AlHewitt

A recent thread on California insurance got me thinking about what I recently did with USAA, my long time insurance company. I'm not bashing them as I had been with them for 55 years and if you are active or ex military they are maybe the best insurance available. Back in the 60's I could insure my mussel car for 1/3 of my previous insurance companies rates when I joined the service. For a 22 year old guy that was a big deal. My reason for leaving them today is the raise in cost of premiums. I saved $1500 a year by switching to All State. How can this be for a long time member with 3 cars and 2 homes? I tried to negotiate a better rate but USAA was not moving, we have no traffic violations and no claims, EVER. And here is the kicker, they send me a BIG check, something called the subscribers saving. These were dollars accumulated for the years as a member. Had they applied these dollars to my premiums I would still be there. They must know something that I don't as they have been in business for a long time, but I question their policy... Al

jaki30

I dropped USAA in June for State Farm.
USAA was our insurance for almost 20 years.
When I asked them why their rates were so much more they couldn’t say
and they won’t negotiate.
I suspect weather related losses and the increase in insureds is costing them money.
They always told me to compare every year to make sure I was getting the best price.
I did. They lost.

6 Shooter

Turbo6TA

USAA just raised my car insurance rate for my 2011 GS from $339.90 to $421.72 (for a 6-month policy)

No accidents, no tickets, no change in policy limits, no change in mileage driven . . no changes at all except for the increase in rate.

And I have been with them since 1975.

*89x2*

I had USAA over 30 years ago. Glad I am not with them anymore. No regrets.

sramzzz

It’s not just USAA that raise their rates. All companies look at ECI over the past 4 quarters to see where they need to adjust rates or cost. The last 4 quarters ECI was bumping up against 5%. Add that to claims paid whether you had some or not and rates will rise.

You can switch companies and save some bucks but sooner or later cost will catch up.

cthusker

That’s really interesting in that I saved almost 1200 dollars switching 2 vehicles, my home, shop and umbrella from State Farm. LOL Go figure these insurance companies. I was with State Farm for 12 years with ZERO claims or traffic citations and they raised mine almost 30% for no reason. They don’t have my vette insurance.

Turbo6TA

You folks should be happy that you don't live here in Florida. My homeowners insurance increased 100% since hurricane Ian came through here ... and many insurance companies just stopped writing homeowners insurance policies here in Florida. Obviously, they think it's just a great big losing situation for them to continue to do business here in Florida.

And there is no Florida law that keeps them from increasing homeowners insurance rates as high as they want.

You either pay up .. or sell your house and leave the state !

SG4247

I dropped USAA after 30 years for State Farm.

pbergmann

Very well known in the industry (my brother in-law)
that if you don't shop insurance the companies all know it. They share information between them and they observe if you don't shop it around, more than likely, you won't change.
Wrapping it with all your other insurance is an easy way to get the best prices. They do not want to lose customers, so negotiate just like you should do with any major purchase.
pay 6 months or a year in advance helps too.

STLC6

I have been with USAA for about 20 years. I have 5 cars and a motorcycle insured through them. They just raised my rates $55 more a month for no good reason. I may start shopping around.

TripleB5832

I’ve been with USAA for over 25 years. I moved my coverage about 6 months ago, not so much on cost but customer service. They tried to force me to add my daughter, who has epilepsy, to my auto policy when she was not able to drive (she was 16 at the time but was not driving due to TN law). Completely unreasonable so I moved my coverage. Did not have my 2 Vettes insured with them but had home and 3 other cars insured with them, total annual premiums were about $7k. Their **** poor customer service cost them 7 grand a year in lost premium revenue. Lost a low risk, long term customer who paid their premiums on time for over two decades. Unwise business in my opinion so I moved it. In that length of time I had a couple of minor home claims (ie water damage from a water heater). That said, when I moved it to Erie, I saved quite a bit.

C6VetteLover

I've been with Geico for 12 years, no tickets accidents or claims. My 6 month premium has gone up 3 times in 2 years. No excuse or explanation.

CallawaySC560

On the other side, USAA saved me from Allstate and no one can match their premiums. That said, insurance premiums for ALL carriers are going up soon. It's just a shell game at this point. Insurance co's have no loyalty if you have been with them for 1 year or 25 - so just go where you get the best coverage for the least premium.

Ogre39

I've been with USAA for almost 26 years. My 6 month premium has just about doubled in May. I have 5 cars with them. Turned in the tags for one that I don't drive. Guess it's time to shop around. It's a shame because they do have good customer service.

MacB

Interesting, USAA just paid an enormous $20,000 claim on my Custom Colorado truck in which I was not at fault. The truck was a 2022 with 2,000 miles. Since I was not at fault, I didn't even have to pay my deductible. The other side of rates is how your company handles claims. We've been with USAA for decades because of this. On the other hand, after discussing coverage on my 08 C6 with USAA, I went with Grundy because of declared value rather than having to depend on used car market prices to determine the value of my 16,000 mile 2008 Corvette in the event of an accident.

diyguy

If you were clearly not at fault (depends on state), your carrier likely opened a precautionary claim file just in case whomever was the other partys 'at fault' insurance company does not respond, drags their feet, then your carrier will pay the loss, then Subrogate the other person insurance company, just so you can get it taken care of quickly. If your carrier paid, they will only incur adjuster expenses and not count that as a loss on your dime. Happens all the time.

Mac-427

Excellent comment. The other company, Gainco, would not accept liability even though their insured ran a red light while on the phone. My wife, who is a Paralegal, got an on the spot video statement from a witness who saw the whole thing. I’m sure that was one reason USAA backed us to the hilt.