Nope, just thought I had moved into my post office box. Everything was in transit/storage for approx 90 days. I was supposed to be paying just on those househould goods in storgae, but was paying insurance on the value of the future home I was moving into. They had no explanation as to how this happened, but did refund what I had been paying. NTACs.

 

Member for 15 years. Dumped them 5 years ago after they claimed I was at fault in a parking lot accident...it was at least 50% the other guy's fault.

Switched to Allstate. I have gone back to USAA every year trying to beat Allstate's rates and USAA always loses.

The one thing USAA still does REALLY well is their banking. They lead the pack. No ATM fees for the first $15. Check scanning deposits with a computer or the iPhone. Interest checking accounts. .5% back on check/cash card purchases.

Too bad they can't compete in the insurance world...

 

I expect most people here are smarter than this, but don't let a USAA issured credit card go into default or they will cut off ALL other services, bank or insurance related. Not that I think it's an unreasonable policy, just FYI.

Rest of my family is very happy with USAA banking, though, and I think they still use their insurance, too.

 

Update. Never got a call from Tricia or anyone else at USAA after my conversations and letters. I suspect that eliminating Florida policy holders has been an unstated goal of the whole premium rise, and the fact nobody has contacted I think confirms it.

Again--I'm not bitter, just disappointed. I used to have a Cadilac insurance company. Now I'm just like everyone else.

 

Nah. You'll always be top shelf in my book.

JJ

 

I just got of the phone with "USAA" and every person I talked with was a outsourced call center operator with the ability to read a script (all you have to do is ask). I think actual employees of USAA are few and far between these days. Everyone I talked to was polite, but if you go off script in asking for something the system breaks down (just like in Japan).

My guess is since USAA recently opened membership to everyone, the slide towards mediocrity is underway and the "Association" is a thing of the past.

I've been with them for 24 years, and after the slide over the past few years disappointed is a great way to describe my feelings towards USAA.

 

Albie- I am with you on the treatment of us Floridians. I am currently refinancing my home in Destin. It has been a clown show from the beginning. They still have the best rates but the quality of personnel handling the business seems to have been in a steady decline. As they continue to expand their service they seemingly are becoming just like every insurance company out there. Maybe somebody should email them their original business model--quality/affordable insurance for a low risk segment of society

 

I have been a USAA member for about 15 years. USAA's products and service have been on a steady decline for the past five years. I first noticed a problem when my home insurance rates kept increasing 20-25% year after year (no claims) even after the mortgage crisis when home values plummeted. I called to ask them why the rates were soaring even though home values were down and construction companies were flailing for business. They told me the increases were state-wide and there was nothing they could do--so I switched to another company and got the same coverage for less. This got me shopping around for car insurance. As I expected, I was able to obtain the same coverage for less with another reputable company.

The last straw came from their mortgage department. I got pre-approved for a home loan in 2007 and put an offer on a house. I called USAA to get the paperwork rolling and they asked when I would be selling my old house. I told them I couldn't because the market just collapsed and I was upside-down on my loan. So they cancelled my pre-approval even though they never said it was contingent on the sale of my previous home. Fast forward to 2012 when separated from Active Duty and called again to get a mortgage pre-approval. I then spent three hours on the phone explaining my new job as a Reservist (IMA) and how difficult it would be to determine my average annual income. Despite this, I was given the pre-approval. I called again a couple weeks later to inquire about my file and spent another one-and-a-half hours going over the exact same information, and the underwriters still gave us another pre-approval. We found a house, put an offer on it, and were assigned a final loan officer. She kept asking me for documents that would be for Active Duty service and I again informed her of my status as a Reservist (USAA does not seem to know what an IMA is). She apologized and said not all of the loan origination information gets transferred to her (what!?). I faxed them over 150 pages of supporting docs they asked for and paid for a home inspection. They also had an appraisal done on the home. During this period I made another call to them about the loan and they kept coming up with two different amounts I would have to provide at closing and couldn't figure out which one was correct. Finally, I got an e-mail from the loan officer saying my pre-approval was now denied because I did not have two years of income history in my new job as a Reservist. I asked why they didn't tell me this when I originally called to get pre-approved and they still have not been able to provide me with an answer. Unbelievable! Now I'm scrambling to figure out what I'm going to do. Thanks for taking care of our nation's Reservists USAA! You've lost all of my business.

 

I'm still a customer, but the product has gone down in the last 10 years, in my view.

When I was a young 2Lt pup, USAA was an Officers-only club. Service and rates were far above anyone else. This was before they had banking, buying, credit card, and other services.

I've come to the conclusion that USAA is somewhat of a pyramid or ponzi scheme. During my first 10 years, the military was still in a big buildup, then size held for a while. When the RIFs started in the early/mid 1990s, USAA saw new membership plummet. It wasn't because of a bad product....there just weren't that many new Lts inbound! So, they made the momentous decision to allow NCOs in. I think this was in the mid to late 90s.

That move was made solely to bolster the ranks with an influx of new blood. And, it worked for a couple of years. However, once the new flood of NCOs joined, the surge in membership abated again. And now, there were even more people with claims to pay.

One of the founding premises of USAA was that Officers, by virtue of (on average) having a higher education and economic standing, would be lower insurance risks. Can't say if it is true; just that the founders believed in it.

We had several years of bad hurricane damage after that move, and I believe the increased exposure proved to be a great risk for USAA. I remember getting literature from the CEO expressing concern for record payouts. I believe they were also burned in the banking collapse (ie, defaulted home loans).

Not as good as they once were, but not sure if anything is better overall. I can't see a talking lizard, announcer with a deep baritone voice, quacking duck, cartoon hottie, or a creepy woman in a white pantsuit being any better.

If they advertise all the time, they are paying for it somehow. Probably some one's premiums.

 

I was a loyal customer for 20+ years. As soon as I got to my new jobs (predominated with retired USAF), I found that almost all of them had dropped USAA for at least their home insurance. Like you Chris99 - this got me looking at other insurance too.
Liberty Mutual gave better coverage for a reduced price for both my home and car insurance. Unfortunately they came up way short on life insurance though it was quite a suprise to my agent.
For any and all USAA customers - it pays to ship around now, though in the past I believe that USAA had by far the best rates.
Also - one final straw was also the way I saw first hand how they handled a claim from a no fault accident on a friend's car. Very poor (and lazy) claim service on the company's support and the adjuster's part.

USMCFLYR

PS - Btw - there is another thread on this very subject Chris99 is you wish to go back and search. If I remember correctly - there were good alternative options given in that thread.