USAA

[Coasta]

Whisper the words "diminuation of value" into USAA's ears. You'll be amazed how quickly they respond to your request to total the car.

Not a lawyer nor did I stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night, but I learned this trick some years ago. Essentially, they HAVE to pay you the difference of what your repaired but heavily devalued car is now worth vs. what the Blue or whatever book they use to determine market value of an undamaged car. State insurance laws differ so that's could be an out for them, but probably not.

They hate this and might decide to drop you afterwards, but it worked for me to get them to respond to a similiar accident. And they did not drop me.

Brabus and Brick are aboslutely correct. I had a near identical situation to yours in 1998 just before I was moved from P-Cola to Vance. My car was a 98 model year and there was about $6K worth of damage after some dickhead drunk smashed itno it while it was parked. I was initially seeking an overseas assignment and knew that I would be selling the car in less than one year. It was a lot of ass pain dealing with the agents, but USAA eventually made they other guy's company (Geico) shell out a check for over $5K for "diminuation of value" when I actually sold the car.

If there is any sort of frame damage, your car should be totaled. In essence, get a name and an number and pester the hell of of the agent working your case. Remember it is USAA's interest to go with the least costly option (usually repair), but USAA is a good company and I haven't seen them pull too many screw jobs on folks either. They'll listen.

Coasta

Edited December 19, 2007 by Coasta

[POKESC17]

I ran into a situation where a tractor trailer through a tire and it crushed the front of my truck. Trucking company got out of the deal because I could not get a truck or trailer number. Long story short, USAA wanted me to use aftermarket parts and their repair shop. I went and got three estimates (all using OEM parts), made sure the repair shop I wanted was the middle quote and sent them a fax of the quotes. I told them I was using one of these three shops and OEM parts. I got a check two days later. The only problems I had was having the custom paint job fixed.

[Guest Kris]

Hey everyone. I was just wondering when I get back from FT this summer if I can join USAA and get their car insurance? I know you can get a bank account but not sure on the other stuff. Thanks

-Nolimitkw7

[jjfly]

you can... i've been with USAA for 2 years as a cadet...

you can take advantage of all their services.

[Guest Kris]

you can... i've been with USAA for 2 years as a cadet...

you can take advantage of all their services.

Did you use them when you were a GMC?

[Odium]

Did you use them when you were a GMC?

As long as you're contracted GMC you shouldn't have any trouble opening an account.

[Guest Fogo]

If the Good Lord himself was here on Earth; he'd sign up for USAA.

I have never had an ounce of trouble with them, and if I ever did, I am very confident they would act quickly to fix it. Amazing customer service and easy to use.

If you can think up something involving money that you need to do (legal of course) they can offer you a great deal on it.

I would however; suggest a higher interest savings account somewhere else in addition to the great banking and investment products at USAA.

[pawnman]

I love USAA.

I had Progressive in Ohio prior to OTS. When we PCSd to PCola, Progressive was basically going to double the amount of our car insurance. USAA gave me insurance with a LOWER deductible, for less than I had been paying IN OHIO.

I love the personal service, the fact that they are always willing to take the time to talk to you and you never, ever feel like they have anything better to do than help you. Perhaps I'm strange, but I really appreciate that they don't do like many banks and just direct you to call this other number for such-and-such department, they CONNECT you and make sure that's the right department before cutting you loose.

Snake, do you work for a competing insurance firm or what?

Oh, for savings, we use INGDirect. 4.25%, no fees. I understand HSBC has a similar deal.

[ol-IEWO]

I've never had a problem with USAA. When my daughter was a teenage, she totaled a 3 year old car - no problem with USAA. My wife was hit by an uninsured drunk driver, hired a lawyer to sue USAA for pain and suffering - no problem with USAA. My wife totaled her pickup, no problem with USAA. They never threatened to drop me and never raised my premiums as a result of any of this. Bought a new truck for her through USAA from a local dealer, best deal I ever got.

[Guest gtyj98]

I would however; suggest a higher interest savings account somewhere else in addition to the great banking and investment products at USAA.

Try the USAA money market account. It's almost like the savings account, but with a much higher yield.

[zrooster99]

If this has already been mentioned, I'm a 'tard, but you get some pretty good discounts/perks too. For example, I just rented a car this weekend. Paid for a compact and besides a USAA discount I also got a free upgrade to a full-sized (Budget didn't have any midsized to upgrade me to) because of USAA.

