USAA itemized discounts on homeowner's insurance and cringe worthy not best rate for credit usage?

[GON]

Received USAA homeowner's insurance bill. Below is what USAA is discounting. What I found cringe worthy was USAA reportedly is not providing their best rate, because a 24-month review showed we used 10.74 percent of our revolving credit. We payoff our credit cards 100 percent every month. All I can figure the 10.74 percent came from was when we purchased this home 11 months ago, Wife purchased all new furniture, new washer/ dryer, new refrigerator, new outdoor furniture, window coverings, etc-- all in one month. USAA must have the ability to see this one-month, 11 months ago revolving credit line usage, and exploit it....... Geeze 800+ credit score and USAA still finds a justification to ding.



YOUR PREMIUM HAS BEEN REDUCED BY THE FOLLOWING CREDITS AND DISCOUNTS:

AUTO AND HOME COMBINATION DISCOUNT $122.39CR
LOYALTY DISCOUNT $33.62CR
CLAIMS FREE DISCOUNT $112.70CR
INSURANCE-TO-VALUE DISCOUNT $33.62CR
HOME AGE DISCOUNT $469.94CR
ROOF AGE DISCOUNT $194.61CR

A few other comments from USAA:

USAA considers many factors when determining your premium. Maintaining your property to reduce the probability of loss is one of the most important steps you can take toward reducing premium increases. A history of claim activity will affect your policy premium (key words is claim activity, not payment of claims- never call to inquire if one has a claimable loss- just the call is captured as claim activity).

You may be eligible for a premium discount if you have wrought iron bars over the windows and doors of your home or rental property. Please call USAA at 800-531-8722 if you would like more information on adding the discount

 

[Astro14]

I have been with USAA since 1982, when I got my first car. That said, I left their homeowners and auto insurance for a while and saved quite a bit. Now, in Virginia at least, everyone is expensive, and I am back with USAA.

 

[demarpaint]

I have been with USAA since 1982, when I got my first car. That said, I left their homeowners and auto insurance for a while and saved quite a bit. Now, in Virginia at least, everyone is expensive, and I am back with USAA.

My son dumped USAA too. Their auto insurance rates were insane in Florida. At the time he spoke with them and he was told in a very roundabout way they don't want the business there. So much for helping the Vets with lower insurance rates in Florida I guess. He dumped them for homeowners insurance too.

 

[GON]

I have been with USAA since 1982, when I got my first car. That said, I left their homeowners and auto insurance for a while and saved quite a bit. Now, in Virginia at least, everyone is expensive, and I am back with USAA.

I refuse to file a claim unless the loss is catastrophic.

With that said, anytime I get a "letter" from USAA I always worry if I am being dumped. All erroneous, but reports seem to point that insurance companies have analytical software programs to "cut bait" on certain markets, age of homes, etc.

 

[Astro14]

I refuse to file a claim unless the loss is catastrophic.

With that said, anytime I get a "letter" from USAA I always worry if I am being dumped. All erroneous, but reports seem to point that insurance companies have analytical software programs to "cut bait" on certain markets, age of homes, etc.

USAA hit an inflection point a decade or so ago, when they decided to expand their membership from officers to all military. They were founded by Army Officers, and the expansion of membership completely changed the the demographics*, and risks, and therefor claims experience, causing USAA to dramatically raise their rates.

They are not the company they once were.

*19 year old soldiers, sailors, airman and marines make very different choices than middle age officers. USAA will loan them the money for a car like new Hellcat, and I see cars like that on base, often. Underage drinking, high performance car - what could go wrong?

 

[99Saturn]

A high balance across revolving credit (even if it is paid off) dings a credit score. I believe, but am not 100% positive, that having an individual card with high utilization compared to available credit on that card, can ding your score too.

It's a risk profile, not perfect by any means but a metric that I am sure is directionally correct from a risk perspective.

A solution in the future is to pay off the balance or a large chunk of the balance before the statement closes - the monthly balance never gets reported to the credit agency then.

 

[Astro14]

A high balance across revolving credit (even if it is paid off) dings a credit score. I believe, but am not 100% positive, that having an individual card with high utilization compared to available credit on that card, can ding your score too.

It's a risk profile, not perfect by any means but a metric that I am sure is directionally correct from a risk perspective.

A solution in the future is to pay off the balance or a large chunk of the balance before the statement closes - the monthly balance never gets reported to the credit agency then.

