Author Topic: Do you have questions for USAA?  (Read 14570 times)

Nords

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Do you have questions for USAA?
« on: October 24, 2014, 08:56:45 AM »
I've been invited back to USAA's fifth annual Social Exchange conference at the San Antonio HQ on 4-7 Nov.  What questions would you like me to ask them?
http://the-military-guide.com/2014/10/16/going-to-usaa-threepeat/

I went to USAA's 2nd & 3rd conferences in 2011-12, and in 2013 they invited other people.  This year I'm invited back as an "alumnus".  I've been guest posting on their Member Community for a couple of years now and I'm getting familiar with the business.  I have a good reputation with their staff, and I occasionally score an interview with their execs. 

I'll use your questions at the conference to make it better.  USAA genuinely wants to hear your feedback.  (Although they may not appear to do anything with it, someone has it on their list and is working on it.)  I want to ask thought-provoking questions or help their execs explain how they're going to improve their programs.  When someone says that they're the best in something, I want to ask how they'll help with a member problem in that area. 

For example, business checking is very important to the entrepreneurial efforts of servicemembers and spouses.  However they move frequently and they usually have to start their business checking all over again at a new location, or pay a high price with a few other military-friendly banks.  It would be convenient to consolidate all of their financial services at USAA, including business checking.  Yet USAA's banking staff has been reluctant to deal with the regulatory and compliance issues, and they're not sure that business checking would pay for itself.  They spent 2011-12 explaining why it wouldn't work, until we bloggers produced the surveys & feedback to show them that it's worth pursuing.  In 2013 their banking staff said that they were going to offer business checking "soon".  Now a lot of people want to know what's holding this up, and I'd like to show that there's still a demand for it.

I'm also getting a lot of comments that GEICO has started undercutting USAA on price.  I don't know whether USAA's customer service is worth the extra premium, or whether USAA needs to imitate one of GEICO's programs.  Maybe I need to get another quote from GEICO.

You probably have other questions or complaints or praise, and I'd like to share that with USAA.  I've been a member for 33 years, and I think I have a perspective as both a customer and a blogger.  Their communications staff appreciate that I will speak truth to power, and they're happy to connect me with the right people.  If you have a question about a policy or a program then I can probably find out.  The answers won't always make us happy, but I always learn more about the business and their member priorities.

You're already eligible to use some USAA products & services.  They'd specifically like to sign up "All who have served honorably, and their families."  That means if you served one enlistment, or are closely related to someone who did, then you might be eligible for their world-class vehicle insurance.  (Even my Dad is a USAA customer, and he was only drafted with a 1950s student deferment.  USAA let me sign him up with my conservator's signature.)  But even without a military connection then you can still use their products like their brokerage. 

Some of you have seen me post about this on other forums, and I've added your questions to my list.  But feel free to add your input to the discussion here, too.

By the way, I've successfully avoided employment for over 12 years.  But if I was looking for a job, USAA would be at the top of my list.  (If they open a financial service center on Schofield Barracks then I'd be sorely tempted to spend time there.)  I'm personally acquainted with many happy veterans (and military spouses) who have made careers at USAA, whether it's at San Antonio or at a local site or from their kitchen tables.  If you're leaving active duty, or if you're married to someone who's leaving active duty, then USAA would really like to discuss your next career with you.  They already know your potential, and they'll teach you the rest.  If you have networking questions for one of them then I'll help you make the connection. 

And, oh yeah, I'll be meeting for coffee or lunch with a few San Antonio military spouses and bloggers on 7 or 8 November.  Let me know if you'd like to join us and we'll figure out what we're doing.

shitzmagee

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Re: Do you have questions for USAA?
« Reply #1 on: October 24, 2014, 05:44:13 PM »
I love USAA for most things, but regarding homeowner's insurance I feel like they just don't care about the member. My premium has skyrocketed 30% and 40% over the last 2 years with no real explanation (they told me there have been a lot of house fires in my state). Then several neighbors have shared horrible experiences with homeowner's insurance claims over the last couple months.

I never like the idea of insurance to begin with, but based on my extremely small sampling I'm starting to get the feeling that USAA is not a good choice for homeowner's insurance. My question is what are they going to do to keep their members from feeling that way?

NovaCAT

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Re: Do you have questions for USAA?
« Reply #2 on: October 24, 2014, 06:06:37 PM »
Thanks Nords. I would love it if they had business checking; I've been asking for years when they would start it; they acknowledge a lot of interest but haven't implemented. Please pass on another person's query on this.

USAA is my go-to bank; I'm a 20+ yr member. I do everything through them except my mortgage, which for some reason was incredibly difficult to get (a refi), even with 50% home equity. My only other complaint was from when Hurricane Isabel tossed an oak tree through our garage and their assessor-for-hire was pretty tight with the insurance money (e.g., they'd only pay for new shingles on 2/3 of the garage roof, not the whole roof).

But that's my only complaint. I trust them to be the best at everything else. I have gone through others' family histories for them to see if there's a military member they'd overlooked to see if they could get membership somehow. I am fearful that their level of service will slip, but for the most part it hasn't happened yet.

KS

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Re: Do you have questions for USAA?
« Reply #3 on: October 24, 2014, 07:22:07 PM »
Posting mostly to keep track of this thread and see what comes up. Pretty satisfied USAA customer (just banking and car insurance) here. I've never had to file an insurance claim though, and don't especially like talking to people on the phone so I mostly only interact with the website for everything. But the few times I have had to call for a name change or whatever, they have been awesome. Reminds me how low our expectations have gotten when it comes to customer service from most places, it's such a pleasant surprise dealing with good service!

And I do like the updates they've made recently to the "track your spending" features of the website, it's gotten a lot more detailed and intuitive. I'm pretty lazy about tracking things but since pretty much all my money funnels through USAA at some point on the way in or out, I can get a nice snapshot of how I'm doing now with their charts. It was also great how easy it was for me to switch my credit card to a chip/pin one a couple years ago before a trip to Europe. (I almost want to say the website suggested it for me when I set up the notification I was going to be abroad, but it was too long ago now I can't be sure.)

