Thinking of dumping USAA auto insurance. Any suggestions for Auto?

[colorider]

Have had USAA for over 27 yrs. In the past 4 yrs, I?ve had to contact them for various reasons. A few claims, add a car, take off cars, change stuff on policies. EVERY experience with them has been a disaster. The people on the phone are completely incompetent and do not listen. To make it worse, they are very hard to understand. Some are foreign, and the others seem to speak some sort of Ebonics. My last 2 claims, they based what they are going to pay by a ?virtual? inspection of the car/truck. Didn?t even have somebody look at them in person. My truck claim last year they said it was $17,000 in damage. Work was completed by the Ford dealer?s body shop for $1700. Monday our 17yr old bonked the back of a pickup with a trailer hitch installed. He was in his Honda Civic. Again, they did a ?virtual inspection? today and left a voice mail w my wife saying, ? Civic is a total loss, we will have the adjuster send you the information in the next couple days? I?m no expert, but is this virtual inspection shit common these days? Mostly I?m too fed up with their horrible customer service to keep them around. I also feel tenor rates are much higher compared to other companies. That?s just from some brief looking though. Anyone else have bad service from USAA, or am I just being a grumpy getting older fart.
Any suggestions for a good Auto insurance company. Currently insuring 5 vehicles and 1 toy hauler.

[eddiememphis]

Find an independent agent to shop for you. They generally contract with 12 to 15 different carriers and can shop them all with one click of a button.

My brother-in-law is one, having moved from a captive agency, farmers to being independent, so he can sell whatever brand he contracts with.

If you want his contact information, let me know.

[3beansalad]

I just compared rates for auto, RV and home owners. For me, USAA has been doing a great job in service and price. (I must be lucky) Good luck in your search.

[Hoser]

Customer service with USAA has been dogshit for the past 5-10 years.

[Scanker19]

Customer service with USAA has been dogshit for the past 5-10 years.

No shit, banking side too. Something happened there that turned the company to shit. Maybe they should spend less money on annoying USAA hold time songs and more on competent people. They somehow once issued me a ID card for a car that they didn’t have insured.
I’m about to start shopping around myself.

[brutal]

I just renewed with Progressive but am considering shopping them only on price.

They're always been hassle free and nothing but great* to me as an insured.

I just had an adjuster here today on my hail damage truck and he found WAY more than I thought there was.

* I always caveat that statement with the one time, as the injured party (my minor son) of a Progressive insured party (his friend's mom), we had to sue them AND my auto carrier at the time (AmFam) to get $180K in medical paid. Auto rollover by unlicensed driver (mom knew he was driving and it was her car), my son almost died, 6 weeks in ICU/critical care/surgical, then 30 days in Craig rehab. Still fucked up (TBI). Progressive tied to deny coverage, AmFam wouldn't pay the bills (it's up to them to subrogate the costs) They not only got to pay, but also a wrote a settlement check for bad faith. I tried to force it to a jury trial but the wife won that argument. I still think his payout would have been 4x what he took.

[00tec]

When Usaa closed all the centers where you could walk in to somewhere and physically yell at someone, their service went to shit.
Their savings rates suck
Their auto rates suck
Their insurance rates suck
Their banking support sucks (I get declined every time I try to use Walmart pay at the gas station, never get a notice or anything).

I had good experience with them in the past, but when their rates doubled for the same coverage I get elsewhere, they are expendable. Been thinking of moving my banking from there too.

Hell, some car dealers refuse to deal with them because they are too slow to pay out. My aunt bought a car from a dealer that went under. USAA sent the payment without the title, so she had to pay a bond to title the car.

[battlemidget]

I suggest you call a broker as there are many more choices than there were just 10 years ago, and the broker can add value by shopping around for you.

[theGinsue]

Too many horror stories with USAA to recount here, now. Interested in what you find out as I'm considering making the move too.

I definitely know I don't want one of those cut rate insurance companies that don't end up providing coverage/actual value for a claim (I heard Liberty is horrible for that).

[Bailey Guns]

USAA can kiss my a55...

I've had nothing but problems with them with the exception of an auto loan. Their homeowners and auto insurance blows.

I had State Farm for auto (and homeowners since I became a homeowner) from the time I started driving until about the mid 2000s. I dumped them because they raised my rates almost 50% (no accidents, tickets or claims) and tried to tell me it was because their costs had gone up that much. Bullshit... I went with GEICO and they were great for years until the same thing happened...they just started raising our rates until they priced themselves out of a customer.