[skibum]

For homeowners insurance you cant beat USAA...

[ 03. May 2006, 16:20: Message edited by: PaveSooner ]

I completely disagree with this from first hand experience. My house was smashed by a hurricane. USAA couldn't get anyone out there for SEVEN WEEKS! The other insurance companies were setting up emergency claims tents in the neighborhood before we could even return from the evac. I had to quit work & fix the house myself with the help of lots of friends and neighbors. When they finally showed up, they tried to say all they owed was the cost of the materials.

I've had USAA for over 20 years. They have gone way down hill. I dumped them and couldn't be happier.

[Guest momann]

Whisper the words "diminuation of value" into USAA's ears. You'll be amazed how quickly they respond to your request to total the car.

Not a lawyer nor did I stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night, but I learned this trick some years ago. Essentially, they HAVE to pay you the difference of what your repaired but heavily devalued car is now worth vs. what the Blue or whatever book they use to determine market value of an undamaged car. State insurance laws differ so that's could be an out for them, but probably not.

They hate this and might decide to drop you afterwards, but it worked for me to get them to respond to a similiar accident. And they did not drop me.

Brick, in terms of "diminuation of value" and USAA allowing their authorize repair center to use "after market" parts where possible to fix damaged automobile, can I get the difference from USAA if they allowed the repair center to use after market parts and now I can'y get a fair market value (FMV) (I've even gone 3.5K below FMV to sell it) for my truck. Or are they going to claim that customers are reluctant to pay fair market value for trucks nowadays and that's why customers are offering less.

By the way I own a 2003 2500 HD (6.0 L, V8 engine)Chevy Silverado Crew cab with regular bed. Fair market value is about 21K and buyers are willing to pay about 13K. Any help will greatly be appreciated.

[HoHum]

I just got my house insured by a company that specializes in rural property. It's half what I was paying with USAA. Same exact coverages. Sounds like they're trying to recoup at my expense after losing their asses twice in five years to Florida hurricanes. They should know better than to have a large portion of their insured homes within reach of one natural disaster.

Edited March 27, 2008 by The_Ginger

[Guest J.R. ANG]

<--Checking Account

<--Savings Account(s)

<--Car Insurance

<--Renter's Insurance

<--LT Loan

<--Oh yea you can finance your bar tabs too!!!

Do they still offer this loan at the crazy low rate? I looked on the website and I could not find information about it. I am waiting on AMS dates and just want to make sure that i take advantage of nearly free money if I have the opportunity. Thanks.

[brickhistory]

momann, sorry for the delay, didn't see your question.

But, I don't know the answer to your question, sorry.

Re USAA and rural rates and Katrina - '2'

My in-laws live in bumf*ck Southwest Louisiania, retired USAF, been with USAA since forever. USAA paid off, finally, but won't insure them again. Not raise their rates, etc; just not issue insurance. Period dot.

It's not just them, but the entire area.

Guess their business model never forecasted (pun intended) for a major storm to strike.

[ClearedHot]

I just dumped USAA, I've been a loyal customer for 20 years, but they drove me to it.

I own two houses in Florida, one I live in, the other I rent out, they cancelled the policy on the one I rent out.

The truly maddening part is the house they cancelled is one that the USAA financial advisers advised me to buy (saying I could rent it out someday), I used the USAA buyers advantage program to purchase it, and I used USAA to finance the mortgage. BL- They told me to buy, they helped me buy it, they own the mortgage, but they won’t insure it? YBFSM!!!

I sent them a note and taking the following actions;

1. Cancelled insurance on three cars.

2. Moved my wife’s Roth to another company.

3. Moved my Roth to another company.

4. Moved a conventional IRA to another company.

5. Moved my son’s 529 to another company.

6. Moved my checking account to another bank, closed account.

7. Moved my savings account to another company, closed account.

8. Moved my money market account to another company, closed account.

9. Cancelled Homeowners on another property in SC.

10. Cancelled Homeowners on primary residence.

11. Cancelled my USAA Visa.

12. Cancelled my Wife’s USAA Visa.

In the letter I attached about 8 pamphlets USAA sent me promising to be there for the military family...whatever.

