USAA canceled my car insurance after 28 years

[Macanudo 13081]

Got a letter last week that they are canceling my car insurance.  They cited 2 wrecks that one of the Macanudo-ettes has been at fault for (one in 2022 and one in 2024.)  I've had my car and renters/homeowners/rental property insurance as well as all of my banking with them since 1996.   I never filed a renter's claim in 14 years as a renter and filed one homeowner's claim in 14 years (water damage after a burst pipe almost 8 years ago.)    I've had rental property coverage for 13 years and never filed a claim.   I realize car and homeowners are separate on paper but damn if this doesn't suck.  

USAA has definitely felt like more of a traditional corporate entity the last few years and less like the insurance company that they used to be.  

So, long story short....   Any good reqs for insurance?   I'm in Houston so if someone has a local State Farm/Allstate/whatever agent they like let me know.   I'll most likely move the homeowners/rental property policy as well because of the price break on that sort of thing.  

[troph 24923]

They dropped me after my first and only home owner’s claim.  They all suck. Find an independent agent and let them shop for you. 

[immamac 43554]

I have a guy if you need. 

[C-Man 27347]

Happy to take a look but I'm not overly confident we'd have much, especially based on the two AF accidents involving the squid. What is the current insured value of the primary home? (Feel free to shoot me a DM if you'd like.)

[tx 3 putt 77920]

2 hours ago, Macanudo said:

Got a letter last week that they are canceling my car insurance.  They cited 2 wrecks that one of the Macanudo-ettes has been at fault for (one in 2022 and one in 2024.)  I've had my car and renters/homeowners/rental property insurance as well as all of my banking with them since 1996.   I never filed a renter's claim in 14 years as a renter and filed one homeowner's claim in 14 years (water damage after a burst pipe almost 8 years ago.)    I've had rental property coverage for 13 years and never filed a claim.   I realize car and homeowners are separate on paper but damn if this doesn't suck.  

USAA has definitely felt like more of a traditional corporate entity the last few years and less like the insurance company that they used to be.  

So, long story short....   Any good reqs for insurance?   I'm in Houston so if someone has a local State Farm/Allstate/whatever agent they like let me know.   I'll most likely move the homeowners/rental property policy as well because of the price break on that sort of thing.  

@UTPhil2006 steered me to a great person

Edited August 14 by tx 3 putt

[tx 3 putt 77920]

USAA has been circling the drain for some time 

[South Austin 52686]

2 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

USAA has been circling the drain for some time 

Man, this seems to be the case by all accounts. It’s a shame because I’ve been a member for about 30 years, and in one roof claim and a couple auto claims over that period they’ve been great.

Related question, the dad of my best friend’s daughter told me his insurer allowed him to “suspend” coverage for his daughter while she’s in college, and his premium dropped to about $50 a month to keep her on. Will look into doing the same for my daughter. Anyone else here able to do something like that?

[topochico 1049]

58 minutes ago, South Austin said:

Man, this seems to be the case by all accounts. It’s a shame because I’ve been a member for about 30 years, and in one roof claim and a couple auto claims over that period they’ve been great.

Related question, the dad of my best friend’s daughter told me his insurer allowed him to “suspend” coverage for his daughter while she’s in college, and his premium dropped to about $50 a month to keep her on. Will look into doing the same for my daughter. Anyone else here able to do something like that?

Yes, our insurance company (AAA) allowed us to place our son on "away" at college coverage the 1st year. He lived in the dorms, no car. He was still covered if he was home on break/summer and was driving our cars. Surprisingly, they also still offered the "good student" discount his second year when he took a car back. 

[Prepuce of Doom 21112]

Don't buy insurance from Rob Gronkowski.

[1978horn 896]

4 hours ago, South Austin said:

Man, this seems to be the case by all accounts. It’s a shame because I’ve been a member for about 30 years, and in one roof claim and a couple auto claims over that period they’ve been great.

Related question, the dad of my best friend’s daughter told me his insurer allowed him to “suspend” coverage for his daughter while she’s in college, and his premium dropped to about $50 a month to keep her on. Will look into doing the same for my daughter. Anyone else here able to do something like that?

Have a freshman this year and he is too close for this benefit.  I was told by USAA that they have to be 100 miles or further away.

I have had a roof claim and and a auto claim, both in the last year and both policies with USAA were renewed in the last month.

[Dbeasy 15225]

I was with USAA for 40+ years. I’ve had auto, home, umbrella, personal property with them. I dropped home in 2016 because they were 3x the competition. I dropped auto in 2022 because they were 50% higher. Customers have also complained about horrible claims management, which used to be their strength.

