USAA Auto Insurance Review

Pros Explained

• Consistently exceptional customer service: USAA tops J.D. Power rankings for customer satisfaction and AM Best for financial strength year after year.
• Several financial products available: In addition to several types of insurance, USAA also offers banking and investment services.
• Multiple additional military resources: As a military-only provider, USAA offers exclusive resources to its members.

Cons Explained

• Military families only: USAA car insurance is only available to active-duty and retired military as well as their family members.
• Membership required: Even if you're military, you must join USAA as a member before purchasing auto insurance.
• High number of complaints: Although USAA rates high in other areas, it struggles with its NAIC rating, which reports a high number of consumer complaints.

Introduction

United States Automobile Association (USAA) is a popular name in the insurance industry, and for a good reason. For several years running, USAA has topped customer satisfaction and financial ratings for auto insurance with some of the cheapest rates available. It is also active within the military community, helping active-duty and veteran military families with their unique challenges. 

Today, it offers several types of insurance for your family in addition to auto insurance, such as homeowners insurance, renters insurance, life insurance, and health insurance. It also includes several financial products, including bank and investment options. With easy online quotes and special resources specific to military life, USAA is an ideal car insurance company for your auto insurance. 

USAA auto insurance may be underwritten by a different provider, including USAA Casualty Insurance Company, USAA General Indemnity Company, and Garrison Property and Casualty Insurance Company.

Types of Coverage

USAA offers auto insurance for a variety of vehicles beyond the traditional standard vehicle, such as insurance for motorcycles, RVs, boats, classic cars, and umbrella insurance.

Comprehensive 

Comprehensive car insurance is a major component of your auto insurance company, providing insurance coverage if you have an incident while driving. This can include different types of damage, like fire, hail, and flooding.

Collision

Also standard is collision coverage, which protects you if you are in an accident with another vehicle or stationary subjects. If you finance or lease your vehicle, you are likely required to carry this coverage.

Liability

When you are found legally responsible for an accident, liability insurance provides protection if there is injury or death to another party.

Uninsured and underinsured

Not all drivers on the road may have auto insurance. Uninsured and underinsured insurance protects you and your passengers should you sustain injuries from an accident with a driver who does not have any or enough car insurance coverage.

Optional Coverage

Roadside assistance

USAA also offers roadside assistance for troubles you encounter along your travels, such as a flat tire. 

Rental reimbursement

If your car needs repair, USAA offers rental reimbursement, which will pay for the cost of a rental car while your vehicle is in the shop. 

Rideshare insurance

In response to the rise of Uber and Lyft, USAA also offers rideshare insurance with guaranteed repairs at more than 2,900 locations nationwide. Rideshare gap coverage is also available for your existing policy.

Discounts

USAA offers 12 car insurance discounts for its members.

Driving discounts

• Safe driver: USAA rewards you when you have a good driving record for at least five years.
• Defensive driving: Additional savings are available when you pass an approved driving course.
• Driver training: You can also earn savings when you complete a basic driver's training course. (Not available in HI and NC)
• Good student: There are additional discounts for teens and young adults who maintain good grades in school. (Not available in HI and NC)

Vehicle discounts

• New vehicle: When you have a new car, you earn savings if your car is less than three years old. (Not available in Puerto Rico)
• Multi-vehicle: You can save on all of your car insurance premiums when you insure multiple vehicles from the same household.
• Annual Mileage: You can receive cheaper car insurance rates when driving fewer miles than average. (Not available in HI and NC)
• Vehicle Storage: USAA will offer up to 60% off when you keep your insured vehicle in storage. (Not available in HI, NC, and VA)

Membership discounts

• Family Discount: If your parents also have USAA auto insurance, you could receive a discount of up to 10% off on your policy.
• Length of Membership Savings: The longer you are a USAA member, the more you can save with its member loyalty discounts.
• Military Installation Discount: You can receive up to 15% off your policy when you garage your vehicle on a military base.

Bundle discount

• Bundle: When you bundle your car insurance with homeowners or renters insurance from USAA, you can receive up to 10% off your auto insurance policy.

Additionally, USAA offers accident forgiveness for extra savings. When you are accident-free for five years at USAA, the auto policy surcharge will be waived for your first at-fault accident. However, this option is not available for California, Connecticut, Delaware, New York, and North Carolina policyholders.