I’ve had to adopt this strategy - I don’t utilize the “float” (by waiting to pay it off until closer to the due date) anymore.

For example, I this week, I bought a new range, microwave, and a round trip 1st class ticket to London on my Chase Mileage Plus Card, and paid it off (via the app, instantly) today, weeks before it closes, so that the balance isn’t reported.

 

[99Saturn]

I’ve had to adopt this strategy - I don’t utilize the “float” (by waiting to pay it off until closer to the due date) anymore.

For example, I this week, I bought a new range, microwave, and a round trip 1st class ticket to London on my Chase Mileage Plus Card, and paid it off (via the app, instantly) today, weeks before it closes, so that the balance isn’t reported.

Same here. I also watch out for the "department store" cards. I don't often sign up but the available credit is typically lower. For example, I used to have a discount tire credit card, limit was $2K I think or maybe $2.5K. If I bought a set or two of tires it would look like my utilization on that card is suddenly 50% of available credit.

 

[Capt W]

USAA hit an inflection point a decade or so ago, when they decided to expand their membership from officers to all military.

While your entire post is spot-on, the enlisted inclusion happened in 1997-98. When we PCS'd to Italy in '98 (an E-4 back then), I was surprised to discover USAA auto insurance was a new option for me.

About a decade ago - maybe a little more - they opened up to anyone who has a DD214. Then it was family members of all of the above. It's been almost 30 years of watering down the risk pool, making USAA no different than anyone else.

Look at GEICO, which until the late-80s was solely serving their originally intended client base of government employees. Now they're also the same garbage as everyone else.

 

[PWMDMD]

Received USAA homeowner's insurance bill. Below is what USAA is discounting. What I found cringe worthy was USAA reportedly is not providing their best rate, because a 24-month review showed we used 10.74 percent of our revolving credit. We payoff our credit cards 100 percent every month. All I can figure the 10.74 percent came from was when we purchased this home 11 months ago, Wife purchased all new furniture, new washer/ dryer, new refrigerator, new outdoor furniture, window coverings, etc-- all in one month. USAA must have the ability to see this one-month, 11 months ago revolving credit line usage, and exploit it....... Geeze 800+ credit score and USAA still finds a justification to ding.



YOUR PREMIUM HAS BEEN REDUCED BY THE FOLLOWING CREDITS AND DISCOUNTS:

AUTO AND HOME COMBINATION DISCOUNT $122.39CR
LOYALTY DISCOUNT $33.62CR
CLAIMS FREE DISCOUNT $112.70CR
INSURANCE-TO-VALUE DISCOUNT $33.62CR
HOME AGE DISCOUNT $469.94CR
ROOF AGE DISCOUNT $194.61CR

A few other comments from USAA:

USAA considers many factors when determining your premium. Maintaining your property to reduce the probability of loss is one of the most important steps you can take toward reducing premium increases. A history of claim activity will affect your policy premium (key words is claim activity, not payment of claims- never call to inquire if one has a claimable loss- just the call is captured as claim activity).

You may be eligible for a premium discount if you have wrought iron bars over the windows and doors of your home or rental property. Please call USAA at 800-531-8722 if you would like more information on adding the discount

I used USAA for banking, CCs, home and auto for 20 years but eventually left. My wife is even best friends from college with one of General McD's granddaughters, I've stayed at his son's house before, and my in-laws met General McD and his wife Alice at a professional function years before my wife went to college. We were big believers in USAA up until about 5 years ago, then rates started to go up, and customer service went down. I have much less faith in current management than I did in the General McD days.

 

[opus1]

... A history of claim activity will affect your policy premium (key words is claim activity, not payment of claims- never call to inquire if one has a claimable loss- just the call is captured as claim activity)...

I found this out the hard way many years ago. Not long after I moved into my newly-constructed house, I had some shingles blow off. Called my agent to inquire and he said that based on the description, it's not worth filing a claim since the deductible I'd pay would be more than the cost of hiring someone to patch it. Years later I was in the office and the agent had my info pulled up - my *inquiry* was still listed on the file.

And as it turned out, the roofer did something wrong when they shingled that part of the roof and they came out and corrected it, no charge.

