{"id":4216,"date":"2026-01-22T22:36:31","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T22:36:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/2026\/01\/22\/after-one-mans-home-burned-down-insurance-loss-and-the-road-to-recovery-bankrate\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T22:36:31","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T22:36:31","slug":"after-one-mans-home-burned-down-insurance-loss-and-the-road-to-recovery-bankrate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/2026\/01\/22\/after-one-mans-home-burned-down-insurance-loss-and-the-road-to-recovery-bankrate\/","title":{"rendered":"After One Man\u2019s Home Burned Down: Insurance, Loss, And The Road to Recovery | Bankrate"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\u201cI\u2019m standing there watching my house burn, and I\u2019m like, oh my goodness, this is everything that I worked for.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

When Rahkim Sabree, AFC followed a gut feeling to return home early from an outing in October, he didn\u2019t expect to find his living room engulfed in flames.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s when I reached the second level that I realized there was a fire, everything was black, the power was out, there was smoke everywhere,\u201d says Sabree.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He attempted to put the fire out himself but had to make his way outside when he started to lose consciousness.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI called 911, and they sent over the fire department. They were able to locate and save my dog Loki, which was a blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"An
An image of Rahkim Sabree\u2019s home, engulfed in flames<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Within minutes, he saw the house he had worked so hard for and the life he had built disappear. The fire that tore through his home became a turning point \u2014 one that exposed the emotional weight of loss, the surprising financial realities of recovery and the crucial role home insurance can play when you lose it all.<\/p>\n

Sabree is sharing his story not for sympathy, but for preparedness. By opening up about what he\u2019s facing, he hopes readers walk away with a clearer picture of what having a total home loss is really like. Understanding your home insurance and having financial buffers in place can help you use your coverage more effectively, preserving the emotional bandwidth needed to focus on healing \u2014 not just survival.<\/p>\n

After a house fire, insurance may not be enough without savings<\/h2>\n

The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) reports that 344,600 homes, including one and two-family units and apartments, were impacted by residential fires in 2023. Most homeowners focus on carrying enough dwelling coverage, which pays to rebuild the physical structure of your home and is crucial for meeting your mortgage requirements. But other policy coverage types play a significant role in helping you rebuild your life after a loss.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

After a few hours in the hospital, Sabree stayed at his mom\u2019s house for a couple of days before moving into a hotel. Over 30 days later, he was still in temporary housing. \u201cFrom a housing perspective, even a clothing perspective, I had to figure out \u2018how do I establish safety in this moment?\u2019\u201d says Sabree.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s where loss of use coverage \u2014 otherwise known as additional living expense (ALE) \u2014 comes into play.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When your home is uninhabitable from a covered claim, ALE helps pay for temporary housing, pet boarding, laundry services, food and other expenses incurred from having to live away from your home. ALE is automatically built into every homeowner policy and typically has a payout limit of 20% of your dwelling coverage. For example, a homeowner\u2019s insurance policy with $300,000 in dwelling coverage would likely have $60,000 in ALE coverage.<\/p>\n

