Real world experience with USAA?

[weekender01]

I have been with USAA for close to 30 years. Their insurance rates have increased quite a bit over the years for home and auto. I found much better rates elsewhere about 4 years ago and cashed out my subscriber savings account which was worth over 5K. I still bank with them but feel there service has degraded since they opened up to the masses.

I agree with FR8TFLYER as well. I have been with USAA for Insurance (Autos and Home), and Banking since for over 30 years as well. They have been excellent on the few claims I had with our autos and went through them for RV insurance, but have recently shopped our Auto and Home insurance due to the crazy increases they have passed along over the last several years. We now save quite a but on premiums for as good if not better coverage. I love USAA, but could not understand their reasoning for the increases and they would not budge.

@FR8TFLYER how did you cash out your Subscribers Savings Account with them?

[FR8TFLYER]

Just give them a call and ask to have a check sent. I think there was a 30 or 60 day waiting period and then I got a check in the mail. Like I said, you can still bank with them and get your subscriber account cashed out.

[slddawson]

Just give them a call and ask to have a check sent. I think there was a 30 or 60 day waiting period and then I got a check in the mail. Like I said, you can still bank with them and get your subscriber account cashed out.

The very day I bought my 5th wheel we had a blowout with one tire and USAA sent a professional to change the tire without issue. Insured through progressive.

[rootusrootus]

We now save quite a but on premiums for as good if not better coverage. I love USAA, but could not understand their reasoning for the increases and they would not budge.

Yeah in some cases they seem to have gotten a lot more expensive lately. I feel like the premium for our travel trailer is a bit high, $300 for six months. They didn't recognize the VIN so they entered it manually and the premium is just based on a generic travel trailer priced at what our cost was. It's noticeably more than we were paying for the last trailer, though the values are similar.

We've had some trouble lately getting ahold of them for routine banking issues, sometimes an hour or more, and there was a screwup on their part that caused a lot of hassle (they fell victim to phishing and their representative gave someone else credentials to our account, and that person promptly stole several thousand dollars in the span of an hour). They resolved that satisfactorily, but still, I'm starting to give real consideration to moving back to my local credit union. If I move the insurance, I'll probably jump ship completely.

[BackCountry]

I've been with USAA for over 40 years great service, all claims paid promptly. They now farm out all the RV and Motorcycle insurance to Progressive with a USAA discount as others have stated. Last fall I called Progressive Roadside Assistance between Trinidad and Pueblo as I needed my whole rig towed. They were unable to find anyone to tow my rig and the only tow company they could locate was 4 hours north (one way) past Denver - not acceptable being stuck on the side of the interstate for that long. The Pueblo Ford dealer put us in touch with a tow company that got us taken care of much quicker than what Progressive could find. Progressive did promptly reimburse us for the towing expenses that we paid directly to the tow company.

It is amazing that our little mountain town has two towing companies that could have easily towed our whole rig - truck and 5th Wheel at the same time (even over the passes) while on the front range of Colorado with all the big cities there are no companies that can do it...

[Rivercityjeff]

USAA member since 1982. I used to think being a member/customer for 30+ years counted.NOPE

Had a $115K flood claim. Horrible claim service! Never had an adjuster onsite. Slow progress and even slower to pay. The office adjuster "lost" our uploaded photos, twice. One vendor called us 6 months after the repairs, they hadn't been paid and he was demanding money?

[FR8TFLYER]

River

I have heard several stories similar to yours which is why some are bailing out. Customer service is not even close to what it used to be.

[rmcarter96]

Been with USAA since 1978 and left them a little over a year ago except for the banking. Like a lot on here have said, their rates have gone through the roof and the customer service has slipped since they have opened themselves up to more of the public.

We ended up getting better rates through Farmers and haven't looked back. Dealing with a local representative is a big plus. My rig is insured through Foremost that Farmers also partners with. I have co-workers that were also on USAA that have done the same thing over the last couple of years.

A lot of people don't realize that the roadside assistance program that is part of your insurance is not a good idea. Everytime you use it, it dings you as having an insurance claim. That claim affects you when you want to shop for insurance rates with other carriers. I've actually had some insurance companies refuse to quote me due to the claims on my record for roadside assistance. Their response was it was an insurance claim and you have too many of them (3). So, best for you to have a reputable standalone roadside assistance program.

And standalone roadside assistance programs are another whole subject that I can go on about also.

[rootusrootus]

Anybody use amica? CR rates them as slightly better than USAA for claim service, and number 1 amongst all insurers.

[caswelld]

When I joined USAA 50 years ago only commissioned officers could get their insurance. That is why it was such a good deal, they seldom had marginal claims. When I needed new insurance of any kind I just asked the USAA rep what I needed & usually went with the recommendation. I remember in the 1980s if an insurance agent called trying to sell me insurance, I just told them I had USAA & they never called again. Then USAA opened the door to dependents and things changed a bit.

All our TTs had USAA insurance. When we bought our first MH I was surprised that USAA shuffled me off to a Progressive rep. We never had claims for our RVs so I can't speak to claim service, but a couple of auto claims were handled very well.

So we'll stay with USAA when the new TT arrives. I like the two $500 checks they send me each year!



Dave