Originally Posted by ExAF

Oh Yeah? I'll see your 1997 and raise you a 1978. 31 year member here. Until recently I've not had a problem with USAA and have been a staunch advocate for them. I have always had auto, homeowner and rental insurance with them depending on whether I owned or rented at the time. Their service used to be fantastic. Over time (as some others here who have been around a little longer than you) have noticed, their extremely high level of service seems to be eroding. Service has taken a back seat to growth and profit. Had you experienced what it was like 30 years ago you might have noticed this as well. I think most of us started noticing the erosion as they expanded their membership base beyond mil officers. As major companies expand, they eventually reach a point where they can no longer support the same level of individual "down home" service a smaller entity can. I still think they are a good company, just not as good as they used to be. I am starting to believe they have reached a point where you can find service that is "as good" for a lower cost. In 31 years (that's a lot of premiums and a lot of investment in the company), I've had to make 3 auto claims (2 minor fender benders and 1 no sh@t accident involving various family members, not necessarily their falult). The only thing USAA did that didn't sit well with me was when they insisted on using after market parts since my vehicle was more than 3 (I think that was the number) years old. My experience has been that most after market body parts fit like crud and have to be cut, bent, trimmed etc to "make" them fit. They couldn't get the after market parts to look/fit right so they ended up using OEM parts anyway and cost me an extra 3 weeks with the car in the body shop. Had they used the OEM parts in the first place like I asked, they would not have had to "eat" the after market parts and I would have had my car back 3 weeks earlier. Not a bad record for 31 years, but lately they have been making changes to limit coverage, raise deductables (wind and hail coverage for example), reduce market areas (Gulf Coast), and little nickel and dime changes. You sound like a "fine print" kind of guy. If the points on a policy were listed in a column like the coverage, it wouldn't be that big of a deal to monitor them, but they "hide/bury" them in a coded string of numbers associated with the vehicle number as opposed to the driver and they can be a little tough to decifer and monitor unless you know what you are looking for. They don't do random checks, tickets are reported by the state. They know...there is no hiding them or randomness. They also know when the 3 yr policy increase should expire. Why should I have to remind them. It is their policy to raise premium for a specified period of time. Removing them would come under the topic of "service to the policy holder." If it doesn't matter what vehicle the driver is assigned to, then why do they ask in the first place? Why don't they apply every driver to every vehicle? I don't have a problem with risk assumption, just don't ask me a question and blow off my answer. Then arbitrarily assign a driver to a vehicle they will not drive. (I know they "can," but they "won't"). If the kid was driving a Vette, I bet they would want him associated with that car instead of the family Taurus. With 31 years of premiums and thousands of dollars in my SSA I think I've pretty much covered the risk by now and they know it. I guess what I'm trying to say is...they need to stop trying to nickel and dime their loyal policy holders and then say I'm sorry when they get caught. They need to get back to the "attention to detail" they built their reputation on continue to "do the right thing" instead of prostituting themselves to the almight dollar like evey other company out there that is not USAA. If they don't, people will go where they can get service that is "just as good" for less as other posters here have done.