ALE is processed differently by every carrier, and complicated losses can slow payments. Sabree\u2019s temporary housing is being arranged through a claims management company, for example. But thanks to his emergency savings and community support, he hasn\u2019t had to pay out of pocket for housing \u2014 at least, not yet. But many families don\u2019t have that safety net.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Claim payouts can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks \u2014 longer if the claim is complex, as in the case of a total loss of a home. Yet 24% of Americans have no emergency savings, and 30% have less than three months\u2019 worth, according to Bankrate\u2019s Annual Emergency Savings Report. That leaves many homeowners covering basic living costs out of pocket while still paying the mortgage on a home they can\u2019t live in.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome carriers, especially surplus lines, make homeowners pay ALE costs, like a hotel, then reimburse them,\u201d says Chantel Roberts, CPCU, an insurance claims expert and educator. \u201cFood is almost always out-of-pocket first, and receipts are required.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since ALE isn\u2019t used as often as other parts of a home insurance policy, confusion surrounding this coverage is common. It\u2019s designed to only cover the increase in your living expenses when all or part of your home is unsafe to live in. For example, Roberts notes that if your kitchen is unusable but the rest of the house is still considered livable, your insurer might provide a temporary solution like a two-burner stove, rather than pay for a full hotel stay.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And importantly, it\u2019s the insurer \u2014 not the homeowner \u2014 who determines whether the home is considered livable. Feeling uncomfortable is very different from living in a structure that is truly uninhabitable. Since a full rebuild can take months, homeowners who are eligible for an ALE payment but overspend early on may exhaust their coverage long before they can return home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m seeing more homeowners run out of ALE funds, usually because they didn\u2019t understand the coverage and expectations weren\u2019t set properly. If someone chooses a five-star hotel and champagne dreams instead of comparable living expenses, the money won\u2019t last.\u201d \u2013 Chantel Roberts, CPCU, AIC, RPA, ITP<\/p>\n

Adding an endorsement to increase your ALE coverage is typically inexpensive. You may want to consider contacting your agent to quote extra coverage if:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Local rent or hotel prices are high<\/li>\n
  • You have a large family<\/li>\n
  • You have pets that would need boarding<\/li>\n
  • You work from home<\/li>\n
  • You have a home that would take a long time to rebuild<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    The reality of personal property coverage after a fire<\/h2>\n

    Another coverage that is often overlooked is personal property coverage. Most homeowners\u2019 and renters\u2019 insurance policies include personal property coverage at actual cash value (ACV), which encompasses the replacement cost minus depreciation. For renters, personal property is the first coverage they select on their policies; for homeowners, coverage usually defaults to 50% of the dwelling limit \u2014 for instance, $150,000 on a policy with $300,000 in dwelling coverage.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    For many, $150,000 sounds like a lot of coverage to replace some furniture and clothing. But what if you had to replace everything you owned, down to your toothbrush? \u201cAll the clothes that I\u2019m wearing right now have been given to me,\u201d says Sabree. \u201cAll of the clothes that I owned, outside of the clothes that were on my back, were in the house and damaged by either smoke, water or fire.\u201d<\/p>\n

    \"Rahkim
    Rahkim Sabree\u2019s home office after the fire<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Standard personal property coverage rarely stretches as far as people imagine. Even with a replacement cost endorsement (which pays to replace items at the current market cost), homeowners must pay upfront for new items before receiving reimbursement, a hurdle many don\u2019t anticipate.<\/p>\n

    \u201cInsurance adjusters typically determine the age, value and depreciation of items,\u201d says Roberts. \u201cThe insurer pays actual cash value first, and the homeowner gets depreciation back only after replacing the item and proving the cost.\u201d For example, let\u2019s say you paid $5,000 for your sofa seven years ago and it costs $6,000 for a new one now. Your carrier may pay you $3,000 for the ACV of your old sofa. Once you purchase the new one and submit proof, they will send you the other $3,000.<\/p>\n

    Policy contracts typically allow a year to replace belongings, yet without savings, some homeowners can only afford to replace a fraction of what they have lost. It isn\u2019t ideal, but as Sabree points out, it\u2019s still better than starting from nothing.<\/p>\n

    \u201cUntil you\u2019re in a situation where you have to replace everything, you don\u2019t realize how important insurance is,\u201d says Sabree. \u201cIf you don\u2019t want to go into debt \u2014 or deeper into debt \u2014 it becomes a financial buffer. We all hope we never have to use it, and it feels like you\u2019re paying extra for something you\u2019ll never need. But when you do need it, it\u2019s there.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Navigating the financial and emotional trauma of home fires<\/h2>\n
    \"Rahkim
    Rahkim Sabree and his dog Loki<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    \u201cThe biggest heartbreak was losing my books,\u201d says Sabree. \u201cI had books that were 20 years old. Books that were given to me by my grandfather, who\u2019s no longer here. Inscriptions written on the cover by him that I could refer back to when I wanted to hear from him. You can\u2019t put a price on that.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