Dee18

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Re: Do you have questions for USAA?
« Reply #4 on: October 24, 2014, 08:52:16 PM »
Although I have always used USAA for insurance, I too have been tempted by lower rates offered by Geico.  But every time I have a phone conversation with someone at USAA, whether about home or car insurance, I hang up the phone thinking what a pleasant call it was.  The customer service reps are always quick to answer any questions, patient if you want to compare options, and just plain friendly.

Suit

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Re: Do you have questions for USAA?
« Reply #5 on: October 24, 2014, 09:23:33 PM »
I have had very good experiences in general with USAA in the past in regards to renter's insurance covering stolen items from a burglary and their fraud monitoring catching someone thousands of miles away using my credit card number. One thing I wish they would do is have rewards/cash back for grocery stores on their credit cards. It's one of my main expenses every month and it seems ridiculous to get another credit card just to get rewards for it.

ender

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Re: Do you have questions for USAA?
« Reply #6 on: October 24, 2014, 09:35:17 PM »
I am literally grandfathered into USAA (both sides, actually). Like others, I always have enjoyable interactions.

One thing is it would be really nice if they indicated why insurance rates increase. My auto insurance has nearly doubled in the last few years in spite of no accidents/tickets/anything. By my estimate it should have dropped and I expect I could pretty easily save several hundred a year if I shopped elsewhere... only reason I don't is because I blindly (and naively?) assume USAA will be more pleasant to deal with than other providers.




domustachesgrowinhouston

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Re: Do you have questions for USAA?
« Reply #7 on: October 24, 2014, 09:36:13 PM »
USAA banking is outstanding. It would be nice if their insurance rates were better. And if they were, it would be nice if they offered motorcycle insurance directly. I loved the convenience of having my insurance with them, but ultimately it wasnt worth the higher premiums. Even if they were only a little higher than GEICO id switch back.

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Re: Do you have questions for USAA?
« Reply #8 on: October 24, 2014, 11:05:27 PM »
I've been a very satisfied USAA member since 1987.

I love their customer service reps, even though now their website is so good I don't really have much reason to call them any more.
I love that I can change my auto and homeowner's policies online.
I love their low prices on insurance.  I have literally stopped comparing prices because every single time I have done so over the past 10 years they've always been the lowest cost.
I love the thing where they start paying you an extra dividend after 40 years of membership (see the wikipedia entry).

Their mortgages have not been competitive whenever I've needed one in the past, so they could maybe do a little better there.

I like the idea someone else mentioned up-thread about knowing why my rates increased.  My homeowners' went up about $20 this year, and while that's not a lot for me it'd still be nice to have an explanation.

SnackDog

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Re: Do you have questions for USAA?
« Reply #9 on: October 25, 2014, 03:59:09 AM »
USAA is over-rated and excessively insular/US-centric.  Prices and service used to be pretty good but have fallen to just average the last few years. I've been a customer since 1987 with mixed results.  They have really given me a difficult time on homeowners and property insurance the last couple years.  They do not seem set up at all for international workers, which is odd since many of their members have the potential for overseas work. 

For example, I had a bit of insurance on some household belongings in storage in California while I lived in Australia.  When I moved to Brazil, they went completely berserk - lots of drama on the telephone and they cancelled the coverage.  The "stuff" never left storage in California but they were just outraged I worked in Brazil and stated they would offer no coverage whatsoever for anything I owned anywhere as long as I worked in Brazil.  This makes no sense. 

They must have flagged my account because now every time I call, I seem to get routed to the difficult agent who demands to know where I am calling from, all sorts of details, etc.  They don't seem to want my business. Haven't had a claim since 2000 when someone totaled my parked car.

Have moved some insurance to Geico now since they offer better service and price.

My question for USAA is when are they going to become a modern global company rather than a typical 20th century isolationist backwoods Texas chicken ranch?

Nords

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Re: Do you have questions for USAA?
« Reply #10 on: October 25, 2014, 09:37:24 PM »
Thanks, everyone.  I'm making a list and I'll ask the questions.

... but I'll probably leave out the phrase "typical 20th century isolationist backwoods Texas chicken ranch"...

I'm hearing from several different readers (not just on MMM) about rate increases on homes (if USAA will even insure in some areas) and vehicles (including motorcycles).  Some members (or potential members) are going with GEICO based on price. 

Kriegsspiel

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Re: Do you have questions for USAA?
« Reply #11 on: October 25, 2014, 11:01:44 PM »
I would have only asked why they can't match GEICO on price. I switched to GEICO (in less than 15 minutes) because their price was much better than USAA's for the same coverage. The USAA rep seemed confused when I explained it to him on the phone.

CommonCents

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Re: Do you have questions for USAA?
« Reply #12 on: October 30, 2014, 10:29:18 AM »
Satisfied customer since 1997 - love their customer service.

I too, am disappointed their insurance rates are no longer better than others.  I told my husband I wanted to keep USAA when we married (and get rid of his), and it took a bit to convince him it was worth it even if it was more expensive for the service and ease of claiming at an often difficult time (e.g. my parents had their sump pump hit with lightening, they sent a copy of a bill in asking how to submit for reimbursement and they received a check back instead). 

You can pass USAA "down" to a kid or grandkid.  Please ask them about passing it "up", to a parent or grandfather.  I unfortunately can't pass it to my MIL (or, I guess, my husband who got it through me can't pass it to her), nor can my SIL, her daughter (in the foreign service) pass it up.  I'm not really sure there's much of a distinction to be made in which direction the family line goes...