Strangely, I just moved back to them for home insurance because they were the same as other alternatives. I’m crossing my fingers that if a claim arises they won’t be spasmatics. 

[C-Man 27347]

6 hours ago, South Austin said:

Man, this seems to be the case by all accounts. It’s a shame because I’ve been a member for about 30 years, and in one roof claim and a couple auto claims over that period they’ve been great.

Related question, the dad of my best friend’s daughter told me his insurer allowed him to “suspend” coverage for his daughter while she’s in college, and his premium dropped to about $50 a month to keep her on. Will look into doing the same for my daughter. Anyone else here able to do something like that?

See below.

 

5 hours ago, topochico said:

Yes, our insurance company (AAA) allowed us to place our son on "away" at college coverage the 1st year. He lived in the dorms, no car. He was still covered if he was home on break/summer and was driving our cars. Surprisingly, they also still offered the "good student" discount his second year when he took a car back. 

This is the way to do it -- if you have a kid away at college without their car, you can rate them as "student away at school without vehicle." And, yes, always ask about "Good Student" discounts as some carriers carry this program through to college.

[C-Man 27347]

6 hours ago, South Austin said:

the dad of my best friend’s daughter

 

[Gil Bang 26099]

20 hours ago, immamac said:

I have a guy if you need. 

He needs insurance, not drugs. 

[conVINCEd 21474]

50 minutes ago, Gil Bang said:

He needs insurance, not drugs. 

[InkaUtexas 26345]

Fuck USAA. They used to care about members, now NFL commercials.

Family has been members since Vietnam. I had issues with my account and they gave zero fucks.

 

[tx 3 putt 77920]

17 hours ago, South Austin said:

Man, this seems to be the case by all accounts. It’s a shame because I’ve been a member for about 30 years, and in one roof claim and a couple auto claims over that period they’ve been great.

Related question, the dad of my best friend’s daughter told me his insurer allowed him to “suspend” coverage for his daughter while she’s in college, and his premium dropped to about $50 a month to keep her on. Will look into doing the same for my daughter. Anyone else here able to do something like that?

they had a loss for the first time in a years. easiest way to turn that around ? 

layoffs and dump accounts 

https://news4sanantonio.com/amp/news/local/usaa-members-regain-trust-after-recouping-losses-from-growing-bank-fraud-issues-san-antonio-texas-investigation-money-savings

https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2024/04/12/769544.htm

Edited August 15 by tx 3 putt

[MonkeyDoughnut 10439]

If you're a long time USAA customer and haven't shopped around you are likely paying thousands more each year than what you could be paying.   Loyalty comes at a price and you're the one paying it.

[Vegas64 678]

3 hours ago, MonkeyDoughnut said:

If you're a long time USAA customer and haven't shopped around you are likely paying thousands more each year than what you could be paying.   Loyalty comes at a price and you're the one paying it.

What is the best way to "shop" insurances? Someone mentioned go to an indy guy and have him do it-- how do you find those folks? I will go online and do a search but then get fatigued after putting ALL my info in a website after one or two times. Alternatively I've inputted my info once to "shop" and go spam calls for a day trying to sell me on everything but I was looking for.

[UTPhil2006 3828]

5 minutes ago, Vegas64 said:

What is the best way to "shop" insurances? Someone mentioned go to an indy guy and have him do it-- how do you find those folks? I will go online and do a search but then get fatigued after putting ALL my info in a website after one or two times. Alternatively I've inputted my info once to "shop" and go spam calls for a day trying to sell me on everything but I was looking for.

Go to a broker like Goosehead. I have a guy if you need one. They shop you to every one of their providers and choose the best for what your needs are (home auto boat etc )

[Macanudo 13081]

1 hour ago, UTPhil2006 said:

Go to a broker like Goosehead. I have a guy if you need one. They shop you to every one of their providers and choose the best for what your needs are (home auto boat etc )

Do share.

[Dbeasy 15225]

My insurance guy is in Houston, from when I lived there, if anyone needs a guy. 

[Mother mopar 3342]

USAA, for 21 years, had my share of renters/home/auto claims and never had an issue. I have auto, personal property umbrella, checking/savings and credit card (never used, rewards blows) nowadays. I've shopped around with Goosehead (guys do my home via Citzens in FL), and they can't beat their rates. Maybe I'm the outlier UT they've been good to me.

[Orale 1112]

The firm I worked at long ago sued them a lot for underpaying/denying significant property claims. They were worse about doing that in my experience than most larger carriers. 

