USAA Homeowners Insurance Reviews

I own a rental property that apparently developed a small leak underneath the sink that caused some mold. I did not know about the problem because the renters did not tell me about it. What does USAA expect me to do to protect myself inspect all potential water leaking sites in the rental unit every 13 days? One of the reasons you get insurance for rental properties is to cover you for dumb things a renter might do. I suspect there previously had been a small leak somewhere in the sink area before as there was mold beneath the sink. But then the drain pipe beneath the sink became completely disconnected and caused flooding of my unit and the unit below. That is when I became aware of the problem and immediately contacted USAA.

I assumed USAA would at least allow damages to my unit secondary to the huge acute leak that flooded the lower unit, but a month later they are still denying the claim because of the separate slow leak that caused mold. The last person I spoke to at USAA, Supervisor Bill **, admits that the flood from the disconnected pipe did damage my unit beyond the slow leak damage, but he still denies my claim after consulting with the Claims Service Director, Craig **. Mr. ** supposedly will contact me personally on Monday. Maybe I can reason with him, but I'm not holding my breath.

Below is the direct quote Mr. ** gave to justify his denying my claim. "We do not insure for loss or damage consisting of or caused directly or indirectly by any of the following regardless of (i) The cause of the excluded event or peril, or any other cause of the same lose, whether or not any other cause acts concurrently or in any sequence with the excluded cause, peril, or event to produce the loss." My wife is an attorney and she does not understand it either.

Updated on 5/13/2017: Finally got to speak to a claims supervisor after several weeks of trying. No change in their apparent view that drain water drains upwards with enough force to rise two feet and push thru a seam and seriously stain a granite countertop in my rental property even though the leak did not stain the floor beneath the sudden and accidental leak they are required to pay for. They want more evidence. Blatantly obvious photos not and the law of gravity not enough.

We finally got a hold of this lady's boss to explain the situation. It barely helped. We lost out on a very good mortgage rate because the lady never locked us in! Unfortunately, we did not find out until a month later, had to pay an extra fee, and had no record because it was a phone conversation. Fast forward to CLOSING DAY, and USAA STILL HAD NOT SUBMITTED OUR PAPERWORK TO THE ESCROW/TITLE COMPANY!! We were literally in the office, everyone on a phone, trying to figure out what the hell what going on!

Next, we cancelled our homeowner's insurance and went with Geico because it was half the cost (in July). USAA, whom we had our mortgage and homeowner's insurance through, never sent the money to Geico. I received a letter stating that Geico was going to cancel our insurance if they didn't get paid (in September - days after giving birth to our child). Five phone transfers with USAA's customer service later, they sent the money. However! I later received a letter (in December 2016) from Geico stating that our homeowner's insurance ended in September because they never received their money!! Another call to USAA...

Finally, we just received (March 2017) USAA was having difficulty renewing our homeowner's policy from our previous address. We called USAA, they NEVER CANCELLED OUR HOMEOWNER'S INSURANCE POLICY BACK FROM JULY 2016 when we told them we were moving and asked to transfer the policy!!! Needless to say, we are now in the process of filing paperwork to backdate a refund. We are also working to completely move all of our business with another company.

So, in spite of the fact that my direct neighbors had full roof replacement and my roofing inspector concluded same, they dug in their heels on their position. I refused their inadequate offer. Fast forward to 2015. Hail storm. This time my roof inspector and THEIR ROOF INSPECTOR recommended an entire roof replacement. So what do you think happened? USAA said that because we didn't act on the 2013 claim, the statute of limitations ran out and they were not responsible to fix that half of the roof!! So, although the entire roof is in need of replacement, they will only replace half the roof gain, but charge double the deductible ($5,000) because the incidents happened in 2 separate years! UGH. Let's unite as consumers and stop this type of abuse from "member based" companies like USAA HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE.

With USAA, you can never talk to the same person twice. All you get is a call center 800 number and you deal with whoever answers the phone. Each year for 5 years, I go through the same hassle of perhaps 5 different calls talking to different people, being put on hold for 15 to 30 minutes, being told they figured it out and then finding it didn't get done and starting over with a new person. I asked if the agent could just figure it out and phone me back. Their response was, no, because it is a call center and as soon as they hang up with me they would get another call! So I wait on hold for up to 30 minutes per call. I asked if they have a Consumer Support or Problem Resolution department, but was told no. I asked if I can speak to a supervisor or someone higher up since I go through the same 8 hour frustrating hassle each year and finally get what I need, and again am told no.

The agent has said they enter the solution in my file to make it easier next time, but it never is any easier! I ask if I can email them what they sent me last year so they can see what I need, but NO, they cannot receive email. Nor can they send email. Instead, they post the new document on their online site which is a real hassle to log in to and finally find your message center. Then the document is never there so I start all over again with a new person.

Finally I find a competent person who makes the correction with no problem. I even get their name and employee number, but that does me no good next year because you cannot ever get back to the same person. You have to go through 4 more incompetents to finally find one employee who knows what to do. What a useless and totally consumer unfriendly bureaucracy. USAA is as bad as the Federal Government. All will go fine as long as you just pay the premium and do not have any need to contact them, but when you have to contact them, be prepared for the ridiculously inefficient to begin! I am totally anxious about one day having a claim and having to deal with the same unfriendly bureaucracy. You'd probably have to hire a lawyer.

