USAA Insurance Review 2021

USAA Insurance Review 2021: Auto, Home and Life

Fact-checked with HomeInsurance.com

By Virlanda Miller

• Dec. 17, 2020 /
• 8 min read

USAA Insurance is known for its service to the military community and their families. Whether you’re active or former military, an eligible family member, a cadet or midshipman, USAA is available to serve you and your insurance needs, and is available in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. USAA reviews are generally excellent, indicating a company that cares about its products.

USAA Car Insurance

Customers save an average of $707 when they switch to USAA auto insurance. But that’s not the only reason to consider switching. The company also offers coverage tailored for those who are on active duty or have military concerns.

Types of Coverage

• Vehicle protection: Protect your car with comprehensive coverage and collision coverage, which covers damage from rollover or accident.
• Finance protection: Liability coverage protects you financially if you are the cause of the accident and includes bodily injury and property damage.
• Passenger protection: These may be mandatory or optional add-ons, depending on your state requirements and your priorities. This protection includes personal injury protection, extended benefits coverage and uninsured/underinsured coverage.
• Other protection: Your USAA insurance quote can also include roadside assistance, rental reimbursement and accident forgiveness.

Cost of USAA Car Insurance

The cost of your car insurance with USAA is calculated based on a number of factors, including your age, driving history, type of car you drive, vehicle usage and your specific location.

If you have a driver under age 25 on your policy, your rates could be affected. The fewer accidents and traffic tickets on your driving record, the lower your rates. If you drive a newer car, with many extra features, your rate may be higher than for a driver of a car with standard features. How often you drive your car — and your average annual mileage — are taken into consideration when determining your premiums.

If you live in a high-population area, this can affect your premiums because you’re driving in an area where more vehicles are on the road, making you potentially higher risk for accidents — another key factor when determining your insurance premiums.

The chart below shows the average premiums for USAA, based on minimal coverage and full coverage policies written across all 50 states, and Washington, D.C.

To determine whether you would pay more or less than the averages above, contact USAA for a custom quote.

Defensive driving course discounts: If you take a certified defensive driving course, you may qualify for a discount.

• Safe driver: If you maintain a good driving record for more than five years.
• Driver training: For those under the age of 21 who complete a basic driver training course.
• New vehicle: If your car is less than three years old.
• Multi-vehicle: A discount if you insure more than one car with the company.
• Vehicle storage: Save up to 60% if you store your car while you’re on duty.
• Military installation discount: Save up to 15% if you garage your vehicle on base.
• Good student: For those still in school who maintain good grades.
• Loyalty discounts: If you remain with USAA insurance for a certain length of time, you can receive a discount.
• Multi-policy discounts: Talk to USAA insurance customer service about combining your auto policy with another policy for potential discounts.
• Accident-free discounts: If you’re a safe driver with an accident-free record, your USAA insurance policy may be discounted.
• Length of membership: The longer you’re a USAA customer, the more money you can save.

USAA Home Insurance

Your USAA homeowners policy focuses on two areas: liability, which is your legal responsibility when someone is hurt on your property, and dwelling coverage, or hazard coverage, which would pay to repair your home in the event of a named peril. You may also have coverage for medical costs, as well as optional coverage that you may choose when customizing your policy, such as flood insurance.

Types of Coverage

• Fire: This would include damage from smoke, which is common after a fire, and lightning damage.
• Theft: Includes someone breaking into your house, or stealing items from your garage or property, such as bikes or sports equipment.
• Vandalism: If your home is purposely defaced or destroyed in any way by another person or persons then this coverage will protect you.
• Most weather-related events: This includes damage from wind storms, snow, hail and freezing weather, but not flooding, which requires a separate policy. If you are in an area that sees hurricanes, your policy would cover you from damage caused by hurricane winds but not the subsequent flooding, unless you had additional coverage
• Liability: This covers you against lawsuits brought by someone who was injured on your property. It may help pay medical bills, also, as well as lost wages, death benefits and more, depending on your policy. Note that it includes dog bites, and you may see an increase in your premium if you own a dog breed that is thought to be aggressive, such as a pit bull.
• Identity theft coverage: This type of coverage is becoming increasingly common as the incidents of hackers hijacking individuals’ identities increases. This may cover legal costs or other costs related to rebuilding your credit and reestablishing your financial stability.
• Home sharing coverage: If you rent your home through a sharing platform, like Airbnb, USAA offers home sharing coverage to protect your guests during their stay.
• Earthquake coverage: Homeowners who live in states with a risk of earthquakes can buy earthquake coverage from USAA.
• Replacement cost: With USAA home insurance, your home and personal belongings are covered at today’s replacement cost, without depreciation.

Discounts

• Loyalty discounts: As with auto insurance, if you remain with USAA insurance for a certain number of years, you can receive a discount.
• Protective device: If you have burglar or other alarm systems installed by USAA-partner ADT Home Security Systems, you can earn a discount.
• Claims-free: If you make no claims for five or more years, earn up to 10% off your premium.
• Multi-policy discounts: Talk to USAA insurance customer service about combining your home policy with another policy, like auto insurance, for potential discounts.

USAA Life Insurance

Life insurance allows you to financial support your loved ones or heirs after your death. It can be used to replace income, pay for funeral expenses or cover unpaid debts. USAA offers a few options for life insurance, as well as military-specific protection for those deploying, actively serving or leaving the military.

