I have a teenage daughter that has had a horrible, I mean horrible driving record. Despite warnings, groundings, making he pay for repairs, etc nothing seemed to work. The graduation present she was driving is now my crash pad car, as she is basically uninsurable at this point. After being a pedestrian for a year, I gave her my old 94 truck and put it in her name, and told her to go get some liability quotes....and she was on her own.

Guess who was the least expensive and wanted her? USAA? The same company I dumped for a host of reasons.

Now, while I am grateful she found insurance, the fact they wanted to insure a dependent with multiple tickets, accidents, and even hitting a pedestrian on her record stunned me. I really expected to get a "dad--I cannot get insurance" call. In fact, most companies quoted 6, 8, or 10 grand a year or just said "no way". USAA, however, gave her a chance. Her premium is about $2400...an amount that makes me sick but is 1/4 of some of the quotes I received.

To quote Groucho Marx, " I want no part of any club that will have me..." When I joined USAA in the 80s, it was an officer only pool with the baseline assumption that being selective in membership should reduce rates for everyone. The model has obviously morphed quite a bit, and I found the irony interesting. They are certainly a different company now, albeit with lots of TV and radio ads.

So--to you faithful USAA members--thanks for helping underwrite my daughter. I'm glad she is no longer on my policy.