Nords

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Re: Do you have questions for USAA?
« Reply #13 on: October 30, 2014, 11:28:51 AM »
Please ask them about passing it "up", to a parent or grandfather.  I unfortunately can't pass it to my MIL (or, I guess, my husband who got it through me can't pass it to her), nor can my SIL, her daughter (in the foreign service) pass it up.  I'm not really sure there's much of a distinction to be made in which direction the family line goes...
Thanks, good point.  It seems like such a simple slogan, yet it's become so complicated.  I know their communications staff is heartily tired of parsing the ever-finer distinctions that we send their way, and there must be a massive rulebook for adjudicating all of the situations that have come up. 

I'll bring it up with the USAA experts and see what we can figure out.

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Re: Do you have questions for USAA?
« Reply #14 on: October 30, 2014, 11:39:07 AM »
I'd like to see them expand the services they offer to teens in their youth accounts.  My son is 17 and has a checking and savings account with USAA (my go-to bank/ insurer/ broker).   He's had these accounts for a couple of years now and is adept at managing his money, but last I checked, he is not allowed to transfer money or pay bills online.   He also isn't allowed to transfer funds directly into his Roth IRA (also with USAA).  I have to call and order the transfer.

It seems to me that a tiered system that expands the services available to teens as they get older, with parent permission, would be a great addition to their current services.

All that said, it's not like I've gotten on the phone to USAA and asked if any of these services are already possible now -- I'm going off what was available when we opened the accounts a few years ago.

Short version -- I'd like my 17 year old to have access to the full suite of banking services.

CommonCents

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Re: Do you have questions for USAA?
« Reply #15 on: October 30, 2014, 12:20:35 PM »
btw, we were told the reason insurance is a bit more expensive is that it fully covers loss, including things like demolition/haul away costs for a destroyed building, which other insurances don't necessarily do.  From a marketing perspective, it would make sense to me to create a list of those possible differences, so when we're comparing insurance rates, we compare apples and ask about those differences.

Travis

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Re: Do you have questions for USAA?
« Reply #16 on: November 13, 2014, 04:19:47 AM »
Nords, how was the conference?  Anything in particular you can share at this point?

Nords

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Re: Do you have questions for USAA?
« Reply #17 on: November 13, 2014, 09:24:07 AM »
Nords, how was the conference?  Anything in particular you can share at this point?
Best conference yet!

Your timing is impeccable-- I just put up the first post in what's going to be a two-part Q&A followed by a third post for the conference report.  We spent a couple more days in San Antonio before driving back to Houston, and we got home Sunday.  After three days of writing & editing I cut off the first part at 2400 words.

http://the-military-guide.com/2014/11/13/answers-usaa-social-exchange-2014/

No suspense, though, I'll answer next week's questions here:

I'd like to see them expand the services they offer to teens in their youth accounts.  My son is 17 and has a checking and savings account with USAA (my go-to bank/ insurer/ broker).   He's had these accounts for a couple of years now and is adept at managing his money, but last I checked, he is not allowed to transfer money or pay bills online.   He also isn't allowed to transfer funds directly into his Roth IRA (also with USAA).  I have to call and order the transfer.

Short version -- I'd like my 17 year old to have access to the full suite of banking services.
The issue here is that your son is considered a minor until his 18th birthday.  He may also be considered a minor until age 21 under some state laws. I can confirm that when my daughter bought a car in college (age 19) in Houston as a Hawaii resident, USAA was ready to upsell her every service in their membership eligibility.  She reminded me that she also could not do some actions on her own with her NFCU checking account until she turned age 18, even though they opened it for her on her ninth birthday.  Let me know if your son decides to pursue this at age 18.

You can pass USAA "down" to a kid or grandkid.  Please ask them about passing it "up", to a parent or grandfather.  I unfortunately can't pass it to my MIL (or, I guess, my husband who got it through me can't pass it to her), nor can my SIL, her daughter (in the foreign service) pass it up.  I'm not really sure there's much of a distinction to be made in which direction the family line goes...
This is the first time I've heard an "up" version of the question instead of "down", but the communications staff exec was shaking her head as soon as I said the words "passing up".

The policy may change someday, but it's unlikely.  USAA's membership is now above 10 million, and they've estimated that as many as 60 million fit the current interpretation of the "All who served honorably, and their families" criteria.  They're very interested in selling more to the existing members, and USAA is perhaps seeking younger new members.  USAA's Millennial members generally have better financial behavior than the Boomers and they tend to spend more on more products.  For example USAA is still struggling to start a small business division (especially business checking), but they know that younger members are far more likely to use the service than my generation.

Every division of USAA that presented at our conference seems to be expanding existing services via their website and their mobile app.  There's clearly a lot of value to be extracted from those systems.  (If you're a military servicemember or veteran with IT and coder experience, I suspect they really want to talk with you.)  Nobody was seeking new members, but rather ways to offer more services to current members for the entire circle of life, property, and investments. 

In addition the CEO, Joe Robles, has announced his retirement.  I suspect there'll be 6-12 months of status quo while the new guy (an internal promote) proves that he can handle the job.  USAA's board has fired at least one CEO in their past, and I'm sure that they want to see the current programs fully in place before they start pushing the member growth button again.

USAA is over-rated and excessively insular/US-centric.  Prices and service used to be pretty good but have fallen to just average the last few years. I've been a customer since 1987 with mixed results.  They have really given me a difficult time on homeowners and property insurance the last couple years.  They do not seem set up at all for international workers, which is odd since many of their members have the potential for overseas work. 

For example, I had a bit of insurance on some household belongings in storage in California while I lived in Australia.  When I moved to Brazil, they went completely berserk - lots of drama on the telephone and they cancelled the coverage.  The "stuff" never left storage in California but they were just outraged I worked in Brazil and stated they would offer no coverage whatsoever for anything I owned anywhere as long as I worked in Brazil.  This makes no sense. 

They must have flagged my account because now every time I call, I seem to get routed to the difficult agent who demands to know where I am calling from, all sorts of details, etc.  They don't seem to want my business. Haven't had a claim since 2000 when someone totaled my parked car.

