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When a winter storm cuts the power or bursts a pipe, here is when loss of use pays for a place to stay, how much it pays, and what to do the first night.
The short answer
Insurance pays for a hotel in a winter storm only when damage keeps you out of your home. The Texas Department of Insurance says that if you leave because of a power outage and your home isn't damaged, your policy won't cover additional living expenses. When a covered loss such as a burst pipe makes the house unlivable, loss of use can pay the extra cost of living somewhere else, up to the limit on your declarations page. Keep every receipt from the first night.
The calls I took in February 2021
In February 2021, a lot of people called to ask whether they could use their loss of use coverage because the power was out. There was no claim, no issue, no problem. The power was just out on the home, and my own house in Humble was dark too. My wife took the kids to her family's house in Friendswood, and I stayed back to keep water moving through the pipes.
I had to give every caller the same answer.
Insurance pays for the sudden, the accidental, and the catastrophic, and an outage with no damage to the house is none of the three. A freeze can also do real damage, and that is where the answer changes. I want your family to know both answers before the next cold night.
The power is out and the house is fine
The Texas Department of Insurance, or TDI, answers this one in a sentence. If you left your house because of a power outage and your home wasn't damaged, your policy won't cover additional living expenses. Loss of use rides on a covered loss to the home, and a dark house with no damage gives it nothing to ride on. The hotel, the meals out, and the gas stay with the family.
Houston asked this question in real time. In the week after the 2021 freeze, KPRC put it to a licensed adjuster and reported the same split. A burst pipe that forces a family out would likely be covered, and a hotel stay for an outage alone may be denied.
Leaving a cold house is often the right call for your people. Plan the cost as a family expense, and protect the house before you go.
Leaving before a freeze
If you leave your house before a freeze, TDI says to turn off the water at the shutoff valve and leave your heat on. Those two steps protect the pipes, and they are the kind of care a policy can ask for.
TDI's winter safety tips, updated April 29, 2025.
Our post on what home insurance covers after a power outage walks through the rest of an outage, from the food to the generator.
The freeze damaged the house
Loss of use answers damage. TDI says home and renters policies may cover additional living expenses when you can't stay in your home because it was damaged by an event your policy covers. In a freeze, that event is usually a burst pipe, and TDI says most homeowners policies cover water damage from leaks and broken pipes, with exceptions. Your own form decides. Our post on what to do first when a pipe bursts covers the first hour and the claim.
Power out, no damage
TDI says the policy won't cover additional living expenses. The hotel stays with the family.
Burst pipe, covered damage
Loss of use can pay the extra cost of living elsewhere while the house is repaired, up to your limit.
One condition comes first. TDI says home and renters policies might not pay for damage from frozen pipes if you didn't take steps to protect them, such as keeping the heat on. Its March 2021 bulletin to insurers said that whether a family took reasonable care, by keeping the heat on or by shutting off the water and draining the pipes, must be judged on the unique circumstances of the claim. It noted that power outages kept many policyholders from heating their homes. Our post on whether home insurance covers frozen pipes explains that condition in full.
Flood insurance doesn't pay for damage caused by burst pipes, TDI says, so this question belongs to the home or renters policy. Our freeze checklist covers the care before the cold.
Cold front on the way? Your policy decides who pays for the hotel. Send us your declarations page, and we'll show you your loss of use limit in dollars.
See My Hotel NumberWhat loss of use pays, and what stays yours
Loss of use, listed on many policies as Coverage D, pays the extra cost of living somewhere else when a covered loss makes your home unlivable. TDI calls these additional living expenses, the extra rent, food, and other costs you wouldn't have if you were still in your home. Its examples are hotel bills, eating out, laundry, and an apartment while the house is repaired. TDI says most home, renters, and condo policies pay some of them.
- 10 to 20percent of what your house is insured for, what TDI says most policies pay
- 12 monthshow long TDI says policies usually pay, unless the limit runs out first
- 20,000dollars in TDI's own example, a house insured for 200,000 dollars with a 10 percent limit
The limit is on your declarations page. If you reach it before the house is repaired, TDI says you'll pay the rest on your own. Our post on how to read your declarations page shows where the line sits.
| What you spend | Who pays |
|---|---|
| A hotel or an apartment while the house is repaired | Loss of use, up to your limit |
| Meals out, above what groceries cost you at home | Loss of use, for the extra cost |
| Laundry you would have done at home | Loss of use, for the extra cost |
| Your mortgage or rent on the house you left | Still yours. Loss of use pays the extra costs only |
| A hotel when the power is out and the house isn't damaged | Yours. TDI says the policy won't cover it |
The first night, in order
When a pipe has burst and the house can't be lived in, four steps protect the claim and the stay.