Didn't make me feel good and I had to take out a loan to fix the roof, but ignorance did put me at fault. Now after having a new HVAC system put in and having the AC people come out twice because I felt water was coming into the hall because of it, the last big rain saw an actual flood in my hall that I figured either came in through the drainage pipe on the HVAC or a roof leak in a 4 year old roof. USAA started the claim just fine and the adjusters I was working with were helpful in telling me how to get the leak found and water mitigated, as well as a contractor to bring in for flooring replacement. The leak specialist determined the water came in through a chase pipe that actually holds the drain pipe and 2 other lines running from the outside unit to the inside HVAC closet.

The tech had not waterproofed it, so as dirt washed out of the pipe, more and more water was coming into the house, this time 8 hrs of rain gave it complete access to my house. A chase pipe is set into the foundation, so dirt covers it and the leak tech turned a hose on over it, then walked into the house to film the water coming up into the floor under the HVAC closet. It didn't take him all of 5 minutes. He told me to have the AC company waterproof it inside and out. I had hoped USAA would press the AC company to pay the damages, the way they do drivers at fault if I am hit on the road. Turns out when the claim info on the leak showed up, along with pictures I took showing them the pipe wasn't waterproofed, folks above the adjuster I was dealing with decided this wasn't a leaking pipe, it was flooding and they were not going to cover it. I don't live in a flood plain and in 35 years have never had water get into the house from rain.

The definition apparently is groundwater. All water that doesn't fall on a body of water becomes groundwater! Would it have had to fall directly into the pipe to qualify? And who did they ask if it was due to flooding - the contractor that stood to make money off both of us, had I not found another contractor for $3000 less and had been discussing how unbelievable it was that the HVAC company refused to take the blame or that USAA was thinking about not allowing the claim. Now that he wasn't going to get the job and had to tear up the check they sent him for the work, he has become the expert, though he never saw the initial damage or the leak reports! I am so tired or being pushed around by people who don't mind taking my money but have enough weight to think they can walk all over me. And if you try to sue...do they cancel you?! Is there a governmental body that oversees insurance companies?

Our siding, however was determined to be in need of repair and USAA paid to have it replaced. So the question is, "How can the siding need replacement but not the roofing?" Especially since houses on both sides were being funded to replace both. When we moved 2 years later it cost $5,820 to have the roofing replaced. Another family was similarly snubbed as a woman came around with a clipboard listing those of us military families that USAA did not pay for our hail damage. Her list was over 30 names long. I recently was contacted by MOAA to renew our membership, but I told them their association with USAA has caused me to not renew. USAA soon contacted me and said they would look into our 2005 claim. But then called back to say they only keep records for 7 years and could not help. So, no, USAA does not have the military's back if it involves more than one insurer at a time. I would recommend not doing any business with them.

I thought USAA was beyond the corporatism that we see in today's society. Rather than investigate the origin of the fraud, they instead send the victim, me, a letter stating to be more cautious. Good job, USAA; you impugn the victim and protect the bottom line of your accounts rather than showing a measure of concern for your clients. This is shameful.

September comes, work is starting. There's more that needs done that wasn't able to be seen until the old roof was removed. Now, the total invoice is nearly 3 times what USAA (under) quoted. They said everything would be covered, with the exception of some wood repairs (rotten wood) on my carport, which I was expecting anyways. They have received every quote, document everything in a timely manner, and here I am in January waiting on a final check to be able to pay the remainder of the charges from the roofer. After almost 14 years with them... I will be shopping for coverage elsewhere, which will mean I will close every account I have with them. They are not about "helping the military" at all. Maybe at one point, but definitely not anymore.

It's said that you never really know the value of your insurance policy until you really need it. What caused me to switch was so outrageous that I feel compelled to share my experience with others. When there are problems of this magnitude in any company, it is of no use to compartmentalize sub-divisions in our psyches for purposes of resolving cognitive dissonance. USAA dropped the ball, big time. USAA promised me I would hear from someone 24-48 hours after filing my claim. I did not hear from anyone for a week, and when the so-called "adjusters" finally showed up, they told me they were dispatched to the wrong address. Moreover, they weren't even adjusters. They said they'd never done this kind of work before and weren't sure why USAA called them. They didn't know what to do.

One of the fake adjusters told me to lie to USAA. I replied that when I file a claim, it will be accurate. I couldn't believe how unprofessional they were. After they left, I followed up with the state insurance commissioner. It turns out they are not even approved by the state. Over the next several weeks, when I'd talk to someone at USAA about my claim, I mentioned that they seem to have no interest or ability to collect and maintain ACCURATE information. Their quality has really tanked. It turns out the employees I was talking to aren't even employees of USAA.

Despite my best efforts to let USAA know where they were dropping the ball, nothing changed. They seemed to have little or no interest in raising the bar on their nonperformance. They even referred me to someone in the CEO's office where, supposedly, they strive for excellence. I told them everything that happened. They apologized and said that never should have happened and they were going to make it right. But nothing changed. Dealing with them took up lots of time and I regret now sticking with them as long as I did.

My claim was denied based upon fraudulent information compiled by a third-party unlicensed "adjuster" who is not even employed by USAA, but who USAA dispatched to my home anyway, one week too late. In short, USAA is not the company it once was. It is a different company, literally. Employees, vendors, and agents are not employees of USAA.

I had no issues with their auto policy. But the whole company, overall, is just a joke now. I followed all their instructions, did exactly as they said, and gave them lots of opportunities to correct their errors. In the end, they never did and I paid the price. Get out before you actually need them to follow through. I totally do not trust them at all now. I will not wait for an accident to happen before relying on my insurance carrier. I know them now to be unreliable.