I've had Progressive for about the last year and have no complaints...yet.

[colorider]

Well, we just got the offer from my son’s incident. His Civic is “a total loss”. They are offering us $2500. Minus the deductible we will get a check for $2000. Their virtual inspection and their comps in coming up with a price seems to have missed the fact his 94 civic has a JDM type R vtec with headers in it. Something they were aware of and charging for in their premiums. I’m going to bring this up to decline their offer and see what they come up with. I have enough free time in the next 2 days to be a dick and see where we can go with this. Then, make a decision on what to do with the car. Hell, parts for this thing are dirt cheap and available all over the internet. From my lounge chair mechanic experience, it looks like a project we could fix in about a week or 2. The frame and major parts didn’t get a dent. USAA will definitely be dumped after this though. I’ve had Progressive on my motorcycles for years and have always been happy and enjoyed my dealings with them on the phone. I’ll see what their rates are tomorrow.

[Scanker19]

Once they recombined mine and my ex wife’s accounts. That was funny. Good thing her and I get along reasonably well.

[D_F]

I've been with USAA for 32 years. I echo the loss of a once great company. When I first signed up it was strictly word of mouth in WOC school. Nobody could touch them on price or service. Now they advertise on national TV during the super bowl. I'm looking for a replacement as well.

[colorider]

Things are more interesting now for me. When the crunch happened on Monday, The car was towed to Connoly's towing yard. BTW, they were awesome. Very nice service. When we made the claim with USAA on Tuesday, they said they are going to pick up the car and bring it to "Their inspection and claims" storage yard. Or something very similar to that. Turns out, they picked it up and delivered it to Copart Auto Auction's yard/business site. That is where the "Virtual Inspection" was done and where it sits now. Sure seems like they had made a decision on what they were going to do before they even picked it up, and were not do truthful on where the car was headed. On the other hand, the person we spoke to from USAA pretty much only knew what she was reading from her computer screen. I swear she was even reading her own name off the screen she was so inept. Every question we had was only after she typed the question into her computer, or she had to "ask a supervisor" Even things that I would consider routine and every day questions. We may take the $2000 offer and see what we can get the car for at the auction. Or, just let the shitbox go. Or, pick it up and do no claim. My son is learning a lot this week. We got the car 2 weeks ago. It has been a car model he has wanted since he was 13yrs old. I finally broke down and we made the deal together. We had all kinds of plans for the thing, and now this. He's emotionally attached to it, and he is really bummed he fucked up. He's also learning that making payments on a car that you can't drive, or may not even own really sucks!!!! Life lessons.

[Mercula]

Ya know I?m glad to see this isn?t just me. I?ve had Usaa my whole life. Things have gone down hill to the point I?d like to change too. Anytime they are involved somehow they are trying to fuck me. We bank with them too and we have had to dispute charges and they always side with the other party , I?ve had their own employees even start talking shit about how they do things.

[.455_Hunter]

Over 20 year auto/home insurance member here too. Nothing negative to report, including the recent claim on my totaled vehicle, but am following the discussion.

[Hoser]

I was always willing to ignore the little stuff when they were a smoking deal. Now days, not so much.

[Jim B]

Try American National: https://www.americannational.com/wps/portal/an/menu/find-agent

[crays]

Try American National: https://www.americannational.com/wps/portal/an/menu/find-agentI've had home & auto w/AN for ~15yrs. Service has been good (other than the roof replacement changes they made right before I was about to need one - but that's for another thread).
My agent has been very easy to work with, and if you do home and auto they have an annual rebate program. Not the cheapest option available, but included coverage vs upcharge options elsewhere sealed the deal for me.

Sent from somewhere

[Jim B]

...if you do home and auto they have an annual rebate program.
I think ANPAC no longer offers homeowner's insurance in Colorado.

[JohnnyEgo]

USAA is generally thought to be among the best, so I am sorry to hear about your experience. I work for a purposefully unnamed competitor and I can tell you some things are universal. The talent pool for customer service jobs is miserable these days, and I have come to realize it's not entirely a generational thing now; anyone remaining in the employment pool these days is there for a reason, regardless of age.

My favorite thing now is we outsourced our recruiting for our specialty department, and they never fail to meet quota, whatever it takes. Ours is a lucrative job with most folks making over 6 figures to start, but that comes at the price of a 6x12 minimum work week and 260+ days a year on the road. Our job description makes it clear that this is intense and physically demanding. I went to one of my operations a few weeks ago and sat down with a few of our newest hires. Asked two of them 'What made you look at our job description and say I want a piece of that'? Both said they never looked at the job description; just the starting salary. One said she knew she was unqualified, but posted anyway, and was surprised to get a call back.

