What are your thoughts about the companies? I am currently with USAA and I am about to start shopping around for home/car insurance.

I'll vouch for USAA for house and car. Easy claims and no issues. Only issue I can think of is that USAA auto rates were very competitive UNTIL I had a teenager in the house.

I have no experience with or knowledge about USAA.

We had Ag Workers on our autos while we lived in TX and were very pleased with the rates and 2 claims we had to file. I wish they offered coverage in Louisiana.

USAA sucks, coworker of mine was with them for over 15 years without a single claim. He wrecks his truck on rare ice day in Dallas and they dropped him.

Same thing happened to a few others on the automotive board.

[This message has been edited by big ben (edited 2/6/2013 10:09p).]

Have had USAA for home, personal property, auto and banking since 1986. A few clams here and there...
Rates are competitive, policy service, claims service is great. They've even sent an unlock service out to a cut road halfway back on my 300 acre ranch and 15 miles from the nearest town of import (Devine, Hondo, Pearsall.)

USAA has got to be the most over-rated insurance company there is.

They've become no different than any other major carrier out there in terms of pricing and customer service and they're been coasting on reputation for some time.

Don't be afraid to shop around.

Call the Liere insurance guys that advertise on the business board. I just switched over to them in January due to the fact that they almost cut my premiums in half. Brian was easy to work with and got it done quickly.

Seem like good folks.

There's a reason they have an NPS score 35 points higher than the average... Based on a survey that asks one central question:

"How likely are you to recommend xxx Company to your friends, family, or colleagues."

2012 Top 10

1.USAA = 83%
2.Amazon = 76%
3.Trader Joe’s = 73%
4.Wegmans = 73%
5.Apple = 71%
6.Costco = 71%
7.Virgin America = 66%
8.Nordstrom = 66%
9.Belk = 66%

cite: http://www.satmetrix.com/company/press-and-news/pr-archive/pr20120314/

"Today, we showed the resolve of the United States. Today we made a statement to the world... That you can hit us, you can knock us down, but we're gonna get up. And when we do, we will find you and kick your ass!"
- Robert E Clark II, Cpt USN, Commandant of Midshipmen May 1, 2011

USAA used to kick butt on rates because they only served officers: educated, professional, good health. Extended to enlisted, it was still darn good, still drawing from a risk pool that was smarter, healthier and in many other ways, better than the average population.

Now that they are extending coverage to children and grandchildren of USAA members, the risk pool is getting, well, riskier. Rates will continue to rise because the folks covered are not as good a risk as they used to be.

I fully expect the entry requirements for USAA to be loosened to include "once played with a GI Joe Doll".

We've had Ag Workers for many years with an Auto policy. We haven't ever had an issue with claims (2 accidents, but both were 10+ years ago) or significant rate increases.
No experience with USAA other than it seems people really like them or have really horrible experiences with them...as it seems to be above.
I would recommend Ag Workers.

Are you a good driver with a clean record? If so, go Ag workers. If not, go anything else.

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Now that they are extending coverage to children and grandchildren of USAA members, the risk pool is getting, well, riskier.

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AFAIK, children have always been allowed as long as their parents were on active duty when the parents enrolled in USAA and the parents were current members of USAA when the kids became old enough to get an account.

Things started going downhill when USAA opened up to enlisted, and it became even worse when they opened it up to any prior service no matter what.

I've been a member 20 years, and my dad has been a member over 40 years. We've both seen lots of changes in that time which haven't been better for the current members.

1. I'm a usaa employee.
2. Shop around.
3. Believe the hype.

You should always shop around. Just be sure to make good comparisons (apples to apples).

I hear bad comments about usaa and laugh. We take millions of calls per year. Of course in some of those instances, some really tough conversations are going to be had and you'll have some reps that aren't on their game. But when you add it all up, usaa customer service is superior and we take a lot of pride in that.

