News

Jun 13, 2023

USAA home insurance review 2023

Home Insurance

Home Insurance

Amy Fontinelle

Kara McGinley

"Verified by an expert" means that this article has been thoroughly reviewed and evaluated for accuracy.

BLUEPRINT

Published 8:20 a.m. ET June 5, 2023

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USAA

With exceptional customer service and some of the industry's best rates, USAA belongs on your list of companies to get homeowners quotes from — but you are only eligible for coverage if you’re part of the military community.

Pros

Cons

Founded in 1922 by military officers who wanted to insure each other's cars, USAA offers some of the least expensive homeowners insurance in the country. If you’re eligible to join USAA, it's worth getting a quote. Membership is free, and according to J.D. Power, no other property insurer has had more satisfied customers from 2018 through 2022. Customer complaints with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners are also very low.

U.S. military service members who are active, retired or separated with an "Honorable" or "General Under Honorable Conditions" discharge can join USAA and apply for insurance. So can eligible family members of someone who meets one of those descriptions.

Eligible family members include spouses, widowed spouses and divorced spouses who haven't remarried. Children and step-children can join if their eligible parent joins.

Siblings and parents of eligible service members and veterans are not eligible, nor is the general public.

You may be eligible to join USAA as a military trainee or officer candidate if you’re in an approved program.

USAA's average home insurance rate of $1,243 for dwelling coverage of $350,000 is well below the national average of $1,582. In fact, it earns a spot on our analysis of insurers that offer the cheapest home insurance.

Here's how USAA's rates compare to competitors for a homeowners policy with $350,000 in dwelling coverage.

Home insurance from USAA can protect you financially against unpredictable losses to your house, your belongings and more. It includes the following six types of coverage that standard homeowners policies contain.

For insurance purposes, your dwelling is your house's structure. Dwelling coverage reimburses you for covered repairs to your roof, walls, floors, foundation, basement, pipes and more. It also covers structures that are attached to your home, like a breezeway or deck.

Your property might have other permanent buildings like an accessory dwelling unit, gazebo, in-ground hot tub, fence, shed or cabana. Other structures coverage insures these.

Fires and storms can damage more than your house structure — they can also ruin your belongings.

Personal property coverage pays if a tornado sucks up your house and everything in it and spits it out in smithereens three blocks over — or if someone breaks into your house and steals your stuff.

USAA homeowners insurance includes replacement cost coverage for your personal items. That means you’ll get paid what it costs to buy them new, not what they were worth when the tornado hit. Some insurance companies charge more for this level of coverage.

Living somewhere else while your home gets repaired or rebuilt can be expensive. Loss of use or additional living expenses coverage makes sure you won't have to couch surf or camp in your backyard if your house is damaged by a covered problem, like a fire.

Loss of use coverage pays for extra costs like temporary housing, boarding a pet who can't stay with you, laundry service and other expenses you wouldn't have to incur if you were living your normal life at home.

Being a property owner means someone could sue you if they get injured, whether they fall off the trampoline in your backyard or your dog bites them at the park. Liability insurance will pay for the other person's medical expenses if you are at fault for the injury.

Liability insurance means the insurance company will defend you in court if someone sues you over injury or property damage. And it will cover any judgments and settlements, up to your policy's liability coverage limit.

This coverage also applies if you or a covered member of your household damages someone else's property, such as if your child hits a baseball through a neighbor's window.

What happens if a delivery driver slips off your porch on a rainy day? Ideally, nothing, but if they sprain their ankle and want you to pay for their urgent care visit and physical therapy, you can turn to your homeowners insurance policy.

Medical payments to others coverage will pay their bills, usually up to $5,000. It doesn't matter who was at fault: Minor incidents like these can just be bad luck.

HO-3 is industry lingo for the most common type of homeowners insurance policy. It covers any cause of damage to your house structure except those it specifically excludes, such as floods and earthquakes.

An HO-3 policy provides more limited coverage for your personal property than for your dwelling. For personal property, a standard policy protects you against these 16 named causes of damage, or perils:

All homeowners policies have gaps. It would simply be too expensive, both for insurers and for customers, to fully protect against every possible risk. Some risks you’ll still shoulder yourself — unless, in some cases, you buy supplemental insurance — include these:

Homeowners insurance can be a significant expense, but most insurers offer various discounts. Here's how you can reduce your premiums with USAA.

