USAA . . . Yay, or Nay ???

[Desert Whaler]

Our Neighbor's been hyping USAA insurance for quite some time.
So I finally gave them a call and got my Pops got approved for Membership, which means I am as well.
I had them draft up an in initial quote for homeowners insurance . . . which came in about $150 higher annually than our current AAA policy . . . but the USAA plan seemed to be much more comprehensive, with better coverage across the board.

We don't really have any issues with AAA, though we haven't filed hardly any claims.
AAA does seem sort of outdated & 'clunky' and the 'agents' seem to be on a revolving door program. But that's all just ticky-tack.

I kind of threw my pencil in the air looking for 'honest' reviews of USAA online, as everything appears bogus either for or against them.
I 'heard' it had changed ownerships, and some complained about all the celebrity / athlete commercials and that it wasn't the company it was before . . . . again, all online hearsay.

I was curious as to any experience from Members here good or bad of USAA .
I was also going to inquire on their health insurance for myself as well, auto, and boat(s) . . . but didn't wanna go down that path completely blind.

Any feedback would be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

(PS, Sorry about the winter time insurance post . . . I promise to post up something boating related later this week to make up for it)

 

[Boat 405]

I've had USAA since I can remember. Dad was in the Navy. House insurance yes. Car insurance used to be cheaper not anymore. I use them for a lot of things, and overall I'm a fan. You definitely need to shop around. It used to be I'd use them for everything.

 

[Taboma]

Our Neighbor's been hyping USAA insurance for quite some time.
So I finally gave them a call and got my Pops got approved for Membership, which means I am as well.
I had them draft up an in initial quote for homeowners insurance . . . which came in about $150 higher annually than our current AAA policy . . . but the USAA plan seemed to be much more comprehensive, with better coverage across the board.

We don't really have any issues with AAA, though we haven't filed hardly any claims.
AAA does seem sort of outdated & 'clunky' and the 'agents' seem to be on a revolving door program. But that's all just ticky-tack.

I kind of threw my pencil in the air looking for 'honest' reviews of USAA online, as everything appears bogus either for or against them.
I 'heard' it had changed ownerships, and some complained about all the celebrity / athlete commercials and that it wasn't the company it was before . . . . again, all online hearsay.

I was curious as to any experience from Members here good or bad of USAA .
I was also going to inquire on their health insurance for myself as well, auto, and boat(s) . . . but didn't wanna go down that path completely blind.

Any feedback would be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

(PS, Sorry about the winter time insurance post . . . I promise to post up something boating related later this week to make up for it)

I'm a member, but ended up sticking with State Farm as long as they don't dump us. My son joined through my membership and saved a shit-ton on his insuring his contracting company's trucks. I don't believe he's filed any claims as of yet.

 

[f12517]

I have USAA for my homeowners and auto. What makes it work for me is the combined cost of both. No one has been able to touch the auto policy in California. If you're just looking for homeowners only, it may not be the best value as you're finding. And you don't have an agent to help review your coverages to make sure you're adequately insured, so you better be on point with the value and cost of your property...

If I could find a better value, I'd move carriers. But in this state currently. Good luck with that.

 

[Mr. C]

Have had USAA forever. Both car and home.
Imho you can find it cheaper. But you won’t find as good of customer service.
For us anyway. When we’ve needed them they’ve been there1000 percent.

 

[Xring01]

For insurance and financing stuff. They are hard to beat.

Many years ago, who remembers the wild fire in the wine country in Temecula. Well my very good friend lost everything. House, Cars, Boats, RVs, …. Everything was insured with USAA. When I say he was very happy with how he was treated and what he was paid. Convinced me to shift all my insurance needs to them.

They may not be the cheapest, but from what I have seen with my 2 eyes… 24 hours after my buddys house burned to the ground the USAA Insurance adjustor, drove to my house (because thats where they where staying), Wrote them a check for 20,000 for personal needs. Told them to do their best to keep receipts, and let him know when they needed another $20K…

Then it went alot further… in allowing them to bundle the lost personal assets $$$ into a brand new custom built home… Paid their rent in Temecula for 18 months while house was being built. Etc etc etc…

They took care of one of my best friends in life… I saw it all..

They have done well by me, but I have never had any claims.

When it comes to financing boats/RV’s/cars… everything is online and can typically be done in 15 minutes at extremely competitive rates.

 

[Desert Whaler]

I really appreciate everyone taking the time to reply with their experiences here.
I'm rolling into this w/ little to no experience or help, and with blinders on . . . just trying to avoid any major snags & avoidable bumps in the road.
The RDP community is unreal.
Thanks again.

 

[PlanB]

Both of our houses and one vehicle is with USAA. No complaints.

 

[BoatCop]

I looked into USAA to compare Auto & Home Insurance several years ago. Couldn't just check rates, you have to join their club. Turned out their rates were close to double what I was paying with Progressive. I told them no thanks and to cancel my "membership". Years later and I'm still getting spammed with emails, mailers, phone calls, texts, etc.

It's pretty much like AARP, but for the Military.

 

[NIKAL]

We have USAA insurance for our home and cars. Only bummer is they don’t insure RV’s, boats & UTV’s. They refer you to Progressive. Because of this I was using Allstate for for my truck, Prerunner, Hummer and RV (wife’s car was with USAA) the rates worked out better to use Allstate, until this year. Allstate jacked up the rates so bad. I ended up moving everything to USAA except the RV is still with Allstate. USAA had zero problems adding these vehicles, and the cost was half what Allstate’s increase was going to be.