Have moved some insurance to Geico now since they offer better service and price.

My question for USAA is when are they going to become a modern global company rather than a typical 20th century isolationist backwoods Texas chicken ranch?
I had an interesting talk with several USAA staff about this.  (Except for the part about the chickens.)  While there does not seem to be a rulebook about the question, the sentiment is that they have plenty of business with members who live in the U.S. (and with potential members).  USAA is owned by the members and licensed to do business in America, and there's no interest in expanding overseas.  There's not even much interest in serving expats.  The data security center and the anti-money-laundering divisions are busy enough with system attacks, and the call centers already spend a lot of time with servicemembers stationed overseas.  Expats are a whole new category of business that's perceived to cost more revenue to enter than it will generate.

I'd say that anyone who feels price is more valuable than service may find better prices at GEICO or even State Farm/Progressive.  I'm ambivalent about this myself.  We only carry liability insurance on our 10-year-old cars-- no collision or comprehensive or other riders-- so GEICO doesn't offer us much savings (but boy are they persistent at "following up" on a rate check).  On the other hand GEICO is saving hundreds of dollars over other insurers for young adult drivers, especially males under the age of 25.  I wish them luck with that demographic.

While researching this post I tried out a quote on USAA's homeowner insurance, and for the first time in over a decade they seem to be insuring Hawaii homeowners.  Hurricane insurance is not cheap (over $1000/year in USAA's quote) but the rest of the prices are within 25% of Armed Forces Insurance.  I'm going back to USAA for a line-by-line quote on a package deal of a home, a rental property, and a high hurricane deductible-- and then I'm going to compare it to AFI's latest offering.  However USAA is far ahead of the rest of the nation with their claims-adjuster tech (quadcopters, surveillance drones, pole cameras, mobile insurance centers, the mobile app, and other processing systems) so it definitely scales on cost-- and speed.  If they're within a few hundred bucks per year of AFI then I'm going to pay that extra for insurance now in order not to have to litigate over thousands of dollars of damage later.  Or even worse-- have AFI go under because they haven't charged enough for their premiums to stay solvent. 

I'm a bit surprised in my change of attitude, but maybe when you're financially independent then the quality of sleep becomes at least as important as optimizing your finances.

We also had a San Antonio blogger meetup, and I had a long in-person chat over lunch with the guy who bought The-Military-Guide.com.  If you're a servicemember or a veteran with a military personal-finance blog, then you should sign up for USAA's affiliate program (through Commission Junction).  You should also sell Amazon Associate affiliate products through your site, as he does through the "Recommended reading" aStore that I built a couple years ago:
http://the-military-guide.com/recommended-reading-books-research-papers-and-articles/
The marketing money is raining down from online advertisers like a monsoon, and you need to direct it to your website.  I'll won't discuss his income from the blog until he's ready to post about it, but I'll say this again:  if you've even been mildly interested in starting a blog in this niche then you should get started now.  Let me know if you need me to say that again in a louder voice.

Please feel free to ask me more questions about USAA.  I can answer them all year-round (not just in the next post) and I have a very good contact list there.  I also met a lot of other military bloggers and entrepreneurs who I'll mention in a separate post.

I'm going to spend the next couple weeks getting caught up on writing, but I'm subscribed to the "Notify" feature of this thread.  So... ask away. 

Did I already mention the value of monetizing a blog about military personal finance?  Oh, all right then.  Carry on.
« Last Edit: November 13, 2014, 09:31:57 AM by Nords »

AtlantaBob

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Re: Do you have questions for USAA?
« Reply #18 on: November 19, 2014, 04:51:39 PM »
Nords,

Thanks for taking the time to manage this thread.

I signed up for USAA when they were taking non-military members a few years ago (since then, they've stopped doing this, but they sent me a letter saying that I was grandfathered in). I'd really like to be able to use mobile deposit on my phone, but they don't make this available to anyone who doesn't qualify for a USAA credit card. I understand that they don't want anyone scamming them, and they may just be trying to get me to leave, but I would be more than willing to accept a 10-day hold (or some other extended time period for the check to clear) before the money posted to my account. I think that this makes business sense for them, too, since otherwise, they'll just have to keep sending me free deposit forms, and pay for the postage to send my check to their PO box.

Please let me know if this isn't clear, and thanks in advance for passing this along.

Bob

Nords

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Re: Do you have questions for USAA?
« Reply #19 on: November 21, 2014, 06:04:12 PM »
Nords,

Thanks for taking the time to manage this thread.

I signed up for USAA when they were taking non-military members a few years ago (since then, they've stopped doing this, but they sent me a letter saying that I was grandfathered in). I'd really like to be able to use mobile deposit on my phone, but they don't make this available to anyone who doesn't qualify for a USAA credit card. I understand that they don't want anyone scamming them, and they may just be trying to get me to leave, but I would be more than willing to accept a 10-day hold (or some other extended time period for the check to clear) before the money posted to my account. I think that this makes business sense for them, too, since otherwise, they'll just have to keep sending me free deposit forms, and pay for the postage to send my check to their PO box.

Please let me know if this isn't clear, and thanks in advance for passing this along.

Bob
I'll pass the question along.

They're constantly expanding and updating the mobile app, so it's possible that this will be added in for everyone.  Over 40% of their website traffic is now coming from mobile, and soon most of their transactions will be coming from mobile devices.
« Last Edit: November 21, 2014, 06:24:41 PM by Nords »

Nords

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Re: Do you have questions for USAA?
« Reply #20 on: November 26, 2014, 08:47:32 AM »
Here's the second (and final) post on reader questions:
http://the-military-guide.com/2014/11/26/answers-usaa-social-exchange-2014-2/

You've read some of them on this thread, but the last section deals with a member whose coverage was inappropriately canceled by USAA.

I have one more post to write about the conference itself, with USAA's latest program updates and new initiatives.  That should go up in two more weeks.