 

[RDY4WAR]

I've never understood the allure of USAA. I think servicemembers just get baited by them, assuming they must be good since they're for the military. NFCU has better rates and terms than USAA in terms of banking, with less minimum requirements. As far as insurance, they've always been stupid expensive. When I was comparing prices on car insurance a few months ago, most options were $1,000-$1,200 for 6 months. USAA wanted $2,300.

 

[Pablo]

Progressive for all their warts is the lowest. Period. No one can touch within $400. Apples - Apples.

Even though everyone is high, we called, not for a claim but to B&M about their rates. They sent us a $183 check........overcharge or something on the house rate.

 

[Astro14]

I've never understood the allure of USAA. I think servicemembers just get baited by them, assuming they must be good since they're for the military. NFCU has better rates and terms than USAA in terms of banking, with less minimum requirements. As far as insurance, they've always been stupid expensive. When I was comparing prices on car insurance a few months ago, most options were $1,000-$1,200 for 6 months. USAA wanted $2,300.

It used to be significantly cheaper.

Like I said, my membership with them goes back to 1982, so I do have a few data points.

I hadn’t realized that the shift to include all members of the military was that long ago, but I will tell you that experience from the early 2000s through now, have shown that USAA is no longer advantageous in terms of cost.

I switched to GEICO about five years ago. My insurance costs were cut in half. Then GEICO proceeded increase insurance rates by 30 to 50% each year, and within three years, GEICO was on a par with USAA.

I’ve shopped around, and the general trend, in my area, because we have both poor drivers, and potential hurricanes, is the rates have doubled across the board in the last couple years.

So, it no longer matters what company I go with, they all cost about the same.

 

[Freischneider]

I've been a member of USAA for 30 years. I dropped them 2 years ago because they kept raising my rates for homeowners and vehicle insurance. I switched to Allstate and I saved about $1,200 every 6 months.

 

[RDY4WAR]

It used to be significantly cheaper.

Like I said, my membership with them goes back to 1982, so I do have a few data points.

I hadn’t realized that the shift to include all members of the military was that long ago, but I will tell you that experience from the early 2000s through now, have shown that USAA is no longer advantageous in terms of cost.

I switched to GEICO about five years ago. My insurance costs were cut in half. Then GEICO proceeded increase insurance rates by 30 to 50% each year, and within three years, GEICO was on a par with USAA.

I’ve shopped around, and the general trend, in my area, because we have both poor drivers, and potential hurricanes, is the rates have doubled across the board in the last couple years.

So, it no longer matters what company I go with, they all cost about the same.

I first looked at USAA in 2006, after arriving at my first duty station. I remember them being 1.5-2x higher than everyone else back then as well.

I've been with Liberty Mutual for 4 years. Over the past year, they increased my premium by ~40%. (still cheaper than USAA) I got quotes from other companies that were significantly cheaper. I reached out to LM and let them know that I was canceling my insurance in 30 days when that term expired and going with another insurance provider at so and so rate. They promptly offered me a "discount" that matched the lowest quote from the other companies. So, I stayed with LM. If they start creeping it up again, I'll repeat the process.

 

[TiGeo]

I've been with USAA for coming up on 30 years. It's not cheap anymore for sure but the service on the few claims we've had (a few auto and a homeowners) was always excellent. I went through a bout of wanting to switch to save significant cost but in the end, those other companies will offer a teaser rate to get you to switch and then just jack it up the next renewal...not worth the hassle/headache to me to keep jumping around but you can certainly do it and save a lot in the short term.

 

[rijndael]

It's not cheap anymore for sure but the service on the few claims we've had (a few auto and a homeowners) was always excellent. I went through a bout of wanting to switch to save significant cost but in the end, those other companies will offer a teaser rate to get you to switch and then just jack it up the next renewal..

Yep, the ease of their claims process is why I stick around.

 

[edyvw]

USAA hit an inflection point a decade or so ago, when they decided to expand their membership from officers to all military. They were founded by Army Officers, and the expansion of membership completely changed the the demographics*, and risks, and therefor claims experience, causing USAA to dramatically raise their rates.

They are not the company they once were.

*19 year old soldiers, sailors, airman and marines make very different choices than middle age officers. USAA will loan them the money for a car like new Hellcat, a nd I see cars like that on base, often. Underage drinking, high performance car - what could go wrong?

Those who don't know should visit South Colorado Springs, close to Ft. Carson.

 

[mrsilv04]

Pay off your home mortgage early, and watch your credit score drop by 40 points.

Don't ask me how I know...