F@ck USAA

[M2]

And I wouldn't attribute it all to the weather claims, USAA made a bad move by trying to expand their market in opening up their services to the enlisted force. Now, before anyone tries to hand me my ass, I was prior enlisted and know firsthand the differences between the commissioned and non-commissioned ranks. Hell, I even had USAA when I was enlisted thanks to my father having been a member. Anyhow, there was a unexpected increase in claims after the customer requirements opened up and USAA wasn't about to absorb the costs themselves; so they did what every other insurance company does and passed it on to its customers. Then, of course, the hurricanes hit and they took an even bigger beating; but I live in San Antonio and USAA's headquarters here are proof that the company is still racking in the bucks. The company does have its benefits, but it is far from flawless...

Cheers! M2

[brickhistory]

The company does have its benefits, but it is far from flawless...

'2'

I use 'em for some stuff - car insurance, checking (the refunded ATM service is nice). Not for other stuff - investments, homeowner's, etc.

It's a mixed bag, like so much in life....................................(there is my old fart pronouncement for today........)

[Buddy Spike]

My house was burglarized on 5 May. I had just taken out the renter's policy a week prior when I called to get insurance for my bike. The policy paperwork hadn't even arrived in the mail when it happened(for me to see I didn't have the additional firearms coverage even though they didn't mention it over the phone).

My roommate also had a claim (with USAA) and his adjuster has already paid his claim. Instead of using a bit of deductive reasoning and seeing that if it's a legit claim for him, it's also for me, they've sent it to investigation. The customer service is atrocious. My adjuster is completely out to lunch, and this "investigator" is dragging her feet and completely treating me like a criminal.

I've been a USAA member since 01, but when this is all said and done, I intend to cancel my membership as well. Their adjusters are below average, and their customer service is horrible. I had a similar experience with my homeowner's insurance with them post-Hurricane Katrina. Slow response times, an unreachable adjuster, and poor service.

[Finance_Guy]

USAA sounds like a FANTASTIC company!

I have them for my auto insurance and can't help feeling like I'm paying too much.

I just got my new Homeowners Insurance policy and it increased 33%--what the Heck. They must be soaking all of us for the Marine settlement. They do have strict rules on flooding insurance---I'm no where near a flood zone.

I've had nothing but good things to say about USAA up until now. I sent them off a message asking them to explain exactly what has changed so much since last year. I'm interested to see their response. I've had one small claim with them about a year ago, but to increase that much in one year...damn.

Keep an eye out on your Homeowner policy if its coming up for renewal.

[StoleIt]

For those of you who use USAA and are computer inclined...I have busting my head against a wall here. Every time I try to use the Deposit@Home feature now it will scan the check in gray scale. USAA wont accept it that way. I don't know what has changed, about 3 months ago everything worked fine. Same computer, same scanner/printer, same everything. I moved and reset up my computer and now it's jacked up. I reset my scanner profiles and made sure that are all on color. But still scans as gray scale.

Printer is a HP PSC 2210.

Anyone had this problem? Or a cure?

I got the envelops to snail mail USAA checks, but it still want to see if I can fix this.

Thanks!

[scawtiedog]

Where did you hear USAA won't accept gray scale? I have been scanning checks since they began the program and mine are always gray scale, never had a problem. If their website's not letting you, I'd give them a call and find out if there's some settings messed up in your account.

[nsplayr]

"In order for us to accept a check image, please ensure that it is:

A grayscale image with resolution of 200 dots per inch (DPI), and that it is saved as jpg or jpeg. Learn more about changing scanner settings."

Quoted from the screen I get when I do deposit@home. Seems like grayscale is what they specifically want and I've always done it that way. I'd say give them a call & they can probably help b/c their customer service rocks.

[AEWingsMN]

have you tried various checks?

I've only had issues when the check has been oddball (things are in different locations, which I guess they do on some mail-in-rebate checks) or when my crappy handwriting screws up the endorsement on back.

I also use an HP 2000 series all-in-one printer/scanner/faxer, and it's always in grey scale for USAA. I just figured thats how USAA wanted it, and they wrote the Java program to do it that way.

The other thing I've seen issues with is that some checks have a "void" in the background that comes up when you scan it. This is to prevent people from copying it, but it also screws up the deposit@home.

Other than that, talk to USAA. They did the best to help me with my scanning issues.