And of course we hear the stories of "one accident and they dropped me" or other things like that. I have first hand knowledge of some Ag that had a difficult time with a refi. However, they made it difficult by not following the instructions. If they had, they wouldn't have had an issue (although they still would have been declined). 99% of the time, when you hear something like that, you're only hearing one side and people have a tendency to leave out the embarrassing details of missed payments or other failures on their part. Just remember this, it costs any insurance company money to drop you. Why would you turn down a premium unless you had a damn good reason?

I've got Homeowners, Car Insurance, Personal Property Insurance, Checking, Savings, 529, and Credit Cards with USAA. I have been extremely pleased with their service.

I've been on there for ~8 years, here have been my claims:

1 - Hurricane Ike: No House damage, but the power outage lasted a while and I had to replace all the food in my fridge. USAA paid me for the food in my fridge.

2 - Wife drives car onto flooded street, kills the engine: Paid the $500 deductible, they covered the rest for a new engine. No change in premiums. I believe they filed it under a flood policy for the car, even though my wife was the one that drove it into the dang half-pond street to begin with.

3 - Wife rear-ends someone on freeway: Car is not totaled, but is going to cost more than it's worth to fix. USAA gives me all the money it would cost to fix, and we sell the car for scrap. Use the money for down payment on a new car. No change in premiums.

4 - I rear-end someone (minor). Pay my normal deductible to fix my car, they handled all the other guys stuff. Slight bump in premiums (maybe $20 per month).

5 - Check stolen and someone created a new checkbook with it and began writing checks all over town. They closed the account, opened a new account, put all my money back within 24 hours.

So that's 5 incidents where I have had to file claim or deal with USAA in the past 8 years. They have not dropped me or jacked my rates sky high, even though 3 of those were at-fault incidents.

USAA is WORLDS better than Wells Fargo (my previous bank), and until they do something different, I will continue to use them for all of my stuff.

I've had USAA for some banking services and auto insurance for the last ten years. Their insurance rates have become less competitive over the years it seems. Agreed their customer service is stellar.

American National for a farm and home policy. We have a unique policy since we run a small business on the property and USAA could not accommodate our needs.

We have USAA for just about everything. Have had their policies for over 10 years and have made several claims on both home and auto. Never had any problems worth complaining about and they beat every rate we've ever found.

I'd recommend them to anyone.

Had USAA for years - my dad was a founding member. An Ag Workers rep once told me that USAA was one of the few they couldn't touch for rates.

I've had Ag Workers, State Farm, USAA and now Farm Bureau. SHOP AROUND.

When we got our Farm Bureau rate (auto and home), we sent it to USAA and asked if they could match it and they didn't even try...the rep said he couldn't even come close to matching it. I had Ag Workers before I was married...had a one car accident due to a faulty tire and they weren't the friendliest to work with. Tried to blame me for the accident and then they dropped me when I moved to Oklahoma for grad school. My parents still use them...used them for well over 20 years. State Farm was fine, just pricy.

We've been thrilled with Farm Bureau now...rates are low and our agent is a friend of ours too. We still use USAA for banking and investments, but not insurance anymore.

[This message has been edited by Twix (edited 2/7/2013 9:34a).]

Take whichever offers the best rates. On Ag Workers remember they are going to give you about 20% back at the end of the year.

I have had Ag Workers since I started driving, 20 yrs, and won't leave them for a lower rate, and I am an insurance agent.

As for the comment about can't touch USAA's rates that is BS. I have beaten their rates, there are so many factors you just can't say one company is always the cheapest.

He (USAA rep) couldn't match our Farm Bureau rate...it was about $400 less. I'm sure Ag Workers would have been close, but Ag Workers and I have a love/hate relationship.

I was told Ag workers is a coop, you get dividends annually. We are currently with Farm Bureau, but my agent left, and I never got so much as a phone call. We may be shopping around in the future. On a side note my old Agent was pretty awesome, and he's the reason I went there. The new agent has yet to call to even introduce himself or tell me. I found out because they sent me new cards with a different name on them. I have no qualms with Farm Bureau on their price or coverage, just the new agent, and a perceived apathy on my end.