    Sabree works as an accredited financial therapist, providing education to help people overcome financial anxiety, stress and systemic barriers to reach financial success. In fact, his book, Overcoming Financial Trauma<\/em>, was published less than 30 days after he lost his home. The irony isn\u2019t lost on him that he has to work on his own personal trauma while juggling speaking engagements and the claims process.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    When we asked him what it\u2019s like having to follow his own advice, he said, \u201cSobering and ironic. It\u2019s a reminder that trauma \u2014 and recovery \u2014 can happen to anyone, regardless of knowledge or experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

    This is the part of losing your home to a fire that homeowners\u2019 insurance can\u2019t fix. But it\u2019s one that shouldn\u2019t be ignored. Shock, mourning and symptoms from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are some of the few emotional barriers homeowners may deal with after a fire. Even when the fire is out, homeowners can find themselves reliving the experience when they return to the home during the claims process.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    Along with reduced focus, memory issues and irritability, what Sabree calls \u201ctrauma brain\u201d, he described some moments as \u201cembarrassing and invasive\u201d \u2014 seeing inventory technicians comb through his belongings, picking up burnt, soggy clothing and tossing them into a pile. To add insult to injury, on a return visit with a plumber he discovered someone had broken in and stolen all the copper piping and heating units. They even manage to steal one of the few good pairs of remaining shoes, leaving their own in its place.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    Still, Sabree sees the silver lining. Since he works for himself, he has \u201cfreedom\u201d that many other homeowners don\u2019t. Traumatic events can have a long-term physical and mental impact, and since he can make his own schedule, he can deal with his feelings when they arise. \u201cFrom a trauma lens,\u201d says Sabree, \u201cthere have been things that come up on day 15 that didn\u2019t on day 3. There are things I have only just now been able to navigate on day 29 that I haven\u2019t been able to deal with earlier.\u201d<\/p>\n

    While home insurance can\u2019t fix everything, it can ease some of the financial burden. For others going through similar situations, Sabree advises:<\/p>\n

    \u201cSeek safety, then stabilize that safety emotionally and financially. Protect your mental space. And financially, focus only on essential expenses, housing, utilities and food, before worrying about replacing everything.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

    \n
    \n

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    \u201cI\u2019m standing there watching my house burn, and I\u2019m like, oh my goodness, this is everything that I worked for.\u201d\u00a0 When Rahkim Sabree, AFC followed a gut feeling to return home early from an outing in October, he didn\u2019t expect to find his living room engulfed in flames.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s when I reached the second level<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4217,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/4216-GettyImages-172377608.jpg",1700,1138,false],"thumbnail":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/4216-GettyImages-172377608-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/4216-GettyImages-172377608-300x201.jpg",300,201,true],"medium_large":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/4216-GettyImages-172377608-768x514.jpg",640,428,true],"large":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/4216-GettyImages-172377608-1024x685.jpg",640,428,true],"1536x1536":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/4216-GettyImages-172377608-1536x1028.jpg",1536,1028,true],"2048x2048":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/4216-GettyImages-172377608.jpg",1700,1138,false],"morenews-featured":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/4216-GettyImages-172377608-1024x685.jpg",1024,685,true],"morenews-large":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/4216-GettyImages-172377608-825x575.jpg",825,575,true],"morenews-medium":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/4216-GettyImages-172377608-590x410.jpg",590,410,true],"crawlomatic_preview_image":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/4216-GettyImages-172377608-218x146.jpg",218,146,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"henry","author_link":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/author\/henry\/"},"category_info":"Latest News<\/a>","tag_info":"Latest News","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4216"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4216\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}