market screenshots.
5. Send the extension request by month 10 on a 12-month form or month 20 on a 24-month form.

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How we know

Each finding below names its source, what we did to it, what it means for you and what it costs to ignore. Figures marked measured decay and are re-measured before they are 60 days old.

Reviewed by TempHome Finder editorial. Published 2026-09-06. Updated 2026-09-07.