USAA rant

[C-grunt]

Ive been a member for 13 years and my wife has been a member even longer. We have everything through USAA. Insurance, banking, etc..

Yesterday my wife gets on the computer and pulls up our account and sees that our auto insurance part is missing. She looks into it and sees that we are not insured anymore. She calls customer service and is told the insurance was cancelled because we didn't pay. Well we did pay and because we bank through USAA it was pretty easy to prove.

So the first guy she talks to says that their insurance computer system shows we didn't pay so the only way we could reinstate our insurance that day is by making another payment. My wife then gets on the phone with another higher level guy. This guy says that they can see that we made the payment and something went wrong on their end. He says that the policy has to go to "under writing" and they have to manually input the policy back to current and that we would be back to good by the next day.

So today my wife gets on our account and we still have no insurance plan. She calls again and gets put on with a manager. The manager says the policy is in "under writing" and that our policy would be reinstated when that was done. When asked how long that would take the manager said maybe a week, possibly more. My wife asked the manager if we would be insured in the meantime incase we get into an accident. The manager said that they couldn't guarantee that.

So now we have Progressive insurance.

Ive been a member for 13 years. In that time my wife and I have never filed a claim and never been late on a payment. But they cancelled my insurance 4 days after a "missed" payment without so much as a phone call to me prior.

[Watrdawg]

Be careful with Progressive. If you cancel before the term ends they will still charge you for the remaining balance. If you refuse to pay they will send you to a collection agency very quickly. So you may very well be stuck with them until the end of the term.

[Det-Sog]

Long time member here. So is my wife. We think they have expanded too quickly. They are getting too big. They have their problems, but imho are still the best game in town... For now. If they keep growing, sooner or later, they will be just another State Farm. Time will tell.

[6933]

Left USAA after they tried some shenanigans 2X.

Done with USAA. They are not the company they were even 5 yrs. ago.

[Shorts]

I'd be upset about the situation as well. Unfortunate they lost a customer over an issue like that though.

I never merged my banking to them even though they cover all my insurance needs. I wanted to keep some checks and balances vs giving them all access. Reading your problem, I see it was a valid concern, even if (hopefully) not common.

I use to have Progressive for my motorcycle coverage. USAA wouldn't cover it, or didn't. I didn't have an issue dealing w them but didn't have extensive dealings that could get sideways.

[ryanm]

If anyone wants to know how they handle a large loss claim PM me. Be very very careful with them. (Get a lawyer first)

[wildcard600]

If anyone wants to know how they handle a large loss claim PM me. Be very very careful with them. (Get a lawyer first)

Are you speaking of USAA ?

[ryanm]

Yes, USAA. Actually, with any major loss especially when someone is injured or killed, lawyer first even when you are not at fault. You have to notify the insurance company of the loss but after that you need to have a good attorney. That goes for any insurance company.

[KTR03]

I had their insurance as a young man (20 years ago). Got rear ended. My attorney said "man I am glad you have USAA and not the dude who hit you. I don't take those cases because USAA never settles, fights for every dime and always is willing to go to court. They are a huge pain". That is probably why they don't get sued a lot.

[rackham1]

Sounds really weird, I don't understand why they couldn't do a new policy then and there. Like your "non-payment" put you into some high-risk, bad bet category... did they give any clues?

19 years and counting, I've never had any kind of "waiting period".


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[BuzzinSATX]

I'm sorry you had issues with USAA, and I agree that it sounds goofy on their part since I originally signed up with them in 2001 and had insurance in 10 minutes over the phone. I left State Farm only because I moved to DE from AK and none of their agents would simply take my account over...they all wanted me to come in for a "visit and a policy review". I kept telling them I had a great agent in AK who had me good to go. After trying three agents, I called USA and had insurance in 10 minutes.

Since I've been with them, they have paid every claim I made without issue, and I really cannot complain. But I know they are expanding very fast, and likely experiencing growing pains.

[Ouroborous]

I've had a few below average interactions with USAA CS. Last one ended with "it's not our problem" on an issue they could have easily resolved before I asked to speak to the guys manager. CS has definitely gone down hill over the years.

On the auto insurance note, I got full coverage from GEICO for half the price I was paying USAA for liability only. Good to shop around--wish I'd switched sooner.