Flash forward. Mind you my claim never got settled. December 30th, it flooded again... My television shorted out again. I made a claim. They called my apartment complex manager who of course to cover her own but said "oh I only know of the one time." Again my representative says it's another representative I have to talk to until now it's January 2017 and now a special investigator unit is handling my claim. Not only did one female representative talk to me so gruffly I thought I had done something wrong. But the special investigator comes out and grills me about my situations. Asked where I worked. Asked twice when I started working there. Now mind you I've had pneumonia and severe bronchitis for over a month and been on all kinds of medicine and been running really high fevers. But even now today January 7th 2017 I go to go into my app for the insurance website and of course I'm blocked from seeing my claims.

On top of that I go to the online website try to look at my claims and of course I get to wondering... Do they think I'm defrauding them?? So of course the curious over-thinker I am I click on insurance fraud on the website to make sure I haven't overstepped any boundaries. All I can think is this special investigator kept asking me if he pulled up my phone records would it show I called the office or this person or that person. So of course now my anxiety is running high because now I'm thinking “oh my gosh what if he's hacking into my phone?” Because now I can't go on the insurance app... and I'm of course freaking out.

Well now I'm really upset! This apartment complex manager knew my apartment flooded every time it rained and only chose to put in the system I called once or twice... I have black mold around my windows from the water. And half the time I just yelled out to a passing maintenance team member and they would come with their steam cleaner vacuum to remove the water. I'm so upset I've been a member of USAA for so long and I'm looked at as a criminal!! How dare you turn a bad situation where I am getting messed over by the apartment complex and turn it on me!! How dare you when I am literally so sick I'm doing great to even be coherent enough to post the pictures and send in the documentation you need. I trusted you USAA well now I do not and I will make sure I tell everyone!!

I said to the representative that it doesn't sound right. If my name is on the deed and the mortgage and I own 50% of the home, I should be able to have the right to my part in the home owners policy. She responded saying, "The only way you can have a say with the policy is if you two are married or your friend gives you power of attorney". Now to me, asking a friend to give you power of attorney over them for a home owners policy is the most, absolute ridiculous thing I've ever heard of!

When I spoke to a broker for home owners and Liberty Mutual, both of them said the same thing that it is crazy that I would either need to marry or get power of attorney over my friend to be able to do anything on a joint policy. When I called them back to find out why, the guy I spoke to couldn't give me a reason except "That's the way it's written. We can't change our policy" I just responded "Then we aren't going to use your policy. That's just the most ridiculous and craziest thing I've ever heard!" So be sure that if you look to this company for home owners insurance, that you either marry the person you move in with or get a power of attorney over them. Judging by other reviews on here, I would just avoid this company all together!

By the end of August it was clear that the mold was extensive and impacted all restrooms. At this point we moved out of our home. Our adjuster had still never been to the property. I had attempted to reach her supervisor but she was the acting supervisor for over a two week period. USAA would not give me a number to anyone other that the adjuster and their supervisor. My requests for a new adjuster were also denied. Finally at the end of September our adjuster showed up. Met with me, the contractor and our abatement company representative. We had a full quote for her a few days after the meeting as was requested. However, our adjuster took a vacation after the meeting prior to completing her work. The individual she said would continue work on the claim was not available and her supervisor is not an adjuster and was unable to pick up the work.

When she arrived back on October 20th she sent an email which stated she was waiting for information. I called to ask what she needed and she told me nothing that she just had to finish processing her estimate. Later that week I had to provide her all the same information that was provided 4 weeks earlier. The adjuster then stated she was still waiting for a report from the abatement company despite the fact the company had provided all requested information previously. When we finally received an estimate it was unrealistic. In fact she had lowered the allotment for the floors she previously approved for the USAA preferred contractor by over $2 a square foot. Other material and labor costs did not take into account the contractors quote where he had sourced specific materials.

An example of the ridiculous adjusting is that for a rebuilt kitchen in San Diego which is down to the frame (without appliances) they offered just over $9K. I have not been able to find any contractor to meet the pricing. Furthermore USAA uses a adjusting program that provides average costs yet it does not offer standard deviations. After calling the company that makes the program it is clear their material cost methodology is rather strong (but doesn’t always factor well for waste based on patching etc. ); however their labor cost methodology is not actually based on real jobs or actual work orders for an area. USAA advised me. I had been paid enough to get me back in my home even though the check required mortgage company endorsement. My mortgage company will not endorsed without a signed contract covering the scope of the payment. My adjuster told me that is an issue with the mortgage company.

Here I am without additional approval for alternative housing beyond the end of the month and no way to get back in my home. The last correspondence from the adjuster stated that she needed per sq. ft. or linear foot quotes for labor from the quote received 8 weeks prior rather than per job numbers. My contractor explained that my adjuster has required more than any other adjuster they have worked with. My adjuster also mentioned in her last correspondence that if I want to get a lawyer to let her know. I shouldn’t need to hire a lawyer to deal with my insurance company and me and my kids should not be homeless for the holidays because USAA is not paying for us to be out of our home and we have the coverage.