Payment options

Policyholders can choose from either a six-month or year-long policy with the option of upfront or monthly payment options.

Payments can be made via credit card, checking, savings, or money market account.

Loss Ratio

A company’s loss ratio can show how fairly a company prices its insurance policies. When a company has a low loss ratio, it typically means lower premiums in response. A high loss ratio is considered over 100%, but USAA falls well below that at 73.6% as of 2021.

Other Features

USAA specializes in serving the military community with several exclusive programs and savings not found with the average insurance provider. USAA member perks and shopping discounts have saved members about $370 million in areas like travel, fitness, and car care. From 25% off on Goodyear tires to 15% off a new SimpliSafe DIY security system, several excellent perks are designed to save military families money.   

Customer Service

Headquartered in San Antonio, USAA has several corporate locations across the country, including Phoenix, Tampa, and New York, plus three locations in Texas. There are also international locations available in England, Germany, and Luxembourg.

Customer Satisfaction 

USAA consistently rates at the top of customer satisfaction ratings with industry-leading customer service.

Satisfaction ratings

USAA received top rankings in J.D. Power’s 2021 U.S. Auto Insurance Study. While it is technically rank-ineligible due to its restricted availability, USAA still remains the top-rated company in every single region of the U.S. It is also top-rated among large insurers in J.D. Power’s 2021 U.S. Insurance Shopping Study.

USAA also receives an industry-leading score of A++ (Excellent) from AM Best, a rating provider that analyzes a company’s financial strength.

Complaint index

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) tracks the number of customer complaints an insurance company receives. The average industry score is 1.00, but USAA scores much higher, with a rating of 1.71 in 2022. However, it has decreased slightly from 2021’s 1.95 score and 1.86 in 2020.

Account Management

USAA policyholders can enjoy free use of the USAA mobile app available on both the App Store and Google Play. With the app, it is easy to access your insurance card, deposit checks, pay bills, and send money. You can also receive support for claims and roadside assistance. Logging in is both easy and secure via fingerprint, face, and voice recognition.

How USAA Compares to Other Auto Insurance Companies

The biggest difference when comparing USAA to other companies is its exclusivity. You must be a current or retired member of the military or a family member. If you qualify, USAA provides versatile protection with all standard coverages, plus additional extras like ridesharing and rental car insurance. 

It also excels in customer satisfaction and financial strength, rating significantly higher than its competitors in J.D. Power and AM Best scoring. However, it still has some room for improvement with lackluster NAIC ratings. Still, USAA maintains an impressive loss ratio, showing that USAA is financially secure and offers appropriate rates for its customers.

Final Verdict

You must be a member of an active-duty or veteran military household to purchase USAA auto insurance because USAA restricts its membership to just the military community. However, if you qualify, you can receive competitive car insurance rates with multi-faceted coverage that can include extras like roadside assistance and rideshare coverage.

To help you save, there are different car insurance discounts like vehicle and payment discounts, plus military-only savings when you are on deployment or store your car on-base. While its NAIC rating remains high, USAA excels in several areas, making it a fantastic choice for military drivers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is USAA Only for Military?

Yes, USAA is only available to active and retired military members and their families. This includes active-duty, former military, cadets, widows, current or un-remarried spouses, and children.

What Does USAA Insurance Cover?

USAA vehicle insurance includes comprehensive, collision, liability, and underinsured coverage for cars, motorcycles, RVs, boats, and classic cars. Depending on the coverage, you can be covered for everything from an accident to hail damage. The company also offers property, life, umbrella, and business insurance, among others.

Is USAA Car Insurance Cheaper Than Its Competitors?

Yes, USAA is cheaper than other car insurance companies. USAA was ranked among the cheapest car insurance by several companies, including U.S. News and World Report. Additionally, the company notes that members save over $700 when they switch.

Can You Get USAA Car Insurance if You Are Family of a Veteran?

Yes, USAA offers car insurance to family members of active and retired military members. You can also take advantage of USAA insurance if you are a widow, an un-remarried spouse, or a child of parents who have or had USAA insurance.

Methodology

Investopedia is committed to providing readers with unbiased, comprehensive reviews of auto insurance companies. All of our reviews are based on extensive research and analysis of each company’s coverage, customer service, pricing, years in business, accreditation, and more.

To rate providers, we developed an auto insurance review methodology that compares the auto insurance coverage types, additional features, discounts, account management, and other features.