Many of these folks hang out through the three months of training and then quit on their first deployment, to be replaced by the next batch.

Which is to say some of your experience is just the painful reality of the market right now.

[brutal]

Things are more interesting now for me. When the crunch happened on Monday, The car was towed to Connoly's towing yard. BTW, they were awesome. Very nice service. When we made the claim with USAA on Tuesday, they said they are going to pick up the car and bring it to "Their inspection and claims" storage yard. Or something very similar to that. Turns out, they picked it up and delivered it to Copart Auto Auction's yard/business site. That is where the "Virtual Inspection" was done and where it sits now. Sure seems like they had made a decision on what they were going to do before they even picked it up, and were not do truthful on where the car was headed. On the other hand, the person we spoke to from USAA pretty much only knew what she was reading from her computer screen. I swear she was even reading her own name off the screen she was so inept. Every question we had was only after she typed the question into her computer, or she had to "ask a supervisor" Even things that I would consider routine and every day questions. We may take the $2000 offer and see what we can get the car for at the auction. Or, just let the shitbox go. Or, pick it up and do no claim. My son is learning a lot this week. We got the car 2 weeks ago. It has been a car model he has wanted since he was 13yrs old. I finally broke down and we made the deal together. We had all kinds of plans for the thing, and now this. He's emotionally attached to it, and he is really bummed he fucked up. He's also learning that making payments on a car that you can't drive, or may not even own really sucks!!!! Life lessons.

My son rear ended someone and totaled his 6 month old R32. Talk about a bummed out kid.

[Rooskibar03]

After years of hearing how awesome USAA was I finally convinced my old man who served to enroll, which then passed to me. I was really hoping to save some money over ever increasing State Farm. My first experience was with someone who was let?s just say was of the age where computers aren?t the strong suit.

Finally after over an hour on the phone enrolling everyone in my family and getting all the car/driver details he proceeds to quote me rates that went from a few hundred higher to more than 2.5x for my daughters 20 year old CRV.

I was so pissed and disappointed at the same time but sounds like I may have dodge further issues.

[theGinsue]

Well, we just got the offer from my son’s incident. His Civic is “a total loss”. They are offering us $2500. Minus the deductible we will get a check for $2000. Their virtual inspection and their comps in coming up with a price seems to have missed the fact his 94 civic has a JDM type R vtec with headers in it. Something they were aware of and charging for in their premiums. I’m going to bring this up to decline their offer and see what they come up with. I have enough free time in the next 2 days to be a dick and see where we can go with this. Then, make a decision on what to do with the car. Hell, parts for this thing are dirt cheap and available all over the internet. From my lounge chair mechanic experience, it looks like a project we could fix in about a week or 2. The frame and major parts didn’t get a dent. USAA will definitely be dumped after this though. I’ve had Progressive on my motorcycles for years and have always been happy and enjoyed my dealings with them on the phone. I’ll see what their rates are tomorrow.

Good luck brother.

All of my cars are insured with USAA. Here's a couple of the horror stories with USAA I referred to earlier:

1) About 8 yrs ago my son (driving "my" car for his use...and on the insurance) was t-boned by another USAA insured driver in an apartment building parking lot intersection. It was a slow speed accident that damaged the exterior of the drivers side front and read doors of the 2002 Dodge Intrepid that we bought new. No structural damage and both doors operated perfectly but unsightly. USAA chose to total the car without even looking at it because "the post could have been damaged". They refused to back away from the total declaration and since we wouldn't get much more than $1000 after paying the deductible for the car (engine was in excellent condition), we rejected the offer and just kept the car. It would have cost us more $$ to let them total it and do a buy-back - and we'd have to have a salvage title on the vehicle after that. USAA informed me that they'd no longer cover it for comprehensive coverage on the car if we did this. Just got rid of the car in January and they had continued charging us for comprehensive coverage on that car until we cancelled the coverage. 8 yrs after it getting t-boned we traded it in and got more for it than we would have if it'd had the salvage title, and more than USAA claimed it was worth 8 yrs ago.