I've continually questioned the increase but no one knows. With the cost of living and cost of labor and materials, I expect a slight increase annually, but to more than double over the life of 7 years of extremely high. I have a second home that is almost 50 years old and only 1/3 the size of the above mentioned and that police is $800 annually less than the larger home with the same consistent increase in the rates. They always have the same scripted answer but can never explain how the value of my home decrease with age and market changes each year. Everything is based on their internal model of billing which my personal property valued is 1/2 the value to replace my home. They never send any to you home to even appraise or value anything.

As far as they know, my home may be completely empty, but I still pay the outrageous personal property value. I tried to negotiate the value of my personal items by providing receipt but was told, the coverage is a percentage of the replacement value of my home. This is a really bad experience and they never offer to make amends or have the home appraised. They claim to provide better service for military personnel but they are an independent company. Very poor service and you can never speak to anyone higher than customer service. I'm actively searching for another insurer.

Now, present in September my roof was leaking so I decided to call USAA and file a claim. It took a month for an adjuster to come out, in the meantime we got hit with a hurricane and made the damage worse. The adjuster filed it under my regular deductible of $1,000. It took another 3 weeks and I never heard from them, I called. They had approved the claim but decided to review it again and decided to file it under my hail and wind which is a joke. That deductible is 7,000+ dollars. I find it interesting they approved it under what the adjuster suggested but I suspect they didn't want to pay out so, they decided well let us file it under wind and hail. A second look after it was approved the first time!!! They never sent out a second adjuster for a second opinion just people sitting behind a desk. This is unacceptable. I guess they wanted to save that 3,000+.

First off the damage was to my gutter not my roof. Let me stop for a minute and explain that when I bought my house they were not concerned about the age of my roof - and I have had no other issues (when they insured me that did not come to take pictures of my house nothing - just make your payment and that is it). OK I can say that I had already had it in my budget to do a new roof. Needless to say I had the roof replaced in Apr and provide them a copy of the receipt.

Found out yesterday 10/31 from my mortgage company that I no longer had insurance - so I called upload a copy of the contract but that was not enough. They want picture. What the heck is going on with USAA. I have no idea what is going on with them but I am not a criminal - yet I have been treated like one. By the way the company that replace my roof and gutters stated that my roof was old but the gutter was due to the snow. I am not sure. Needless to say I am moving to State Farm.

An environmental testing firm, independent (per Colorado law) of the abatement contractor, collected samples and had them analyzed. The samples did come back positive. In the meantime, USAA switched adjusters a couple of times and when we finally reached our current adjuster, we kept asking him for an updated adjuster's estimate which should include removal of the hazardous materials. We've never received that estimate. The new adjuster said he thought the abatement contractor's bid was too high and he wanted another bid so he sent out USAA's preferred contractor to bid on the job. The original abatement contractor revised his bid as well. The USAA adjuster then asked my father which company he wanted to use. My father responded that he wanted to the adjuster's estimate. There's been no response since then. We are at an impasse as we don't know what USAA will cover or how much.

60 days later I was told that they were denying my claim completely. This has caused a loss of 10,000$ and loss of time with their delay in processing the claim which could have been used to attempt further litigation. The insurance policy had been in place for many months, and USAA had reviewed my policies numerous times and I had been informed more than once that the high dollar item policies were acceptable. My yearly premium for home, renters, auto, and high dollar items was 4800$ a year and USAA has refused to process this claim in a timely manner, claimed that they policies they issued were invalid, and failed to properly process this claim.

Imagine my surprise, if you can, after selling my home several years ago, and purchasing Renters insurance, plus Valuable Personal Property insurance - to discover that USAA doesn't actually cover anything. Because I am someone who derives some satisfaction out of knowing where I've failed (since I like to know what to avoid next time and avoid future mistakes), I surveyed everything I could on the USAA website, to see if perhaps I'd misunderstood. Sure enough, according to their website, USAA covers everything!!! Or certainly, they want you, the customer, or potential customer, to believe it's so! It ISN'T so.

The test of your insurance, isn't whether the representatives are friendly and helpful, or whether they say they'll take care of you; nor is it the company's supposedly good reputation, which doesn't exist anymore. The test of a good insurance policy is whether your policy actually covers what you thought you were buying when you forked over your money. You won't know until something happens, if your policy will actually cover anything until you file a claim. Your insurance company will either pay your claim, or they won't. If they don't, they should have a very good reason. What I discovered is that despite my following all their instructions, being a very careful and conscientious customer, paying premiums month after month on multiple policies for years, none of my losses - on anything, of any kind - are covered. How convenient!

A better form of insurance for me would have been to pay one of my friends or relatives $50 per month for years, in hopes they'd help me out if I really needed it; and in fact, most friends and relatives would do this anyway, and gasp at the thought of accepting money for it. And most strangers would be more helpful than USAA. What happened after years of being an honored and loyal customer, to warrant my need for USAA to actually come through on its promises? In my case, it was a torrential storm that swept through the entire area, breaking all records. It went on for days. It was in the national news. Power went out, electrical lines were down, high winds, hail, flash floods -- historic records for rainfall were broken that had been set 118 years ago, in 1898.

The storm continued for days. It was scary and inconvenient, especially being without power. But I was safe and dry. Or so I thought. On around Day 4 of the storm, everything changed. Tons of rain started pouring into my house. It was observed to have entered through the ceiling in the Master closet. (I have since learned that rain probably entered through a broken skylight, damaged by hail.) The closet looked like the inside of a shower with all the spigots turned on, except no shower I've seen, except in a locker room, puts out that much water. The floor and carpet were supersaturated. Water leached laterally through the carpet and pad, all the way to the bathroom entrance, across the master bedroom, covering one-half the length of the entire upstairs suite. Everything in the closet was soaked.

