I just received the final recoverable depreciation payment closing out my hail damage house claim from USAA after months of requests.

This was without a doubt the most exasperating experience I have had in my over 70 years. This was to repair major damage done by a hail storm in 2020. Aside from frustrating supply chain problems, USAA provided what is possibly the worse treatment anyone could imagine. My General Contractor wrote me indicating they had never seen a customer so poorly treated.

The assessor from Alacrity was outstanding but the USAA adjusters were painfully incompetent and woefully rude and inconsiderate. Started with their telling me that they'd only replace individual damaged vinyl siding planks and that since the existing color on my house was discontinued I could paint them to match. Then our having to get a window specialist to convince the adjuster that the high grade metal clad casement windows had to be replaced entirely as the damaged frames themselves were not individually replaceable. There are many other examples I could cite. Lastly it took 5 months for them to issue the final recoverable depreciation to me. And with that they also said "screw you" when it came to slight differences in what I paid for window replacement and porches/deck repair than the scope of loss figure from June of 2021. So I ended up paying out of pocket for siding for half of my house and garages, $190 extra for window replacements, and $87 additional for porch repairs. This on a >$64k damage claim.

When I lost my disabled veteran son last summer and went to close all his accounts, USAA bank simply deposited what they said was his remaining funds in my account. No documentation at all despite repeated requests. For all I know they assessed late charges on his charge card after he died before deducting from checking. Again USAA fails.

I am in the process of dumping them after 47 years as a member. They are not even a shadow of their former selves.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: bald1,

Eh gads. Sorry to hear about all the trouble.

Enjoy your Redbreast.

Sorry you had the trouble. I've not had one issue with them. One homeowner's claim and I had a check inside of a week for every dime, and one (current) vehicle claim from a deer strike. They are haggling with the body shop, but I had a preliminary check within a week and will (presumably) get the remainder without issue.

I've not done any other business with them outside of insurance though, so I can't speak to that.

Gustofer,

That's how things were in the past decades but no longer. I'm hearing more and more horror stories as well as negative comments about USAA from the few industry insiders I know.

I had heard stories but figured they were exceptions until I got bit in the ass. Don't wait to get screwed over.

They are a shell of a once great company. I’ve got numerous fail stories about them. The only thing keeping me is laziness and the reality that banks in general suck.

Go right to the president’s office. I had problems with a claim and did that. T was taken care. I’ve been member for 35 years and was royally pissed. I’ve been thinking of changing because of this.

quote:

Originally posted by PJS:
Go right to the president’s office. I had problems with a claim and did that. T was taken care. I’ve been member for 35 years and was royally pissed. I’ve been thinking of changing because of this.

As soon as I finalize things to switch my home and vehicle insurance to a different company, ol' Peacock (USAA CEO: Wayne Peacock wayne@usaa.com ), his VP for Claims Ken Rosen, with cc to the Insurance Division Head (Larry Deiter) of the South Dakota Dept. of Labor & Regulation will be getting an assburner from me with a copy of my General Contractors letter to boot indicating a new low has been set in their experience for customer service by an insurance company.

My Dad was in the military for a few years (i.e. not a career). His career was autobody.

To my knowledge USSAA had a good reputation, but he got mad the one time I asked why he didn't have USAA even though he was eligible. That is when I found out that the insurance company he hated the most was USAA. As he put it, the least knowledgeable insurance adjustors in the industry but with the most ego. They shit on both the body shop and their customers.

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
They are a shell of a once great company. I’ve got numerous fail stories about them. The only thing keeping me is laziness and the reality that banks in general suck.

This.

34 year member here…utilized banking, insurance and mortgage. Currently just banking and down to one account. The mortgage was a complete shitfest and we almost did not close on our house as they effed up on the the title work. We then refinanced with another company as soon as humanly possible. They got too big too fast IMO. I had one car insurance claim which went well but we switched as their premiums were higher than some other options. They used to be much more competitive. I want to say maybe 10-12 years ago is when I first noted the decline.

Nice to know. I’m shopping for home, auto, umbrella, atv insurance. I was considering getting a quote from USAA - but not now. If they treat you like shit after all of those years of paying premiums, I’m not interested.