Nords

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Re: Do you have questions for USAA?
« Reply #21 on: December 13, 2014, 06:33:13 PM »
Just to wrap up this thread, here's the third post in the series:
http://the-military-guide.com/2014/12/11/new-usaa-social-exchange-2014-conference/

The first one is here:
http://the-military-guide.com/2014/11/13/answers-usaa-social-exchange-2014/
and the second one is here:
http://the-military-guide.com/2014/11/26/answers-usaa-social-exchange-2014-2/

If you have more questions for USAA then please post them here or send me a PM.  I learned a lot about insurance from this conference (for the book as well as the blog) and I learn a little more from every question.


CommonCents

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Re: Do you have questions for USAA?
« Reply #22 on: December 13, 2014, 08:47:57 PM »
Does anyone know when they started charging a foreign transaction fee?  I thought they never did, but just got charged it when I was over there. Most annoying was that I was charged it on an error (not by me - bought a train ticket, computer wasn't working and it had to be refunded) and a hotel stay where a hold ended up being charged and refunded (my husband paid on his card, which doesn't have the fee).  Had I known, we wouldn't have put anything on it.

Nords

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Re: Do you have questions for USAA?
« Reply #23 on: December 13, 2014, 09:37:16 PM »
Does anyone know when they started charging a foreign transaction fee?  I thought they never did, but just got charged it when I was over there. Most annoying was that I was charged it on an error (not by me - bought a train ticket, computer wasn't working and it had to be refunded) and a hotel stay where a hold ended up being charged and refunded (my husband paid on his card, which doesn't have the fee).  Had I known, we wouldn't have put anything on it.
It started a couple of years ago, although the fee is still waived for active-duty military.

In general, USAA has started cutting back on the benefits of their credit and debit cards.  They still have them, but the rewards are less generous (or there are fees).

We're planning a Spain/Portugal trip next month, and I'm using a Chase United Mileage Plus Explorer card (mainly because we travel mostly via United).  I'm also going to open a checking account with USAA to be able to use their debit card at an ATM. 

But if all else fails then I'll transfer money to our daughter (on active duty in Rota) and let her fork over some cash...

driftwood

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Re: Do you have questions for USAA?
« Reply #24 on: December 13, 2014, 10:22:10 PM »
Just a petty gripe:

I am a USAA member:  Banking, Car Ins, Renters Ins, Car Loans...

Why are they sending me 'junk' mail advertising their other products?  I hate junk mail.  I hate companies always trying to sell me their crap.  I've chosen USAA for the above products because I wanted them, NEVER as a result of advertisement or junk mail.  If I want to invest with USAA, I will click on the link on their webpage when I'm already there for banking.  I'm tired of filling up my recycle bin with junk from people I'm already a customer of.

I throw away GEICO junk mail.  I would expect that USAA wouldn't send me any, because I'm already solidly in their corner...

Nords

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Re: Do you have questions for USAA?
« Reply #25 on: December 14, 2014, 11:35:03 AM »
Just a petty gripe:

I am a USAA member:  Banking, Car Ins, Renters Ins, Car Loans...

Why are they sending me 'junk' mail advertising their other products?  I hate junk mail.  I hate companies always trying to sell me their crap.  I've chosen USAA for the above products because I wanted them, NEVER as a result of advertisement or junk mail.  If I want to invest with USAA, I will click on the link on their webpage when I'm already there for banking.  I'm tired of filling up my recycle bin with junk from people I'm already a customer of.

I throw away GEICO junk mail.  I would expect that USAA wouldn't send me any, because I'm already solidly in their corner...
It makes no sense to me, either.  I'm surprised that anyone earns money from direct mail campaigns.

When I signed my Dad up for USAA's CDs, I started getting the same junk mail for him.  Same with my daughter when she signed up for her own car insurance.  (She's still changing her mailing address to her new command, so I get a lot of mail at this address.)  We called the member service rep and asked them to stop it, which they did.

randersonnw

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Re: Do you have questions for USAA?
« Reply #26 on: December 16, 2014, 12:40:22 AM »
I wish I knew why, but the buyer of our home was just screwed over by USAA and in so doing has caused us a lot of unneeded extra anxiety. They had the appraisal done, approved, so we found a new place to live, then 2 days later they told the buyer they would not lend. This was based on information they knew before any appraisal had been started. I can't remember details but it has been a headache. I remember when I was a RE agent USAA was not held in high regard and seems to still be a pain in the ass compared to other lenders. My two cents.

Travis

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Re: Do you have questions for USAA?
« Reply #27 on: January 05, 2015, 08:44:49 AM »
Just a petty gripe:

I am a USAA member:  Banking, Car Ins, Renters Ins, Car Loans...

Why are they sending me 'junk' mail advertising their other products?  I hate junk mail.  I hate companies always trying to sell me their crap.  I've chosen USAA for the above products because I wanted them, NEVER as a result of advertisement or junk mail.  If I want to invest with USAA, I will click on the link on their webpage when I'm already there for banking.  I'm tired of filling up my recycle bin with junk from people I'm already a customer of.

I throw away GEICO junk mail.  I would expect that USAA wouldn't send me any, because I'm already solidly in their corner...
It makes no sense to me, either.  I'm surprised that anyone earns money from direct mail campaigns.

When I signed my Dad up for USAA's CDs, I started getting the same junk mail for him.  Same with my daughter when she signed up for her own car insurance.  (She's still changing her mailing address to her new command, so I get a lot of mail at this address.)  We called the member service rep and asked them to stop it, which they did.

Regarding direct mailings: One of my college professors mentioned how he was a lifelong donator to a wildlife charity until they made some decisions which caused him to change his mind.  He sent them one final donation with a letter explaining he wouldn't be donating any more and why.  Over the next year he kept receiving solicitations from them.  He kept them all and after a year they spent more on the postage for those solicitations than his donation amounted to.