Hearing noises downstairs, I hurried down the staircase, and my worries were confirmed. Water was pouring through the ceiling of the first floor from the second level above. Everything was drenched. And the water was not clean. It was muddy, and left sediment on all the surfaces where it fell. My couch, loveseat, artwork, everything was drenched. There were 2 inches of water under my couch. Water standing on my coffee table, and sitting on my leather dining room chairs. My piano is right there. And wet.

But that is not all. Water was also coming up from below the surface of the brick flooring, on the ground floor. Water was actually seeping into the living room, dining room, and kitchen from spaces between bricks that comprise the ground level floor surfaces, although there are no observable spaces between the bricks -- but water finds its way from areas of greater concentration to lesser concentration. So, water was coming into the first floor from both above, and below. (Exactly how it entered through the floor I'm not certain, but there must be spaces between the foundation and the brick pavers, although the property owner denies this, for some reason - possibly because it is a violation of building codes?)

I have photos of all this. I contacted the property owner immediately. She lives in another state. I also contacted USAA immediately. The property owner, who is a customer of MetLife, did nothing. She said she was sorry. She said she'd pay for me to go to a hotel, but she didn't. She said she'd pay the exorbitant cost of ServiceMaster to run their equipment 24/7, but she didn't. I've been left holding the bag. And USAA said they'd pay for these things, but they haven't. They conveniently denied my claim.

In my first call to USAA, while this disaster was taking place, the USAA representative said they'd contact someone in my area and that I'd receive a phone call in 24-48 hours. No one called. I heard from no one. They also told me I'd need to submit a complete list of damaged items, with photographs. A complete report, with lots of detail. And I should do it ASAP. By this time, my computer, printer, and office equipment were in water, and everything needed to be unplugged.

I was able to convince the property owner that some mitigation company should be called. My things were soaking wet, and I didn't know what to do. She eventually go on that, and it wasn't until about a week later that I learned that her call to ServiceMaster was for the purpose of preserving HER property, and not mine. They eventually boxed up the contents of my closet, and sealed it tightly, whereafter I learned just last week, that all of my clothing is covered in mold and rotten or stained. So, it's been kind of hard to inventory all of it, until now.

Meanwhile, USAA denied my claim anyway, based on a lot of inaccurate information they willingly solicited by anyone and everyone who had something to gain by giving inaccurate information (such as unlicensed adjusters), without actually inspecting the property, assessing the damage, or identifying the source of water entry, while totally denying everything I submitted, which is factual. I also have photos, eye witnesses, and evidence that contradicts her story she provided to USAA. Yet, USAA is denying my claim anyway.

Now, they're encouraging me to start all over and file a Valuable Personal Property claim. I don't want to do that because I feel that if I do, it will allow them to close out my claim on my Renters policy, and I don't feel they've performed honorably or within the standard of care established expected or established within the industry. I expect if I file a VPP claim, they will deny that, as well. Most of my damaged property is unscheduled. I feel they should do due diligence and attend to this claim.

You can stop reading if you get the gist of this. The rest are details. Yes, I am interested in filing a court action. Yes, if this can be settled by the state insurance commissioner, that would be easier and better. But I'm doubtful it will be successful. Yes, I am open and receptive to any and all suggestions. I am really in need of qualified guidance.

Here are some details: A WEEK after placing my initial call to USAA, I received a call from someone from a construction company. They said they'd been contacted by USAA, and they'd send someone out. We set up a time, they said they'd bring a team. No team came. A fella showed up alone about an hour late, he was dispatched to the wrong address. I had corrected my address at least three times with USAA, but they never seem to actually correct my address. The fella said he didn't know what he was supposed to do. He said he'd never done anything like this before. He walked around, talked a lot about who knows what, and left.

The next day, another guy called and said he was coming the following day. He was even worse. He took pictures, insulted me and my belongings, lied, and told me to lie about where water was coming in. He said I'd better not tell USAA that water came in from below the floor, or my claim would be denied. I explained water came in from above AND below.

He never inspected the roof. He didn't even look at it. I offered to show him photos of the water coming in. He wouldn't look at the actual photos I have, of the water entering. It turns out, he wasn't even a licensed adjustor. He has no license of any kind registered in the state. Neither did the first guy. How does USAA decide which unqualified, untrained, unlicensed person they will dispatch to come and photograph my personal belongings and ask me personal questions? I have no idea.

Before I had a chance to find out that the guy wasn't even licensed, I'd already heard from USAA, informing me that based on that knucklehead's so called report, they were denying my claim. I also learned that the first guy they sent out was also not licensed. I told USAA that he wasn't qualified, he didn't do anything; he lied to me about my policy, and told me to lie to USAA about where water was coming in, and I wanted them to know this! I told them from the get go, that if I file a claim, any claim - it will be ACCURATE. I don't care if it doesn't jive with their expectations. If they want to know how and where water is coming in, I will tell them what I saw. I will show them photos. I have witnesses. It happened more than once. If the source of water doesn't jive with their expectations or protocol or algorithm, that is a problem outside of my domain. I'm here to tell the truth. I have tried.

For some reason, the property owner does not openly accept or admit that water came up from between the bricks. But her sons have seen it, and we discussed it when it first happened a couple of years earlier. Maybe something about building code violations? But should I be expected to cover for her if that is indeed the case? I don't think so. And yet USAA seems very happy and willing to fully accept all of the property owner's inaccurate and deceptive statements when it helps them to deny my claim.