Customers who are unhappy about delays, denials or settlements when filing a claim may file a complaint with their state insurance department, and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) tracks these complaints.

USAA has a very low rate of customer complaints about homeowners insurance. Its NAIC complaint level is well below the industry average, and better than some of the other home insurance companies we analyzed.

USAA encourages its customers to file their home insurance claims through the company's website or mobile app, though you can also file your claim by phone.

Your initial claim should include information about the cause and type of damage. USAA may request photos, repair estimates, invoices and other documentation to support your claim.

If your claim is approved, your claim payment may be issued in phases. If you carry a mortgage on your home, your claim check may include your mortgage servicer's name. You’ll need your servicer to endorse the check before your bank will accept it.

Our insurance experts reviewed rates from 174 home insurance companies and evaluated companies on four key factors: rates, consumer complaints, high deductible discounts available and if the insurer offers extended or guaranteed replacement cost coverage.

Each home insurance company was eligible for 100 points, with each factor carrying a different weight.

USAA scores 5 stars out of 5 in our analysis of the best home insurance companies.

If you need to repair or replace a military uniform after it was damaged or stolen and your policy covers the loss, USAA will reimburse you without asking you to pay your deductible.

Only USAA policyholders on active or reserve duty enjoy this benefit, which can be helpful if you’ve already spent your annual uniform allowance or you experience a costly loss — especially if you have a high deductible. It applies to military equipment, too.

USAA does not have any dog breed restrictions. Even if you own a dog breed that some insurers ban — a Doberman Pinscher, rottweiler or pit bull, for example — USAA will consider your application for home insurance.

However, if your dog has a history of aggressive behavior, USAA and other insurers may not offer you a policy or may restrict the liability coverage they will offer you for dog-related incidents. Dog owners with a history of biting or attacking may need to purchase animal liability insurance from another company.

USAA does not issue insurance policies for mobile, manufactured or tiny homes directly. Instead, USAA refers customers to Foremost, a specialist insurer USAA has had a relationship with since 1995.

Foremost's mobile and manufactured home insurance covers your dwelling and personal liability. It also provides coverage for accidental loss, personal belongings and additional living expenses.

Either directly or through a relationship with another insurer, USAA helps its members get almost any type of insurance they might need for individual or small business coverage.

Along with home insurance, USAA offers many other types of property insurance, including renters insurance, condo insurance, landlord insurance and farm insurance.

USAA also offers auto insurance for cars, motorcycles, ATVs, RVs and motorhomes, boats, planes, personal watercraft, bikes and e-bikes, and classic and collector cars.

Health insurance, including Medicare plans, are available through USAA, and you can get USAA life insurance without any military affiliation.

Finally, USAA sells event insurance, pet insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, long-term care coverage and other financial protection products through relationships with other companies.

Blueprint is an independent publisher and comparison service, not an investment advisor. The information provided is for educational purposes only and we encourage you to seek personalized advice from qualified professionals regarding specific financial decisions. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

Blueprint has an advertiser disclosure policy. The opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Blueprint editorial staff alone. Blueprint adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. The information is accurate as of the publish date, but always check the provider's website for the most current information.

Amy Fontinelle

Blueprint

Amy Fontinelle has more than 15 years of experience helping people make informed decisions about their money, whether they’re refinancing a mortgage, buying insurance or choosing a credit card. As a freelance writer trained in journalism and specializing in personal finance, Amy digs into the details to explain the products and strategies that can help (or hurt) people seeking greater financial security and wealth. Her work has been published by Forbes Advisor, Capital One, MassMutual, Investopedia and many other outlets.

Kara McGinley

Blueprint

Kara McGinley is deputy editor of insurance at USA TODAY Blueprint and a licensed home insurance expert. Previously, she was a senior editor at Policygenius, where she specialized in homeowners and renters insurance. Her work and insights have been featured in MSN, Lifehacker, Kiplinger, PropertyCasualty360 and more.

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