USAA is the stuff. I've had them for 15 years.. never a problem, above excellent customer service. Rates have always been better or equal at the least.

When we got married, my wife had State Farm for her auto coverage. USAA's rate for both of our vehicles was $200 lower than State Farm's rate for just her.

Top notch IMHO.

We have Ag Workers. When my wife got a new vehicle on 2011, I asked my mom to see what she could find for us, since she works for an insurance company. She told me there was nothing she could find that would be cheaper than we were paying and that we needed to keep Ag Workers.

Beware of those "we beat USAA" rates. Allstate did this for my brother several years back, then bent him double a year or two later.

I've been with USAA my entire adult life so I cant compare it to other companies, but I have absolutely zero intention of switching.

if you are a safe driver that has never had an accident please sign up for Ag Workers. Otherwise, go elsewhere.

I've had agworkers for years and have been happy.

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I was told Ag workers is a coop, you get dividends annually.

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USAA is also member owned and provides yearly dividends to full members and "subscriber benefit" payments to "partial" members.

USAA is good but no where near what they used to be.

20 years ago, if someone called trying to sell you insurance, all you had to say was "I am with USAA" and the agent would simply say "Thank you and I hope you have a great day"

They knew there was no way they could compete but like posters above have said, they lost focus of why they were founded and the prices and service is starting to slip.

The guys at the top seem to mistakenly think they are running a corporation. They aren't.

Just remember, the membership chooses the "guys at the top."

The shift you see at Usaa is really a return to the original intent of the company: serving the membership.

People equate value with rock bottom rates, but that's not fair assessment of value.

1. Other companies will always be lower. Companies that care always lose a rate war. Somebody else will always be cheaper.

2. Usaa is focusing on the overall value of membership. So you have to factor in all the benefits: super bank, multiple channels for contacting including a leader in mobile app and Financial Service Centers, free investment advice, the dividend, special member offers, etc lots more. So while the premium isn't as low as it was 20 years ago, the value is dramatically higher. And the members are the ones that have asked for that because they trust usaa. We try to be problem solvers for our members by listening and attempting to understand the entire situation.

Sometimes people get put off by that approach. They just want you to do X and that's it. And they want it Y price and they want it right now. And we can do that, but that's not the relationship we want with our members.

And when tough times do come, that's when our approach pays off. When a spouse is killed overseas, or there's been a bad car accident, or when the government is shutting down, that's when our members call us looking for help on a wide range of things. And we are here. We listen. We help in every way we can.

So shop around. Usaa encourages that. And in the end, if you compare apples to apples, we feel like our VALUE exceeds the competition. And our members tell us that's true every day.

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1. Other companies will always be lower. Companies that care always lose a rate war. Somebody else will always be cheaper.

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this is true if you are competing for the same risk pool.

but if you limit your risk pool to a very select few, you can have the lowest rates/highest returns and still have the top level of service.

I have everything I possibly can with USAA, including banking, and absolutely love it! Naturally the more you have with them the better the rates.

I shopped around and USAA often didn't have the best rates, but I've never dealt with a better customer service company. More so than anything else, that's why I like USAA. I'm willing to pay a little more to get a better service

You will never get rates lower than some of these discount insurance places (The General, etc). That's their whole business.

And times have changed. People here talk about times when, if there was a non-payment for something, you'd try to reach the member and if you couldn't, you'd call their CO.

That doesn't happen now. The military has also changed. Their risk pool is more diverse. Plus, yes, we've expanded membership. So our risk pool has expanded (and deepened). Bigger risk pools mean more protection. And we've taken that ability put it into areas our members tell us they need. We provide auto in all areas. Allstate doesn't. So of your an Allstater and you move to an area that they don't cover, guess what? You're now shopping for another company.

You can cut this thing million ways, but at the end of the day, the value is at usaa.

you need to quit being a company shill and responding to things no one has said.

no one is saying USAA isn't a good value, just that it isn't as good of a value as it used to be.

Ok thanks.