The property owner told USAA that water entered the residence because of leaves, based on the fact that the property owner refused to call a licensed contractor to come out and actually inspect or repair the premises, and instead called upon her elderly mother who lives locally, to find someone; and her elderly mother found an unlicensed, unbonded, unqualified, physically impaired, medically fragile person who calls himself a handyman. The fella came out and fiddled around, cleaned up the leaves, and said leaves on the roof caused the damage. He did some "repairs". The owner asked ServiceMaster to come out. They removed the walls and ceilings in the closet. The handyman returned a few weeks later to replace the walls and ceilings. But guess what. Water came pouring in again 2 weeks later when it rained, because the problem wasn't caused by leaves, and he never fixed the actual problem.

Regardless, neither USAA nor the owner will budge from their totally inaccurate, made-up story that all of this damage was caused by leaves, despite the fact that no qualified person, no contractor or any individual has ever inspected the roof to assess and identify the source of damage. Last week, the same handyman replaced the skylight at the request of the owner, and reported that it was damaged and has holes in it. This is consistent with hail damage, and we did receive hail when all this happened. Yet, despite the fact that we know there was hail, high wind, and the skylight was damaged, for some reason, the owner sticks to her story that leaves caused the damage. And USAA is perfectly fine with this. It allows them to reject my claim and give me the runaround.

The fact that there was no standing water when either of the fake adjustors showed up a week later than promised can be attributed to the fact that they showed up a week later than promised. It's not my fault that USAA reneged on their agreement to have someone come out in 24-48 hours. It seems USAA is working for the property owner, but I am USAA's customer, not the property owner. The property owner is a customer of MetLife. The property owner has not been honest with MetLife about the source of damage. Yet, USAA prefers to go with her story, despite the fact that she has never seen the damage, lives in a different state, and refused to comply with USAA's (and my) repeated requests to provide a report by a qualified contractor.

I could say more, but this is long enough. I feel for the many people who have spent time and countless hours attempting to resolve their own issues with USAA. I feel badly for them. Many have served our country. They deserve to be treated better. My father-in-law led the Normandy invasion. He earned many medals and awards. He was a decorated Army officer. My father was a navigator in the Air Force, and flew night missions over Borneo. What does USAA do to honor their memory, their legacy? I realize that isn't their responsibility - it is ours. However, I have read so many stories by family members who are suffering because of USAA's negligence, and I didn't want my own situation to be left outside in the cold. If anything I can offer helps others stay out of this kind of situation, I'm willing to help.

I proudly boasted of my allegiance to USAA for many years. Those days are over. They need to be called out for their deplorable practices. Too many people, and too many lives are at risk due to their lack of accountability. I am seeking other insurance, and hope there is some class action suit that can help others attain some measure of justice. I'm sorry this is so long. I hope the moderators of this site will feel comfortable editing my entry to make it shorter. Thank you.

USAA would not stand behind many of the problems or the promises that they had in their contract and drag their feet over a year and a half to actually pay us and still to this day three years later I am still waiting for some of my funds. USAA would not put us up in alternate housing and close my son and I breathing problems Due to exposure of the irritants coming from the rift of ceramics in my 4000 square-foot house. I find USAA to be responsible. I need to threaten them to get anything done. They are callous. When of the house need to be cleaned and literally every wall is covered in dust and dirt as well ceilings and the ventilation Johnathan ** as well as your next represented denied us not only housing elsewhere but also cleaning. They were forced against the wall by Service Master company that was unrelated to the company. USAA is irresponsible and not worth even utilizing.

The agents are robots that continue to say the same thing over and over. Farmers Insurance (the company for the upper unit) listens and has been much more proactive and helpful. This USAA is not the organization of a few years ago. Time to move on. I don't need to spend thousands of dollars every year to have no customer service, platitudes and disdain.

I then asked Mr.** to refer my complaint to the national level of the organization for review and confirm the referral. He did call me and stated that he had instead referred it to his superior, ** In a subsequent phone call initiated my Mr. **, I asked him to communicate the results of his review for the record via USAA's online claims communications system. Mr. ** failed to respond further. I then decided that I had no choice but to send a formal complaint directly to the chairman of USAA, with "cc" to its president and CEO. Not even a written acknowledgment! Here is my response to Mr. **, posted in USAA's claims communication system, which summarizes the core issues motivating me.

A verbatim copy of that response was included in my letter to USAA's chairman as well: "That, Mr. **, is not a satisfactory response. You incorrectly concluded that my "main" complaint was the amount of time it has taken to resolve this claim. No, Mr. **, that is not the principal issue at all. Rather it is the incredibly inept handling of the claim, beginning with the inability of the two USAA-directed contractors correctly to diagnose the cause and point of entry of the water intrusion into my home and their obvious, and perhaps directed, focus on irrelevant perceived defects in the construction of my townhouse condo, followed by the initial denial of the claim by your staff for the wrong reasons, the subsequent unhelpful, uninformed, arbitrary, often contradictory and incorrect messages generated by your subordinates, and the customer-averse, not to say openly hostile, atmosphere that permeated nearly all the exchanges posted on this board.