For the comment earlier about foreign transactions fees:  They only refund the fees if you are deployed.  Simply being an active duty member isn't enough.  I forgot to do it and was reminded by a customer service rep about halfway through this deployment that it was an option.  My transaction fees for this deployment amounted to less than $1 (didn't buy much on the economy) so I wasn't that concerned, but it's one of those "benefits" you have to pay attention to.

Nords

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Re: Do you have questions for USAA?
« Reply #28 on: January 05, 2015, 10:44:49 AM »
Regarding direct mailings: One of my college professors mentioned how he was a lifelong donator to a wildlife charity until they made some decisions which caused him to change his mind.  He sent them one final donation with a letter explaining he wouldn't be donating any more and why.  Over the next year he kept receiving solicitations from them.  He kept them all and after a year they spent more on the postage for those solicitations than his donation amounted to.
One of the big thrills of being my father's conservator has been shutting off the tsunami of unsolicited mail.  Luckily many of his charitable donations were local, so when his mailing address changed from Colorado to Hawaii those stopped on their own.  But they've been more than replaced by "volunteers" from Hawaii organizations and Medicare supplemental insurers.  I'm a black-belt expert at stopping junk mail but this multi-year effort has tested even my skills.

For the comment earlier about foreign transactions fees:  They only refund the fees if you are deployed.  Simply being an active duty member isn't enough.  I forgot to do it and was reminded by a customer service rep about halfway through this deployment that it was an option.  My transaction fees for this deployment amounted to less than $1 (didn't buy much on the economy) so I wasn't that concerned, but it's one of those "benefits" you have to pay attention to.
Thanks-- great reminder. 

I think I've solved the foreign currency transaction fee issue with a Chase United Airlines credit card, although there are a number of acceptable solutions for this charge.  The real challenge has been avoiding ATM fees, and once again it pays to have an active-duty USAA membership.  Otherwise the only practicable solution for veterans appears to be a Schwab checking account... or visiting only those countries with a Capital One 360 ATM close at hand.

libertarian4321

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Re: Do you have questions for USAA?
« Reply #29 on: April 11, 2015, 05:18:29 AM »
typical 20th century isolationist backwoods Texas chicken ranch?

You are at least 40 years behind.

Texas has a booming economy and the fastest growing population in the country, built largely on international trade, hi tech, and specialized industrial equipment, as well as the old stuff like oil, agriculture, and CATTLE ranching (not chickens- this isn't Arkansas- I don't think I've ever seen a chicken ranch in Texas, but there probably are a few in such a large state).  Texas also has 3 of the 10 largest cities in the USA (and it will soon be 4 of the 10 largest).  Houston makes Boston, Detroit, DC, Baltimore, and even Philadelphia look like tiny, slow moving backwaters by comparison. 

Remember, this is 2015, not 1957.  Make sure you change you calendar.

If you think Texas is nothing but backwoods hicks, you've had your head up your butt for at least 50 years.  Stop getting your "news" from old John Wayne movies and try doing a little reading.

Like many Texans, I came from one of the old, dying economies (New York) and moved to Texas because of the economic opportunities.  I'm constantly shocked at how many New Yorkers sit there in that dying state and act as if they are superior, when, in fact, Texas is kicking New York's ass in just about every way (upstate NY looks like a post apocalyptic nightmar, full of empty, rotting buildings).

Oh, did I mention no state income tax and the ridiculously low cost of living?  Yeah, those things do not suck.  And despite what you might hear on MSNBC, the folks down here are just a whole lot nicer. 

zataks

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Re: Do you have questions for USAA?
« Reply #30 on: April 11, 2015, 11:33:35 AM »
Regarding OP, I recently switched to Geico from USAA.  Wife had Geico, I had USAA when we got married last year.  Had been meaning to combine insurance for months and finally did last at the end of last month.  Geico was significantly cheaper for the same coverage on all accounts (home, autos, and rental property).
Wife has made claims with Geico and had nothing but good things to say about their customer service.  I wanted to stay with USAA because of their typically stellar customer service but simply could not given the disparity in cost between the two companies. 

I am curious about how rank impacts rate, though.  I've heard that those of higher rank receive lower rates.  If true, this is a nice benefit and promotes longevity in a certain sense but also seems typical of our society; those with money/status get more breaks than those who actually need it.  Do you know if rank does have an effect on rates and to what extent?

beltim

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Re: Do you have questions for USAA?
« Reply #31 on: April 11, 2015, 11:39:18 AM »
typical 20th century isolationist backwoods Texas chicken ranch?
And despite what you might hear on MSNBC, the folks down here are just a whole lot nicer.

Not from your post.  You completely missed his point, which was that USAA was not a modern, global company.  I don't agree with his point, but you went out of your way to miss it.

Nords

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Re: Do you have questions for USAA?
« Reply #32 on: April 13, 2015, 05:44:19 AM »
I'm sensing an element of unhappiness amid the confusion surrounding USAA's policy dividends and Subscriber Savings Accounts.  The implication is that the dividends and SSAs are giving some USAA members a better deal than other members.

Over the last few months I've had a running conversation with USAA's Communications staff on this question.  (The discussion had to include the insurance execs and the lawyers.)  USAA's answer is not what I expected: 
"It's best to contact your member service rep and ask them."

One member did just that, and reported the conversation to me:
Member:
"In any case, could you clarify who is eligible for an SSA? I've looked extensively on your web site and I haven't found a good answer."
Service rep:
"Because USAA is based on eligibility, our company is structured into several small companies. They are all USAA, but this allows us to have eligibility for officers, enlisted, dependents, and ex dependents. Due to your fathers rank and military service he would fall under the company of USAA.
Your company placement will be different than his since you are grouped with other military dependents. Members in the USAA company placement are eligible for the SSA."

As they said, the policy isn't clear on the website.  That's one report from one service rep, and it'd be interesting to see whether the answer is consistent for a large group of members. 