[MonkeyDoughnut 10439]

4 hours ago, Mother mopar said:

USAA, for 21 years, had my share of renters/home/auto claims and never had an issue. I have auto, personal property umbrella, checking/savings and credit card (never used, rewards blows) nowadays. I've shopped around with Goosehead (guys do my home via Citzens in FL), and they can't beat their rates. Maybe I'm the outlier UT they've been good to me.

if your have a bunch of claims your rates are going to be high everywhere... where USAA started going wrong for me is they started gouging the long term members who didn't have any claims and were lower risk.

[Grimas 671]

So is it better to have your different policies with different providers? Cars with one, house with another umbrella with a different one? I'm thinking if you have car insurance with one and have a claim, am I correct in assuming that claim wouldn't affect your homeowners? If you have separate policies but all by the same provider, does a claim against one - like a rental property - affect your primary homeowners policy?

[Sam Lin 3564]

I've been very happy with State Farm over a lot of years. My agent is great, the few claims I've had have been easy and smooth, the rates haven't been out of line each time I've compared (not necessarily lowest but always close). I do have some long duration "accident-free" discounts with them drive my auto rates way down though.

[ROFL BOX 6649]

From a restoration contractor's perspective, stay away from AllSnake / Snake Farm.  Repeat:  In my experienced opinion, these two are the worst.

Example for AllSnake;  Recent claim, 5-1/2" hail... AllSnake tried to pay for 158 individual shingles to be replaced.

 

& AllSnake says these hail hits...

 

That caused THIS damage...

 

 

Can be combed out, despite dents that go 3/4" deep & a licensed AC company says they can NOT be combed, we are in for a fight with AllSnake.  Older system, R22, propane heat setup / air handler in the attic... $ 12,800.00 cost total replacement vs. the comb-out offer of $ 182.36 (including trip charge).

 

So, yeah... IMO, AllSnake s-u-c-k-s.

[Da Fino 2797]

I was with USAA at one point and then Chubb. I can’t recommend Ryan Steinberg in Houston enough. He handles all of our insurance. He’s the most responsive person I’ve ever met. 

[Mother mopar 3342]

From a restoration contractor's perspective, stay away from AllSnake / Snake Farm.  Repeat:  In my experienced opinion, these two are the worst.
Example for AllSnake;  Recent claim, 5-1/2" hail... AllSnake tried to pay for 158 individual shingles to be replaced.

 
& AllSnake says these hail hits...

 
That caused THIS damage...
 

 
Can be combed out, despite dents that go 3/4" deep & a licensed AC company says they can NOT be combed, we are in for a fight with AllSnake.  Older system, R22, propane heat setup / air handler in the attic... $ 12,800.00 cost total replacement vs. the comb-out offer of $ 182.36 (including trip charge).
 
So, yeah... IMO, AllSnake s-u-c-k-s.

I've combed a few power steering coolers out for old car restorations in my day, and those suck. I would not look at that picture for $182, much less comb it out. I can't imagine combing that out.

[bschoolprof 6280]

17 hours ago, UTPhil2006 said:

Go to a broker like Goosehead. I have a guy if you need one. They shop you to every one of their providers and choose the best for what your needs are (home auto boat etc )

Agree on trying an independent agent to shop around, but I would stay far, far away from goosehead.  I had them for two years and they were terrible.  They charged me an upfront fee (on top of what they were getting from the carrier) when I got insurance and then my agent went totally MIA after that.  Stopped returning calls and emails.  The 800 number was equally unhelpful ("you'll have to talk to your agent to do that"). I basically served as my own agent after year 1 and did all the renewals myself through the carrier.  At the end of year 2, they assigned me some new chick out of Colorado that didn't know shit about fuck.  I ended up switching (back) to Allstate.  It's a mess out there right now.  

[hornmpa96 2625]

Isn’t the real answer - all insurance companies are terrible unless you are paying for the privilege of being with one of the carriers that caters to high net-worth customers?

State Farm/Allstate/USAA are all the same.

I need to start following Charlie Munger’s advice: “If you can afford to pay for repairs/issues out-of-pocket, self-insure and invest the amounts that you would have paid from premiums in the market.”

[C-Man 27347]

14 hours ago, MonkeyDoughnut said:

if your have a bunch of claims your rates are going to be high everywhere... where USAA started going wrong for me is they started gouging the long term members who didn't have any claims and were lower risk.

Correct. And if you don't pay your premiums on time, that goes into the sauce as well. Guess the carriers share that info, just like claims.

It's still my experience that USAA's rates are still pretty good in most instances that we run up against them. It's still a better place to be than Allstate, Farmers, State Farm, etc.

 

9 hours ago, Da Fino said:

I was with USAA at one point and then Chubb. I can’t recommend Ryan Steinberg in Houston enough. He handles all of our insurance. He’s the most responsive person I’ve ever met. 