Types of Coverage

• Term life insurance: USAA’s term life insurance offers coverage for up to 30 years. You can convert your term policy to permanent coverage whenever you want to. Active duty military can also access benefits, like coverage during war, $25,000 for severe injury expenses and guaranteed coverage after leaving the military.
• Simplified whole life insurance: Simplified whole life insurance includes coverage for your lifetime and builds cash value overtime. Your premium never changes, and there’s guaranteed growth. You can also decide how often you make payments–for 20 years, until age 65 or for your lifetime.
• Universal life insurance: Universal life insurance also provides lifetime coverage, but you can control how much you pay in premiums. It comes with a cash value component that grows tax-deferred, which means your monthly rate could decrease as your cash value accumulates. You can even pull out that money and use it in case of emergency. (Not currently available in New York.)

Riders or Endorsements

Whether you choose term or permanent life insurance, you have options to get more out of your USAA life insurance policy. These benefits vary, depending on the type of policy you choose.

• You have the option to add another $100,000 term life coverage if marrying, buying a house or having a baby — if you’re between the ages of 18-35.
• Insure all children for $8 per month with a term life policy; they have the option to convert to a permanent policy once they grow up, regardless of their health.
• By paying a small fee upfront when buying a permanent policy, you can make sure your premiums are waived in the event you become disabled.

USAA Ratings, Reviews, Customer Satisfaction and Complaints

In J.D. Power’s insurance studies, USAA is consistently the highest-rated company. However, USAA isn’t included as part of the main rankings because it is limited to military families. J.D. Power’s auto and home insurance studies rank the best insurance providers based on overall satisfaction, using real reviews from customers.

The Better Business Bureau rated USAA Insurance a B+, with over 1,000 customers rating it an approximate average of 1.25 out of 5 stars. Many of the customer reviews come from loyal customers who had complaints about USAA insurance customer service when they needed it most. So, while J.D. Power positions USAA as the top insurance company in most categories, some customers feel otherwise, which is not unusual with insurance providers.

Reasons Why USAA is a Great Option

USAA is definitely not an insurance for everyone, especially since the company specifically serves only military, its families and the military community. However, for those who fit the target audience, it can be a great option for auto, home, renters and life insurance, as well as the other policies offered by USAA.

For those who are technology-savvy, USAA insurance is a great option thanks to their mobile app that makes it simple to file a claim quickly, pay bills with ease and more. If you plan to have multiple policies, especially auto and home insurance, you may be eligible for a USAA insurance discount for bundling policies. And if you choose USAA insurance and stick with the company for years, the loyalty discount could really save you money in the long run.

If you’re considering a life insurance policy, USAA has some good offerings, but fewer policies than other companies. If you’re an active duty military member, USAA’s life insurance policies have some great perks, like coverage during war and coverage for severe injury expenses. Compared to some other life insurance providers, USAA’s coverage is pretty affordable.

Additional Policies Offered by USAA

In addition to car, home and life insurance, USAA also offers insurance policies for the following:

• Rental property insurance
• Valuable personal property insurance
• Condo insurance
• Flood insurance
• Annuities
• Umbrella insurance
• Motorcycle, RV and boat insurance
• Small business insurance

Frequently Asked Questions

Does USAA offer other types of insurance besides home, auto and life?

Yes. In addition to home, car and life insurance and the subcategories mentioned, USAA also provides health insurance for members and their families, competitively priced. USAA also offers pet insurance, for routine care as well as emergency medical expenses.

If I get a USAA auto policy, will I be able to save even more while traveling?

Yes. USAA members can save up to 25 percent while renting autos from Enterprise, Hertz, Avis or Budget. Also, you can take advantage of travel deals with price matching on hotels, resorts, vacation packages and cruises. Travel insurance with waived service fees is also available.

If I need to file an insurance claim, what is the process and what can I expect?

With more employees working from home, call wait times have increased, so for your convenience, you can report your claim via the website or the USAA mobile app. You can schedule repair service, reserve a rental car and communicate with a claims adjuster, all virtually.

Physical inspection of property is not being conducted at this time, but you can upload photos, videos and other documents of damages in order to expedite claim handling. Further instructions will be provided once you report your claim. If you’re displaced from your home due to a property claim, you can maintain contact with your claims adjuster throughout the claims process. Of course, you can still reach a live person by calling 1-800-531-USAA (8722).

How do I get started with USAA?

You need to become a member first. Membership is free by visiting the USAA website, and once your eligibility has been confirmed and your membership accepted, you can then start receiving recommendations of products and services.

Methodology

Bankrate utilizes Quadrant Information Services to analyze rates for all ZIP codes and carriers in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Quoted rates are based on a 40-year-old male and female driver with a cleaning driving record, good credit and the following full coverage limits:

• $100,000 bodily injury liability per person
• $300,000 bodily injury liability per accident
• $50,000 property damage liability per accident
• $100,000 uninsured motorist bodily injury per person
• $300,000 uninsured motorist bodily injury per accident
• $500 collision deductible
• $500 comprehensive deductible

Our sample drivers own a 2018 Honda Accord, commute five days a week and drive 12,000 miles annually.

These are sample rates and should be used for comparative purposes only. Your quotes may be different.