I will say from person experience and other family members experiences who have USAA, the service and support is hands down way better than any other insurance company.

 

[Cdog]

I found adding our daughter to our insurance they more or less were telling us they didn’t want our business. Went with progressive and saved like 3k.

No more USAA

Perhaps we return once we get the kids off the payroll. but the whole customer service side of their business reeks of DEI.

 

[YeahYeah01]

From someone who deals with home floods and fires, you're picking between two of the best when it comes to dealing with a loss. I think USAA takes the win but not by much.

 

[Jay Dub]

Our Neighbor's been hyping USAA insurance for quite some time.
So I finally gave them a call and got my Pops got approved for Membership, which means I am as well.
I had them draft up an in initial quote for homeowners insurance . . . which came in about $150 higher annually than our current AAA policy . . . but the USAA plan seemed to be much more comprehensive, with better coverage across the board.

We don't really have any issues with AAA, though we haven't filed hardly any claims.
AAA does seem sort of outdated & 'clunky' and the 'agents' seem to be on a revolving door program. But that's all just ticky-tack.

I kind of threw my pencil in the air looking for 'honest' reviews of USAA online, as everything appears bogus either for or against them.
I 'heard' it had changed ownerships, and some complained about all the celebrity / athlete commercials and that it wasn't the company it was before . . . . again, all online hearsay.

I was curious as to any experience from Members here good or bad of USAA .
I was also going to inquire on their health insurance for myself as well, auto, and boat(s) . . . but didn't wanna go down that path completely blind.

Any feedback would be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

(PS, Sorry about the winter time insurance post . . . I promise to post up something boating related later this week to make up for it)

I have been a USAA member since my teens. Grandmother was an officer in the Army. I have about everything with them. House, Autos, boats. I highly recommend

 

[OldSchoolBoats]

From someone who deals with home floods and fires, you're picking between two of the best when it comes to dealing with a loss. I think USAA takes the win but not by much.

Last 2 USAA claims we have had were complete nightmares.

 

[Mandelon]

I have a customer who raves about them, how great they are. But then laments he hasn't been contacted back about his most recent claim.

LOL

We use Safeco, but they are getting squirrelly about a roof on one of our rental places lately. Had to move coverage on that property out of the package.

 

[81Sprint]

I've been using them for 32 years, can't complain about the service, but it does seem the premiums have skyrocketed in the last year or so. I have been thinking of shopping around myself.

 

[YeahYeah01]

Last 2 USAA claims we have had were complete nightmares.

Really,? I did hear a couple rumors recently about it. But I was hoping it wasn't true. Every claim you've ever done with them has been damn near flawless.

 

[YeahYeah01]

Last 2 USAA claims we have had were complete nightmares.

Are you billing through xact now? Was the nightmare just from billing or was it from getting approvals?

 

[OldSchoolBoats]

Are you billing through xact now? Was the nightmare just from billing or was it from getting approvals?

Yup, all billing through Xact and ran it just like we do with TPA from a documentation standpoint.

They were fantastic with claims previously, but the past 2 we have done was like dealing with a different company.

 

[ToMorrow44]

I had everything in USAA for a long time and dumped them around 2015. Between a single vehicle accident claim that was a nightmare resulting in them totaling a car that shouldn’t have been, to them “approving” me for a car loan then screwing me at the last second saying they wouldn’t loan the full amount.

Finally the straw that broke the camels back was I deposited a cashiers check from selling a car and they thought it was fraud and locked down every account I had for almost a week. Literally all my accounts said $0.00, debit and credit cards wouldn’t work, all my auto bill pay defaulted. When I called them, they wouldn’t give any information and told me “we can’t talk to anyone in the fraud department.”

I switched all banking to Navy Federal and they’ve been amazing and have actual branches. All insurance is thru State Farm with no issues either.

 

[Outdrive1]

I have some stuff with USAA and some stuff with Farmer (Brad Stern). My house was cheaper with USAA. Everything else I just left with Brad.

 

[YeahYeah01]

Yup, all billing through Xact and ran it just like we do with TPA from a documentation standpoint.

They were fantastic with claims previously, but the past 2 we have done was like dealing with a different company.

If your running it like a a TPA then there should be no issues on any carrier. That sucks.

 

[HgH Vltg]

I feel like I have a pretty cush deal with USAA. Wifes car, main residence, rental property, umbrella policy all for $330/month.

My first claim like 15 years ago they basically just wrote me a check for all the flooring in my house, no fuss, nada. More recently while still living in our first house, I had more water issues. Boy, they wanted a blood sample before they'd do anything. Ended up canceling the claim and working cash deals with my sub-contractors.

Overall though, I've been happy. Haven't had a reason to venture abroad for competing quotes.

 

[COCA COLA COWBOY]

I've had a ton of clients in rural areas lose their home owners insurance or just plain not be able to get it. USAA has been a savior for quite a few deals for me. My sister is a realtor in Redding and the last fire came within a few hundred yards of her home. She was completely unable to get insurance again. However, USAA was the saving grace.

I'm very finicky when it comes to insurance, but I would use the USAA.

A buddy is an insurance adjuster and he flat out told me, he would never use AAA, State Farm or Allstate. They deny claims all the time and should be paying out. He said it's a horrible ethics issue for him and some of the people he knows in the industry.