Chubb is one of a handful of companies in the high net worth/luxury insurance space. They're not typical insurance companies. They write big checks and ask questions later. They usually cost more up front but are worth their weight in gold in that they'll pay more on claims and will look for coverage for clients as opposed to looking for ways to NOT pay claims, like so many of the other companies.

The problem is that not everybody qualifies for them. Chubb just recently increased their minimum primary home value from $500K to $2M in Texas. This is a seismic change in appetite for them. Not sure if this is a permanent change or if they'll lower that once things stabilize -- if they stabilize. Maybe they drop back to $1M but I doubt they go all the way back to $500K.

 

1 hour ago, bschoolprof said:

Agree on trying an independent agent to shop around, but I would stay far, far away from goosehead.  I had them for two years and they were terrible.  They charged me an upfront fee (on top of what they were getting from the carrier) when I got insurance and then my agent went totally MIA after that.  Stopped returning calls and emails.  The 800 number was equally unhelpful ("you'll have to talk to your agent to do that"). I basically served as my own agent after year 1 and did all the renewals myself through the carrier.  At the end of year 2, they assigned me some new chick out of Colorado that didn't know shit about fuck.  I ended up switching (back) to Allstate.  It's a mess out there right now.  

I've heard that about Goosehead that they charge like $50 or something just to look around for you. What you should do is look for boutique local independent agents in your town or city or you can go the big broker route like us (HUB International/HUB Private Client), Willis or Marsh. None of those will cost you anything as we get paid by the carrier IF we write policies for you. Higginbotham is a large Texas-only broker that handles all kinds of insurance. Stay away from anybody that is going to charge you for ANYTHING to shop rates/carriers for you because you don't have to.

If you're in a $2M or more home you can go to the HNW carriers' websites and do their "Find an Agent" thing by your Zip Code. Be adviseed companies currently writing HNW business are Chubb, Cincinnati, Berkley One and PURE. Chubb and Cincinnati's mins in Texas are $2M (Cincinnati has an Executive product that is very good that starts at $1M), PURE is now $3M and Berkley is $5M.

Our main non-HNW markets now are Travelers and Safeco. I think you can also find independent agents by doing the same thing on their carrier websites.

[C-Man 27347]

1 minute ago, hornmpa96 said:

Isn’t the real answer - all insurance companies are terrible unless you are paying for the privilege of being with one of the carriers that caters to high net-worth customers?

You're right about the HNW carriers. They're phenomenal and worth their weight in gold when the shit really hits the fan. But most people don't qualify.

There are varying levels of suck across all the other insurance companies. Some are definitely worse than others. I would never willingly do business with Allstate. State Farm is OK for most people, I think, but I 'witnessed' them try and get out of 2021 winter storm/busted pipe claim for a $7M+ home on Beverly in Highland Park. The entire downstairs was flooded and had several inches of standing water on the floor. SF offered $196K or something, bumped it to $350K and then rescinded the second adjustor's finding and went back to OG $196K claim. Homeowner's contractor said the damage was $1M at a minimum. Chubb would've written the $1M check in a couple of days and said tell us if you need more. Homeowner told SF to pound sand, bought another house in HP and is now insured by Chubb through a colleague. Last I heard (it's been awhile) the Beverly claim was still being litigated.

[royiv 9447]

2 hours ago, bschoolprof said:

Agree on trying an independent agent to shop around, but I would stay far, far away from goosehead.  I had them for two years and they were terrible.  They charged me an upfront fee (on top of what they were getting from the carrier) when I got insurance and then my agent went totally MIA after that.  Stopped returning calls and emails.  The 800 number was equally unhelpful ("you'll have to talk to your agent to do that"). I basically served as my own agent after year 1 and did all the renewals myself through the carrier.  At the end of year 2, they assigned me some new chick out of Colorado that didn't know shit about fuck.  I ended up switching (back) to Allstate.  It's a mess out there right now.  

My impression of Goosehead is that it’s the Enterprise Rent-a-Car of insurance brokerages. It seems like a popular landing spot for Tech and A&M grads looking for a “sales management” job.

[tx 3 putt 77920]

On 8/15/2024 at 2:28 PM, UTPhil2006 said:

Go to a broker like Goosehead. I have a guy if you need one. They shop you to every one of their providers and choose the best for what your needs are (home auto boat etc )

 

i used phil's person, they not only improved my coverage but also found me a better rate for my home insurance 

[Rimbo 26420]

I've been hearing about this, but not seeing any of it. I wonder if California laws are protecting me here?

I know they have pretty nearly separate divisions just to deal with California underwriting.

Edited August 17 by Rimbo