I don't know the details of USAA's corporate charters.  I do know that members are insured by different subsidiaries depending on what they're insuring, the type of coverage they want for it, and their risk profile.  I can't tell what criteria have a higher priority than others.  USAA may even lay your coverage off to a company like Progressive.

The SSA is a powerful financial tool for helping USAA hold a large pile of float.  It's also probably cheaper to structure it as an SSA instead of as simply a corporation's assets, but I don't know enough about insurance company taxation to clarify the situation.

If you're enjoying (or wanting) a dividend or an SSA then you're missing the point.  I'm not sure whether an SSA or a policy dividend is a better deal than insurance through another USAA subsidiary.  It's a great question to ask when you're comparing rates, but it's just one factor in deciding what's important to you and what level of customer service you want.  A member with a SSA may still be paying more for the same coverage than a member without an SSA-- just because they're insured by different subsidiaries with different ways of pricing the risk pool. 

Frankly, an SSA seems like a waste of USAA's time and the member's money.  Running an SSA has to consume salary and expenses, and if you're getting back some of your premium every year then it's just an indication that the insurance company overcharged you.  To add insult to injury, they earned interest from your money before giving it back to you.  It's no better than getting a big tax refund.  "Privilege" indeed.

Regarding OP, I recently switched to Geico from USAA.  Wife had Geico, I had USAA when we got married last year.  Had been meaning to combine insurance for months and finally did last at the end of last month.  Geico was significantly cheaper for the same coverage on all accounts (home, autos, and rental property).
Wife has made claims with Geico and had nothing but good things to say about their customer service.  I wanted to stay with USAA because of their typically stellar customer service but simply could not given the disparity in cost between the two companies. 

I am curious about how rank impacts rate, though.  I've heard that those of higher rank receive lower rates.  If true, this is a nice benefit and promotes longevity in a certain sense but also seems typical of our society; those with money/status get more breaks than those who actually need it.  Do you know if rank does have an effect on rates and to what extent?
Rank is not part of the algorithm for calculating rates, but that question comes up occasionally.  I'm sure there's a conspiracy correlation between rank & rates, but it's not causation.  Personally, my rates went up with my promotions because I was buying less-crappy cars and starting a family.  My rates went down when I retired because I was driving less and my cars became older and crappier again.

Can you imagine re-enlisting because you'll get cheaper car & home insurance?  Yikes.  Talk about missing the point.

As for price and customer service, I'd recommend going with whichever choice helps you sleep better at night.  If you're an unusual insurance risk, though, then you'll probably appreciate customer service.

We've had our car insurance with USAA for over 30 years because they did a better job overseas (and in Hawaii).  Even after I retired, their rates were better than GEICO and Progressive.  USAA's home insurance, however, has been much more expensive than Armed Forces Insurance for (in my opinion) similar customer service.  USAA even abandoned the Hawaii homeowner market for nearly a decade due to hurricane concentration risk.  Now that they're insuring Hawaii homes again, though, I'll have to work up a quote for a possible package deal.

A couple weeks ago I had to call a tow truck-- in Spain, in Spanish, while I was borrowing my daughter's car, which was broken down in the security gate of the Rota naval base, while she was on a Mediterranean deployment.  I was really glad to have the USAA rep (in Texas) pick up the phone promptly.  They didn't bat an eye at the situation, they confirmed everyone's member info within a few minutes, and they actually have someone in London who can whistle up a tow truck (in Spanish) in Andalusia.

But instead of shopping for cheap insurance, it's better to carry the absolute minimum coverage and customer service that you need to sleep at night-- and to self-insure as much as possible. 

RunHappy

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Re: Do you have questions for USAA?
« Reply #33 on: April 13, 2015, 05:48:55 AM »
Great customer service, but I stopped using most of their other products.

Their interest rates on checking and savings accounts were terrible and I have better interest rates for insurance at other places.

Villanelle

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Re: Do you have questions for USAA?
« Reply #34 on: April 13, 2015, 07:05:57 AM »
I missed this before.

But it does irritate me that military stationed overseas can't get the foreign transaction fees waived.  Some people report success with getting it wived for the first year, but this seems to depend on who happens to answer the phone.  (And that's another compliant--the inconsistent application of the policy.)  I'd like to see them clarify since different people get different answer.  heck, even the same people get different answers.

And I'd like to see them consider waiving the fees, or at least offering a specific CC that waives the fees.

That said, I had a somewhat minor one car accident a couple months ago.  I was upset for a zillion reasons and stressed about what the process of getting my car fixed would look like.  Everyone I dealt with, even the German representative--and Germans are not known for being friendly or for providing excellent customer service--was wonderful. I believe she was located in their Frankfurt office. During a very difficult, frustrating, and upsetting time, USAA made all the difference. And they dealt with the auto shop and made sure that I didn't have to fumble through explanations and difficulties in my broken German. 

Also, their knowledge of the convoluted base registration system, and what needs to be done to show proof of insurance via some automated system that is utterly opaque to service members and dependents is wonderful. The first time I called, I knew I was in for a long and frustrating conversation since I didn't know exactly what I needed.  To my surprise and relief, the moment they heard "German proof of insurance for the base registration office", they knew exactly what I needed.  I'm very impressed with the training they give to their employees who will be dealing with overseas issues.  Unlike "chicken ranch" guy above, I've found they go above and beyond to serve their overseas customers, though maybe temporary OCONUS assignment vs. Expat is different.

beltim

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Re: Do you have questions for USAA?
« Reply #35 on: April 13, 2015, 09:00:45 AM »
If you're enjoying (or wanting) a dividend or an SSA then you're missing the point.  I'm not sure whether an SSA or a policy dividend is a better deal than insurance through another USAA subsidiary.  It's a great question to ask when you're comparing rates, but it's just one factor in deciding what's important to you and what level of customer service you want.  A member with a SSA may still be paying more for the same coverage than a member without an SSA-- just because they're insured by different subsidiaries with different ways of pricing the risk pool. 