2) In July 2020 my 2017 Civic EX-t got hailed on at Schriever SFB. That hail storm caused hundreds of cars to be totaled. After the USAA contracted adjuster evaluated the car they chose to total it because the cost to repair it was "over the threshold". I found out later that if I had a $1000 deductible instead of the $250 deductible the amount USAA would have had to pay to fix the car would have been under the threshold and the car would have gotten repaired. The option to "buy it back" was too costly - for what they wanted to charge me + the cost of making it legal to drive (windows, lights, mirror) would have cost more than it was worth. USAA tried MANY times have a tow truck come and take the car - even before I had agreed to their terms. I warned them and COPART (who was sending the tow truck to recover the vehicle) that the vehicle was located on my property (in my drive) and if they tried to come onto my property to get the car I'd call the police and have them arrested for motor vehicle theft and trespassing. They were especially aggressive about taking the car right away. Once they had the car my options for how to handle this would have been significantly limited so I wasn't goin to let them take it until I had a deal I could agree with.

3) About 10 years ago my wife got her first speeding ticket in more than 10 yrs (probably closer to 20 yrs); she was driving about 18 over the speed limit on a regular roadway (not in a school zone or anything). I received calls and multiple letters and emails from USAA indicating that this ticket was going to increase our rates and encouraging me to drop my wife from our insurance. Um, what? No!

I had a 2005 F-250 Crew Cab. We all know the cost of pickup (esp F250/2500's) is ridiculously expensive. I need a truck this size to pull my camper. I'm scared something will happen to this truck (hail, accident, etc.) as I know USAA will just total it and give me less than it's worth to keep and maybe only 10% or less of what it would cost to replace.

I know cars cost more now than when I was a new driver and insurance needs to cost more. That said, I pay about triple each month to insure each of my vehicles now than I did as a new driver. That wouldn't bother me so much if I felt I'd get a fair pay off or handling of a claim when I needed to make one; which I do not. The only reason I haven't left USAA already is that I know other insurance companies will operate similarly and "it's better the devil you know...".

[Ripper]

I just went with Progressive, based on price. Saving about 120 a month. 3 drivers 4 cars.

[brutal]

I suspect they will total my wife's 2008 Impreza if I file a hail damage claim...

Was going to get her a new small SUV until I had to pay for her dental work. I hate to finance anything and a lease is out of the question for her - she doesn't take care of things.

[Clint45]

Been with Progressive over 30 years... very good to me, and one of the few companies willing to insure a V8 trike.

Heard nothing but bad things about USAA and State Farm.

[Aloha_Shooter]

USAA used to be a great company but roughly 8 or 10 years ago, some idiot -- probably with a Finance degree from Wharton or Sloan or Harvard -- convinced them to change business models. Yes, they probably DID save some money by letting all their in-house adjusters go and outsourcing the work to contractors but they lost something that made them unique: trust. You could trust the adjusters to know what they were doing and to be working for the customer's best interests. I had to have them look at 2 vehicles due to collisions (other people running into me) and in both instances, the body shop told me the adjuster found stuff they had missed.

When independent agents would cold-call to sell me insurance 20 years ago, they'd stop and thank me for my time when they heard I had USAA. Some elements of the company are still great -- I love the fact that I can pull cash from an ATM anywhere in the world and not worry about ATM fees. They've stopped trying to sell me their investment packages (although that may be more a function of the fact that I'm getting to an age where they know I'm going to be investing in "safe" equities). They sent me an email a day after the hail storm in Colorado Springs to let me know my house was in an area that may have suffered damage (the last time I filed a claim for hail damage, I was in MA during the hail storm and saw the national news coverage).

It's somewhat sad to see the decline of the company. Like Disney and Warner Brothers, I wish they'd just go back to doing what worked well. The NuBusiness stuff isn't cutting the mustard.

EDIT: Adding one more good (and bad) story about the company. TL;DR of it was that an old car of mine was a total loss about 5 years ago but I had just replaced the tires (they literally had about 80 miles on them). Good part of the story: the adjuster gave me a fair quote on the car and said he was going to ask me about the tires because he couldn't measure any wear on them. He ended up giving me about $20 more for the new tires than I had paid for them. Bad part of the story: when I accepted USAA's offer, I asked them to hold off picking up the car until the following day so I could clear my personal items out of the car. Left work early to go do so and the tow truck had already picked the car up from the garage. I was relatively angry about this when I called USAA but they were able to tell me where the car had been towed to and called the company to let them know I was coming down to get my personal items out. There are still elements of the good company that formed and grew USAA there.

[ChadAmberg]

For grins today I looked to get a quote from Amica, since I had them before USAA and they were incredible. Yeah.... seems my house in Old Colorado City now counts as wildfire zone, so there will be a lot of reluctance by other companies to sell me a policy.