How could you possibly miss, or deny, the essential crux of the problem here? Even ** (the adjuster) acknowledged the terrible manner in which this claim was handled and apologized for it, but refused to take any action to make amends and you are simply reconfirming that, at USAA, incredibly and inexcusably sad customer service has become the norm and that USAA has, in fact, lost its way." When I failed to receive any sort of response from, or on behalf of the USAA chairman or president/CEO, I finally decided, after 58 years, to vote with my feet and take my business and insurance premiums elsewhere. I discovered, to my regret, that I should have taken that step years ago, if not because of unacceptably poor customer service, then for economic reasons alone.

My new homeowner's and auto policies, with competing insurance companies, for precisely the same coverage limits, will save me $272.00 per six-month period on the auto policy, and $60.00 a year on the homeowner's policy. But, again, my motivation for finally cutting my ties to USAA was not financial but abysmally dismal customer service. USAA has grown so large that it is unable effectively and efficiently to manage itself. As it grew from a small automobile insurance company, that was founded by military officers to serve the needs of other military officers, into a giant financial services conglomerate, it completely abandoned its founding principle and sacrificed its member/customer-focus to the maximization of its profits, and the customer be damned. Yes, USAA, you have truly lost your way. Good-bye!

BEWARE OF USAA. They will take your premiums, but when it's time to pay, they will turn on you. I even elevated my claim to the CEO's office, thinking I would get better treatment, but that had no effect on USAA. I do not even get a phone call. They only communicate with me via email. I've never been more frustrated than this in my life. I feel like I'm all alone with no one to help me.

Temporary housing was supposed to be set up for me because there is a hole in my house and we have had rodents or animals get into the house during the night. The temporary housing unit found shelter for us, but it was declined because they were told we need to stay in the same vicinity that we currently live in. The place that was approved was in a gang infested area that I refused to be relocated to. We are still living in the house that I boarded up to keep the rodents/animals out of. I am fighting tears every day through this entire process. My daughter is seeing medical professionals for stress disorder associated with the incident.

I did comparison and cancelled my auto and went to Geico where I have ALL of the same features and my monthly payments are only $176.00 a month. Dropping my auto insurance which dropped the multi-discount only increased the insurance by $114 a year. USAA is not affiliated with the U.S Armed Forces, but they make it seem as if they cater to the service members, but they do not. It doesn't matter if you are a War Vet or not, they want to make money off of the military and their families. Shop around and I promise you will be alarmed at the much competitive prices of other insurance companies.

My question is this: How would the homeowner ever know about this in order to meet the 14 day criteria? As soon as I noticed anything I contacted them and went ahead with their contractor. Now they are saying the claim is denied and I am up ** creek. I don't have the money at this time to completely redo my master bathroom. I feel this is completely BS, the homeowner has no leg to stand on. Homeowners insurance should protect you from the large claim that could bankrupt you. I will be moving my coverage and speaking with family members and recommend they do the same. I have never had a claim and have been with USAA for 10+ years. DO NOT PURCHASE ANYTHING FROM A COMPANY THAT TREATS ITS MEMBERS LIKE THIS!

Keep in mind, if we purchase this home, it's a $250K house. A nice place but nothing special. I tried to explain I couldn't afford that and would like a quote through the Insurance Association. The rep, Shane, said that wasn't possible, I could only get the $17K premium because USAA now offers it. As I attempted to explain that the cost was beyond affordable, Shane kept talking over me saying "Do you have any questions about any of your policies with USAA?" That's ALL he would say and wouldn't stop talking while I was trying to find out if there was anything I could do or even talk to a manager. Shane wouldn't shut up. I finally just hung up.

I have been a member of USAA for 17 years and have seen a steady decline in the area of Property insurance. Sadly, I am seriously considering leaving USAA, but I will do my homework first. And my suggestion to others considering switching to USAA, they were a really good company but have made numerous changes over the last few years that have resulted in degraded customer service and unaffordable premiums.

I then asked the customer service rep where I could obtain copies of the loss information they submitted to the Alabama Insurance Commission for the past five years to justify the rate increases and he told me they were public records and I could get them from the state insurance commission website. I went there and, of course, nothing was found. I sent an email to the USAA homeowners insurance division asking for that information. I received an email back from Mr. ** which stated the information I requested was proprietary and USAA could not release it to me.

I can't believe that USAA can submit rate insurance requests to the state insurance commission any time they want to and that information be confidential. Seems to me they are making it proprietary for a reason; so they can squeeze every penny out of their policyholders and we won't know that they are just sticking it to us year after year. In the meantime, USAA annual profits are at an all time high and we continue to pay more for insurance. Go figure! Time for a new insurance company!

To add insult to injury, USAA has just informed me they will not be renewing my USAA umbrella liability policy due to my carrying my homeowners coverage through a non-USAA insurer. If I want to continue umbrella liability insurance through the USAA "General Agency" with a non-USAA carrier my premium would rise from its current $285/year to over $600/yr. Again there would be no change in policy or underlying limits. USAA makes the claim in their advertising, 92% of its members' plan to stay for life. I thought I was one of that 92%, but it appears they don't want me. BTW in the entire time I have been covered by USAA, we have had one homeowners claim and one auto glass claim.

I will say that our other carriers had local agents while USAA had none, which made me wonder how complex it would be to file a claim! We never filed any claims but just received paperwork regarding our roof age and type, which inevitably would result in an even higher premium! As a result we are again researching other insurance companies and will most likely go back to our old carrier... State Farm, lower rates overall, same coverage, and if the past is any indication, no issues when filing a claim. All in all, USAA is not a bargain, just another insurance company that is playing off and getting rich off the veterans and their families. So typical!