Frankly, an SSA seems like a waste of USAA's time and the member's money.  Running an SSA has to consume salary and expenses, and if you're getting back some of your premium every year then it's just an indication that the insurance company overcharged you.  To add insult to injury, they earned interest from your money before giving it back to you.  It's no better than getting a big tax refund.  "Privilege" indeed.

I strongly disagree, and think that you're missing the point on this one.  The answers provided by USAA so far do not indicate any competition within USAA to get you the best rate.  We know that military members of a certain rank are insured directly by the USAA parent company.  We know that dependents are insured by a different subsidiary.  We also know that the parent company runs SSAs and distribute a proportional amount of USAA's profits over time.  But USAA only distributes profits to those members with an SSA – in other words, to military members of a certain rank.

The only way SSAs could possibly be a bad deal are if the subsidiaries are operating at a loss, and we simply have no data to indicate that that's the case.  We do have data to indicate that they operate at a profit, however – each year USAA distributes auto dividend checks based on excess premiums.

USAA members with SSAs are profiting off of those without SSAs.

Nords

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Re: Do you have questions for USAA?
« Reply #36 on: April 14, 2015, 07:32:00 AM »
If you're enjoying (or wanting) a dividend or an SSA then you're missing the point.  I'm not sure whether an SSA or a policy dividend is a better deal than insurance through another USAA subsidiary.  It's a great question to ask when you're comparing rates, but it's just one factor in deciding what's important to you and what level of customer service you want.  A member with a SSA may still be paying more for the same coverage than a member without an SSA-- just because they're insured by different subsidiaries with different ways of pricing the risk pool. 

Frankly, an SSA seems like a waste of USAA's time and the member's money.  Running an SSA has to consume salary and expenses, and if you're getting back some of your premium every year then it's just an indication that the insurance company overcharged you.  To add insult to injury, they earned interest from your money before giving it back to you.  It's no better than getting a big tax refund.  "Privilege" indeed.

I strongly disagree, and think that you're missing the point on this one.
I guess the only place we agree is that we're each missing the point. 

I'm also a little disappointed that USAA couldn't come up with a straightforward explanation of their SSA financial engineering and its eligibility policy.  (I know that their Communications staff is also a little frustrated on this issue-- one of their execs says that they have a special team assigned to "the Nordman questions".)  However it's the best answer that a large corporate insurer appears to be able to generate.

I'm skeptical that USAA prices its policies for some members to subsidize other members on the basis of military service or rank.  (If "special privileges" were handed out like that then the senior enlisted veterans of the company would have called them out on it long ago.)  USAA prices their policies on traditional insurance financial models and on the belief that good customer service is more profitable than bare-bones service.  However programs & services have to pay their own way-- the only charity in the business model is the USAA Educational Foundation. 

I think if SSA eligibility is causing heartburn then it's sufficient reason to move to another insurance company.

beltim

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Re: Do you have questions for USAA?
« Reply #37 on: April 14, 2015, 07:48:56 AM »
I'm skeptical that USAA prices its policies for some members to subsidize other members on the basis of military service or rank.  (If "special privileges" were handed out like that then the senior enlisted veterans of the company would have called them out on it long ago.)  USAA prices their policies on traditional insurance financial models and on the belief that good customer service is more profitable than bare-bones service.  However programs & services have to pay their own way-- the only charity in the business model is the USAA Educational Foundation. 

Maybe I'm not communicating clearly, because I don't disagree with anything in this paragraph.  Each business segment is absolutely priced to "pay their own way."  Because USAA is well run, that leaves them with profits – excess cash beyond the cost of running the business.  Some business segments – like auto insurance – return some of this excess to policyholders.  But many other business segments have no mechanism for this, and the excess cash from those segments go into reserves for USAA as a whole.  A subset of USAA members (to this point, identified as only military members) have an ownership stake in USAA, proportional to the balance in their SSA.

Look, I don't boycott GEICO because it's owned by Berkshire Hathaway and my getting a policy from GEICO doesn't entitle me to ownership in Berkshire Hathaway.  But GEICO doesn't have two classes of policyholders, one of whom profits from the other.  The reason I'm disappointed by USAA on this is that I have such high respect for them.

biscuitwhomper

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Re: Do you have questions for USAA?
« Reply #38 on: April 14, 2015, 08:16:27 AM »
I only use USAA for checking and auto insurance now.   The rest of their services are not very competitive.    I would have expected their fund expenses and savings interest rates to more in line with Vanguard and other online banks, respectively.    Over the last year, I have moved almost all assets away from them.

I don't feel this is very fair to current and former service members.

I also hate the over-priced retail offerings they market to members.   Most of the products are not useful and are way over-priced.     Seems like they take advantage of their customer trust a bit.
« Last Edit: April 14, 2015, 08:18:38 AM by biscuitwhomper »

paddedhat

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Re: Do you have questions for USAA?
« Reply #39 on: May 09, 2015, 02:32:03 PM »
One of the big thrills of being my father's conservator has been shutting off the tsunami of unsolicited mail.  Luckily many of his charitable donations were local, so when his mailing address changed from Colorado to Hawaii those stopped on their own.  But they've been more than replaced by "volunteers" from Hawaii organizations and Medicare supplemental insurers.  I'm a black-belt expert at stopping junk mail but this multi-year effort has tested even my skills

I got my own in depth lesson on this topic. My Mom and MIL both passed away within a few weeks in early 2010. They both were junk mail junkies, and catalog addicts. It took several months to slow the flow to a trickle, several years to make it go away with 99.99% success. The funny one is that I still get at least one piece a month for offers to help "market" my mother's time share. It was given back to the timeshare association a few months after she died, but they will probably never give up. LOL. I did the online filings with the mail marketing association, and sent  form letters, with attached mailing labels to hundreds of different sources. It's kind of amazing how much work it really was.