[williejc]

I think that knowing one's local agent well protects the person from bs up the line. I've have State Farm for 34 years and have have had several claims without difficulty.

[Korgs130]

Long time member here. So is my wife. We think they have expanded too quickly. They are getting too big. They have their problems, but imho are still the best game in town... For now. If they keep growing, sooner or later, they will be just another State Farm. Time will tell.

I agree. Been a member since 1992 and they've really gone down hill in the past 5 years. Oh, what ever you do, don't get a mortgage thru them. Total nightmare. Messed up our paperwork and closing and it 4 hours to straighten out, so we thought. Long story short they over charged us $3,600 in interest which took over a year to get back.

[AKDoug]

I think that knowing one's local agent well protects the person from bs up the line. I've have State Farm for 34 years and have have had several claims without difficulty. This is so true. Hell, I got a card from my State Farm agent thanking me for 30 yrs of continued business. They only do my auto and snowmobiles, but the service is fantastic. We're on auto pay with them and there have been issues with my bank getting it right. Not once has S.F. threatened me with anything. A simple phone call clears it right up, without being transferred to anyone else.

[C-grunt]

Ok... Everything has been cleared up. After talking with 13 people (yes that is the real number) we got in contact with someone who actually knew what they were talking about and how to fix it. She got everything under control and fixed. However we had already signed up through Progressive so we will look at possibly returning to USAA insurance in 6 months. We already have Progressive insurance for our camper so it was an easy and quick switch while USAA pulled their head out of their ass. The new lady we talked to was very understanding of our worries and quickly refunded us the money we spent this month and cancelled that policy.

My family also believes that they are getting too big too fast.

[austinN4]

This is so true. Hell, I got a card from my State Farm agent thanking me for 30 yrs of continued business. They only do my auto and snowmobiles, but the service is fantastic. We're on auto pay with them and there have been issues with my bank getting it right. Not once has S.F. threatened me with anything. A simple phone call clears it right up, without being transferred to anyone else.

I had my auto and house with the same agent and insurance company for 21 years. When I started with them it was a small one-man agency with great service. Over that time that agency got sold to larger and larger corporate agencies and the service went down each time. They finally really PO'd me last year and I switched to a new small agent and a new insurance company. Now it is easy to get things done. Insurance companies matter, but so do the agents.

[LowSpeed_HighDrag]

I've had State Farm drop me and then reinstate me at the same time. I'll get two letters in the mail, one saying my plan is canceled, and one saying sorry for that. I've never had an insurance company drop my coverage due to a fault on their end, and then not cover me while they try to fix their own mistake. I'd call and complain until I got the highest level possible, and if they weren't paying my bill for the next couple of months I'd be gone from them completely.

[usmcvet]

Not about USAA but piss poor customer service. I got divorced 2 years ago. I had State Farm for over 20 years. My old agent retired and sold her practice. I stayed with the new agent. Never had an issue. Several small claims over the years. The Ex got our house and I bought my own house. We had a year of payments in an escrow account. I wanted to just roll the year of premium back into the old house so it made things easier for the Ex. The young agent could not get that done. It is the only way I've ever done it with a purchase or refinance. We asked for a refund and to have our year of premiums rolled into our mortgages, we were both going to stay with State Farm. She said we needed to pay cash for a year's policy. I was trying to get the insurance binder so I could get our loans rolling. My purchase and her refinance. She could not make it happen. I spent ten or fifteen min on the phone with a Liberty Mutual Agent and had an insurance binder emailed to me with in an hour. I think it was closer to thirty min.

[Vandal]

One of my almost daily tasks living in an area with a lot of .mil retirees, AD and guard is dealing with USAA for auto insurance, auto loans and car buying "service". They are quick to sign up young airmen and email or fax me copies of insurance cards. Their interest rates can't compete with the local credit unions, banks or manufacturers anymore except at longer terms (over 66 months). I've had customers turn down 0% and 0.9% for a 2.99% rate from USAA due to their blind loyalty. Their car buying service is now run through TrueCar and leaves a lot to be desired, you're not getting that great of a deal but I do appreciate the lead generation. My clients are surprised when I give them a better price than what USAA quoted them.

When I first signed up with USAA as a cadet in 2004 they were one of the best kept secrets out there and were great to deal with, almost exclusively word of mouth advertising too. Now I hear adds for them on the radio daily and keep hearing about how their CS has continually gone down.