Alternative accommodation with Aviva Signature home insurance: What is it?

Whether you find yourself contemplating swimming through your kitchen to work, or you’re faced with a gaping hole in your roof from force-gale winds, Aviva’s Signature home insurance includes alternative accommodation cover as standard.

We think that when you and your loved ones are displaced, that the two most important things are repairing your home as quickly as possible and making sure you’re able to get back on track with life in the meantime.

If your insurance covers the damage, we’ll cover you for alternative accommodation until your home is ready for you again. We’ll pay up to £100,000 if you have buildings insurance and up to £25,000 for contents insurance. If we can’t find somewhere convenient enough for you and your family to get to work and school, we’ll also cover you for any reasonable travel expenses.

And, because we know they’re part of the family, our cover also includes any reasonable accommodation expenses for your pets too. We’ll always try to make sure they can stay with you. Just make sure you check what the limit is on your policy, so you know what’s covered. You can do this by logging into the MyAviva app and checking your policy documents.

You’ll only need alternative accommodation if your home isn’t fit to live in while repairs are being made after something like flood or storm damage. These can be really distressing events for individuals and families, so if something like this does happen, our first priority as your insurer is to make sure you can get back to your everyday activities as soon as possible with as little hassle as possible. With that in mind, we don’t ask for any additional fees to have or use this benefit, other than paying your excess when you make a claim.

When it comes to home insurance and alternative accommodation, you might hear or see the word ‘uninhabitable’ used. This just means it isn’t possible or safe to stay in your home because it doesn’t have essential things like water, heating, electricity or a working loo and wash facilities. This is where you might need to use your alternative accommodation benefit. We’ll arrange for you to have somewhere warm and cosy to stay while your home is made habitable again. We know that your home is important to you, and staying anywhere else, no matter how cosy it is, is not always ideal.

As soon as you make a claim with us, we’ll arrange for someone to come around and assess whether your house is liveable or uninhabitable. If we receive confirmation from them that your home is uninhabitable and that you’ll need somewhere to stay while repairs are being carried out, we’ll kick-start the process of finding you somewhere to stay. We’ll talk to you more about your requirements, like where you work, if your children need to get to school, and if you have any other responsibilities or needs that we need to consider. If there’s somewhere convenient nearby that you’d like to stay, you can mention this, and we can see if we’ll cover it. All alternative accommodation is offered on a like-for-like basis or as close to it as we can find.

If you find that the cost of living is higher in your temporary accommodation compared to your usual overheads at home, we should cover any unavoidable difference. For example, you might find that your nearest supermarket is more expensive than where you do your usual shop, or your bus ticket to work might be more expensive. That’s why it never hurts to hold onto any receipts and keep us in the loop about your expenses, so we have a clear picture of how much we might need to reimburse you.

How long you can stay in your temporary accommodation really depends on what repairs your home needs and how much you’re covered for. We’ll always try to take this into account when we’re finding you somewhere to stay. You might only need alternative accommodation for a few weeks if the repairs can be made quickly. Or, If it’s a big job like replacing the roof or rebuilding walls, it could be more like a matter of months, especially if you have to consider planning permissions or delays and shortages of materials.

We have fixed monetary limits for alternative accommodation and no time limit on how long you can stay.

• This cover is included as standard – you won’t ever need to pay any extra for it which can be a big relief, especially if you live in a busy area with high rental costs.
• As long as you’re within the cover limit for alternative accommodation (£100,000 if you’re using our buildings insurance policy or £25,000 if you’re using your contents insurance policy), you don’t need to worry about having to pay for somewhere else to live for the duration of repairs. We’ve got you covered.
• We will try to make sure that wherever you go, your pets can go with you.
• We’ll consider your usual daily activities, like going to work, school drop-offs, family visits or caring responsibilities, and even things like the gym. At a time when stress levels are at an all-time high, it may be reassuring to know that your family's daily routine shouldn't change too much.