I am closing on a house in the next month and beginning to shop for HII. I am a USAA member so, naturally, they are at the top of the list. I have heard things from many people that they are largely overpriced and service isn't what it should be (which sounds the exact opposite of USAA to me). Does anyone have any opinions on this or experience with USAA HII? Would I be better off shopping around?

I had USAA for 6 years on my first house. Had only one claim with them, but it was very well handled and money was direct deposited in my checking in like a day after the claim was settled.

I thought they were cheap, it was like $1700, but with $800 in 'discounts' leaving my premium at $900 a year for a new 3/2 in Tomball, ~$130K house, $180K in coverage, 1% deductible.

I have been a USAA member continuously since 1968. I have had one bad claim experience with them and it was an auto claim. Have had roof replaced twice (never spend extra for a 30-yr roof in Texas). I have received unsolicited quotes in the mail for cheaper rates for same coverage, without USAA discounts or Christmas bucks (the capital checks each year, or whatever they call them), but I am willing to pay a little more for guaranteed service.

The claims for the hail damage was prompt, professional and generous. Paid for old siding, paint, facia, gutters, windows and screens. Admittedly, I have no experience with others, except horror stories I hear when doing housing inspections for FEMA, but my experience with USAA was stress free.

I use them for a good number of my properties and have never had a complaint.

PetrolAg -

First of all, congratulations on your new house. My name is Bryan Massey '02 with Liere Insurance. We are an independent insurance agent that specializes in home and auto insurance across the state of Texas. We are a sponsor here on TexAgs and a three time recipient of the prestigious Aggie 100 award.

Getting a quote from more than one company would greatly benefit you. We represent over 100 carriers that we are able to shop your policy among finding you great coverage at a great price. We have saved a many TexAgs users thousands of dollars on their insurance.

I would love to run some quotes for you. Please give me a call at 855-776-2300 or send me an email to bmassey@myliere.com with your contact information and we can get the necessary information to provide you a quote. I'll look forward to hearing from you.



Sponsor Message: Get in touch today for a free quote at 888-98-LIERE | bmassey@myliere.com | http://myliere.com/ We'll do the shopping. You'll do the saving.

I like usaa. Within 6 months I had a house burn(65%). And a 100% loss to a flood. They paid with out any questions. My home owner insurance is not with now due to cost

I have been with USAA since 1977 when I graduated from A&M. They insure my 4 autos and my 5 properties. Best Insurance Company out there bar none IMHO.

Scrap u were an A-10 guy right?

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Getting a quote from more than one company would greatly benefit you.

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I read this as: Get multiple quotes, then go to USAA and they will match lowest one.

That's what I did when my friend tried to get me to switch to farmers.. his quote was lower than what I was paying, so I took it to USAA, they asked for the signed detailed quote, and they happily matched it, and I happily stayed with USAA

FWIW it was about $150 cheaper a year.. not a huge difference.

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I read this as: Get multiple quotes, then go to USAA and they will match lowest one.

That's what I did when my friend tried to get me to switch to farmers.. his quote was lower than what I was paying, so I took it to USAA, they asked for the signed detailed quote, and they happily matched it, and I happily stayed with USAA

FWIW it was about $150 cheaper a year.. not a huge difference.

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A company in Texas cannot arbitrarily change rates for an individual.

What they likely did was find a discount (that you were already eligible for) and add that, or reduce coverage or remove an endorsement, or they re-wrote your policy within a different company in the group. And then the question is; Why didn't they do that without you having to ask?

No, no additional discount. I compared the existing and the new policies side by side, the premium was lower.

It's not like I have a premium attached to my name and they can't change it.. They can charge what they want to charge.

There is no way USAA lowered your rates because you got a cheaper rate- why have a Department of Insurance that heavily regulates the industry if every company is going to do that. I have seen people take quotes to USAA and get them "matched" but they also ended up with a higher deductible.

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It's not like I have a premium attached to my name and they can't change it.. They can charge what they want to charge.

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As has been said, this simply is not possible. Insurance rates can not be arbitrarily changed. Anyone who is 45 years old with the exact same home construction, value, coverage, on the same street, the same credit factors and claims history will have the exact same premium in the end with that company. There may be other factors as well but you get the idea.

The difference you likely saw was the addition of a discount that was not previously listed, a change in deductible or change in policy form. They simply just cannot change the rate structure / premium just for you.

so you're telling me once you get in a wreck, they raise it (you do hopefully know they can do that). and then you are stuck at that rate forever??

come on, I know there's more to it that this.

They've lowered my rate before, why could they not do it again?

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so you're telling me once you get in a wreck, they raise it (you do hopefully know they can do that). and then you are stuck at that rate forever??

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Not at all. Claims history plays a part in the total premium you pay but they certainly roll off after time. Take a snap shot of today, everyone with the same car, claims history, credit, location, coverage...etc all pay the same premium with that company. Every insurance company may set different rate factor for each criteria they use to derive the premium. For example some my charge a higher rate for multiple claims while others may charge a higher rate for youthful drivers. Regardless, the rates are fixed for each criteria within each company. They are not changing the premium just for one person. They simply are not able to per TDI.

As said, if USAA is lowering the premium, they are either adding a discount, changing coverages or rewriting the policy through another policy form.


Same with a home as mentioned above.

[This message has been edited by Reloadags1998 (edited 2/26/2013 8:26p).]

USAA raised my homeowners rate and therefore my house payment. The mortgage was sold form USAA to GMAC, and now to some other company handling the GMAC bankruptcy. I called and got some answers, but am thinking of refinancing and insurance with other than USAA now. They have gotten too big, and for some reason I do not trust them, even though I have been with them since signing a contract my Jr. year in '74.

Owlagdad -

My name is Bryan Massey '02 with Liere Insurance and you may have seen some of my other posts above. Anyway, just to summarize I work for Liere Insurance an Aggie owned, independent insurance agency that is a sponsor here on TexAgs. We represent over 100 insurance companies that we are able to shop your policy among and place you with the company that gives you the best combination of price and coverage.

As many TexAgs users can attest, we are often able to save people hundreds, in some cases thousands of dollars a year on their insurance while providing the same or better coverage as what they had. I would love the opportunity to earn your business.

Please give me a call at 855-776-2300 or email me a number where you can be reached and I will be more than happy to call you. My email is bmassey@myliere.com. I will look forward to speaking with you.



Sponsor Message: Get in touch today for a free quote at 888-98-LIERE | bmassey@myliere.com | http://myliere.com/ We'll do the shopping. You'll do the saving.

harleyds2

Thats right flew A-10s in the USAF. How did you know?

We were at pit and Reese together. Both gators

Scrap shoot me an email sometime
harleyds2@yahoo.com

I have been a USAA customer for 20 plus years. I love their customer service, and have all of my insurance with them, with the exception of homeowner's. They are way overpriced now.

I just purchased a property in Denton County and USAA's quote was twice that of many other major providers. I had to make the switch.

USAA

I have USAA in Nw Houston. We have had one claim and service was great. But our policy is very expensive.

I have Safeco. The policy is cheap relative to others, and they handled my one claim like a champ.