Mike

First they starting spinning off services invariably to lousy outfits. Then it seems that once USAA started advertising and soliciting members rather than rely on the past proven word of mouth, everything retained in house started to quickly decline.

quote:

The only thing keeping me is laziness and the reality that banks in general suck.

I have been with USAA since 1968, insurance, banking & credit cards. About 35 years ago I had a claim when I was hit while towing my 17.5 ft boat. The boat, trailer & auto was damaged & had to pay 2 deductables but all was taken care of. The bank was OK until USAA Security flagged my account when I purchased a plane ticket with my debit card. They called me & left a message then froze my account for 5 banking days since I did not return the call within 15 minutes. After several calls I was told nothing could be done because "Security" could not be overridden. The credit cards are worthless because when I charged a $700 TV the charge was rejected & any time I purchased a plane ticket it has been rejected even when I called ahead of time. I was told since I rarely use the cards "security" is alerted. Yes all banks in general suck!

I have house and auto. I do NOT bank with them. I do have their CC.

This is not a recent phenomenon, I had issues with them over a minor lawsuit and they not only lost track of it, accusing me of hiding it, they also excluded me completely from the settlement. On the other hand we had a icemaker line leak, they processed and did everything, choosing the contractor, etc. which turned out well. Of course, our rates when up immediately.

The decline in service may be related to locations and who is on their adjustor staff, along with how well they work with a contractor. Overall, what I've read are a lot of folks who expected better - and better is certainly what they used to do - and are now getting industry average service. Anyone considering their insurance should definitly get quotes and compare. Being a loooooong time member has advantages with rates - Geico, etc never quote nearly as close as our current tier with USAA - but coming into the group may be different. And there is the disbursement at the end of the year which has now grown enough to pay off a bill. New members don't enjoy that perk.

A lot of us aren't lazy or coasting on this, we are aware, but it's going to take a much bigger threshold event to stir us into action. And right now, there are much bigger national issues with a higher priority.

My mom and dad had the same problem with State Farm that Bald1 had with USAA. I mean the exact same problem of hail versus siding and all the BS from the insurance company.

My dad had been with State Farm since 1986 or so, and after that crap show they were history and he went with USAA. He is not real happy with USAA but they get by.

I had been with State Farm since 1988 but I dropped them after they put me and the rental car company through the ringer following an accident. The other party was cited for hitting me, and their insurance paid my bills, the paid the rental agency etc.. State Farm drug it out for a year. GONE GONE

I am not happy with USAA but I am lazy..
For one thing their rates keep going up each month and I have cars that are 12 years old.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: mrapteam666,

quote:

Originally posted by PJS:
Go right to the president’s office. I had problems with a claim and did that. T was taken care. I’ve been member for 35 years and was royally pissed.

Did just that. We'll see.....

I am still with USAA but they are joy the company they were!

quote:

Originally posted by bald1:

As soon as I finalize things to switch my home and vehicle insurance to a different company, ol' Peacock (USAA CEO: Wayne Peacock wayne@usaa.com ), his VP for Claims Ken Rosen, with cc to the Insurance Division Head (Larry Deiter) of the South Dakota Dept. of Labor & Regulation will be getting an assburner from me with a copy of my General Contractors letter to boot indicating a new low has been set in their experience for customer service by an insurance company.

If you want action, send a polite and professional (not an assburning) letter to the state insurance commissioner. Simply state something like... I was treated unfairly and unprofessionally by USAA. Many of the significant issues are summarized in the attached letter from my general contractor. USAA refused to pay all appropriate charges leaving me with a sizable out of pocket cost that should have been covered. Can you assist me with getting this resolved by USAA. I also request that the matter be investigated and if merited, that USAA be disciplined or fined.

A short and to the point letter is more likely to get action by the regulator than something that reads like a rant.

Copy USAA on the letter. Hope you get it worked out.

SR,
Already heard back from the USAA CEO's office and State Insurance folks. Things are moving.
"Assburner" is an euphemism for a blunt direct very firm communication.

quote:

Originally posted by bald1:

"Assburner" is an euphemism for a blunt direct very firm communication.

Is that like a nasty-gram?

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by bald1:

"Assburner" is an euphemism for a blunt direct very firm communication.

Is that like a nasty-gram?

Something like "Fuck you very much. Strong letter follows."