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Protect the house first
Turn off the water at the main and move what you can off the floor. TDI warns that a company may deny a claim when the property wasn't protected, and the hotel rides on that claim.
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Call before a long stay
Call your agent or your company the same day. TDI says the company pays you back for the reasonable amount you spend, up to your limit, so ask what it counts as reasonable before you sign for a week or an apartment.
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Keep every receipt
TDI says to save all receipts to show your company. Start with the first night's hotel bill, the meals out, and the laundry.
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Know your number
Find loss of use on your declarations page and turn the percentage into dollars. That number has to last the whole repair, so spend it with the last week in mind.
Questions families ask in a freeze
Does insurance pay for a hotel if my power is out in a freeze?
Not when the house isn't damaged. TDI says that if you left your house because of a power outage and your home wasn't damaged, your policy won't cover additional living expenses. If the freeze bursts a pipe and the water damage is covered, loss of use can pay the extra cost of living elsewhere, up to your limit.
Does loss of use pay if a burst pipe makes my house unlivable?
It can, when the water damage is covered. TDI says home and renters policies may cover additional living expenses when you can't stay in your home because it was damaged by an event your policy covers. TDI also says a policy might not pay for frozen pipe damage if you didn't take steps to protect the pipes, such as keeping the heat on, so the care before the freeze counts.
How much will insurance pay for a hotel after a burst pipe?
Up to your loss of use limit. TDI says most policies pay 10 to 20 percent of what your house is insured for, usually for up to 12 months. In TDI's example, a house insured for 200,000 dollars with a 10 percent limit has 20,000 dollars for additional living expenses. The company pays back the reasonable amount you spend, so keep every receipt.
Does insurance pay for meals while my family is in a hotel?
Yes, the extra cost, when the loss is covered. TDI describes additional living expenses as the extra rent, food, and other costs you wouldn't have if you were still in your home, and it lists eating out and laundry beside hotel bills. Your usual grocery bill and your mortgage stay yours.
Does renters insurance pay for a hotel after a pipe bursts?
It can. TDI says most home, renters, and condo policies pay some additional living expenses, and that renters policies may cover them when a covered event damages the home and you can't stay. TDI also notes that the owner's policy won't cover your furniture, so the renters policy is the one to read. Its 2021 bulletin adds that renters may not have access to the water main, which counts when a company weighs the care taken.
Will insurance pay for a hotel if I leave before the freeze?
Not when the house comes through undamaged. TDI says a policy won't cover additional living expenses when you left because of an evacuation or a power outage and your home wasn't damaged. If you go, TDI says to turn off the water at the shutoff valve and leave your heat on.
Sources worth opening
- The Texas Department of Insurance, its post Can I make an insurance claim for additional living expenses? (July 6, 2025), for power outages, leaving with no damage, and damage from a covered event, and its page on additional living expenses (updated April 10, 2025), for what counts, the 10 to 20 percent, its 200,000 dollar example, the 12 months, the declarations page, the reasonable amount, and the receipts
- TDI's winter safety tips (updated April 29, 2025), for frozen pipes, burst pipes and flood insurance, and leaving before a freeze, and its post on water damage from burst pipes, for broken pipe coverage, protecting the property, and renters
- TDI's Bulletin B-0010-21 (March 9, 2021), for reasonable care after a freeze
- KPRC, February 22, 2021, for the hotel question in the week after the freeze
The purpose is to help the reader ask better questions before claim time.
General insurance education. In a freeze, follow local officials and your water provider. Carrier rules, eligibility, underwriting, policy language, and the final contract control. Figures carry the dates shown.
Know your hotel number before the next freeze
The next freeze will come with a forecast. Read your policy before it does.
- Send your declarations page. Use the button below, or email it to contact@mcdadeins.com.
- We read it with you. A licensed Texas agent reads your loss of use limit in dollars, your water damage wording, and your deductibles.
- You get a straight answer. Stay, adjust, or switch, with the reason in writing.
About 40 percent of the time we tell homeowners to stay with their current carrier, and sometimes even with their current agent, because that is the right answer for the family.
We work with 50+ top Texas carriers we know well. Local broker. National infrastructure. Carrier availability and underwriting vary by risk and location. Prefer to talk it through? Talk to a Broker, or call 281.378.5002. We translate the insurance contract before claim time.
The review is free. The decision is yours. No broker fees for personal lines clients.
Already a client with a freeze question? Schedule a Service Meeting.