So I am wondering, WHY did you tell me you would cover the loss, then LIE to me, and my wife? I submitted my complaint to the Better Business Bureau, and USAA said "I am responding to your submission regarding personal property coverage for your claims. Garrett **, of our staff, completed another thorough review of your concerns; however, there has been no change in our coverage decision."

Today (Aug 26th) I located their customer service number, called to find out what why my insurance had been cancelled. I was told the problem was that their fax copy of the DD214 came in as only 1/2 of the document. But in July when I faxed the document, I called USAA the same day and was told that it would process it in 2-3 days. I NEVER heard a word from them until I received the cancellation letter stating my insurance at my request -- NOT A FLIPPING WORD.

So I asked for their documentation that the policy was cancelled at my request - and of course there is NONE and that is just the nonsense they put on their letters so they don't look badly. What a lie -- so today, I uploaded the DD214 to their web page (not an option according to their letter) and now they tell me I have to wait another 2-3 days for a review and they would contact me. So I have had NO insurance since Aug 9th and they tell me it will take 2-3 days to process and they will let me know if it is acceptable. This from the same people who NEVER notified me last time.

So I asked if my policy would be reinstated as of the day of the cancellation but they can't tell me that either. Nor can they tell me if they are going to charge me more money because they cancelled the policy out of their system. They all because of their poor fax capability and absolute disregard for contacting someone who is about to NOT have insurance on their property - goes under the heading of "if it doesn't affect me personally then I don't care".

USAA is the worst insurance company that I have ever dealt with -- they are a complete shame for veterans like me who earned the right to use them through service to my country -- the foundation of the USAA banner. Shameful service... Would recommend you never trust what they tell you -- verify and get something in WRITING EVEN IF YOU HAVE TO CALL THEM EVERY DAY. Now I am in a holding pattern to find out if I have insurance, if it will cost me more, and all because their fax machine malfunctioned and they didn't bother to email or notify me -- god knows I get tons of mail to buy services. HORRIBLE, SHAMEFUL service for veterans!

So a few days past and I called and got Sydney **. She because our new adjuster. We created a list of items and tools stolen and submitted the pages to through the USAA mobile app. Sydney said that we need to come up with pictures and receipts to help her but if we didn't she would have to give us a estimated value. We have the premium policy with full replacement. When the repair and personal property was estimated by Sydney and USAA they authorized a fraction of the cost and replacement. She wanted me to use the USAA contractor call "Teddy Bear Construction", I refused. We wanted a contractor we knew with his work. So when we asked for her itemized list on our personal property she had only paid us for page 1 of our 4 pages of stolen items. Some of the tools stolen she itemized weren't even the same tools we listed that were stolen and she undervalues them by hundreds of dollars.

So now that we called her on the discrepancies and 3 pages of items not figured in. We have been advised that they stopped payment on the check they sent out and have now hired a private investigator from Veracity Research out of TX to investigate us and our claim. I would have that with the amount of complaints all over the internet from USAA customers and Veterans we need an Attorney to file all of a class action lawsuit. I'm contacting an attorney to investigate USAA. They're preying on Veterans.

Once the adjuster found out I had contacted the BBB, his lack of action has increased even more than before. I have requested financial assistance with lodging until my claim is complete and have only received $1,200, which barely covers 10 days in a decent hotel, I'm referring to a 1-star hotel, not including meals. I've complained to over a dozen USAA representatives who could care and keep referring me back to the same adjustor. I've attempted to contact the adjustor's manager who every time call has always conveniently been out of the office for a week or more at a time.

To date no one has held the claims adjustor over my claim accountable for anything and meanwhile, I have no home to live or place to cook, and have exhausted a lot of my savings, just to have a place to live while USAA sits back and does nothing. I have been with USAA for 16 years and based off the treatment I've received thus far, I'm seriously considering taking legal action against them for their lack of action.

Also, they took pictures on the roof and said there were broken tiles and shifted tiles - showed me the pictures. Hmmm sounds like wind damage right? 60 days ago roof was fine now broken and shifted tiles. It takes ATI three trips and three different people to get the place dried out by making the hold in the ceiling now 3 feet square and removing tons of insulation... really - couldn't figure this out the first time? was the water hiding? Now the fun starts - let's play the estimate your damage game and then deny the claim. ATI shows up to give an estimate of $2100+ to replace dry wall, insulation and paint - really, sounds really high but of course they know I have a $2,000 deductible so nicely matches and they will also be paid for the nearly $1,800 water mitigation - what an amazing estimate.

Then the USAA roofing contractor shows up and never really looks under the tarp but comes up with the conclusion that "it's bad maintenance of valleys and vents" so no storm or wind damage and all out of my pocket. Amazingly no one can find the pictures from the original crew that shows broken and shifted tiles. Response from ATI is "oh every roof has broken tiles - lots of them". Of course no one can explain how a roof goes from good on inspection and not leaking to poorly maintained and leaking in 60 days. If this was an old house and roof I can get it - maybe. This is not the case. It's a giant racket - USAA will never pay a roof claim, contractors will never bite the hand that feeds them and their quotes always come close to the deductible. Recommendation - Never ever use USAA, ATI or Summit Roofing of AZ or prepare to be cheated and lied to.

My parents were 60 year USAA members and paid premiums on the house for 40 years. My mother died and a month later we had a terrible wind/hail storm that damaged the roof and took down telephone poles and power out for days. We file a claim for my mothers estate. My sister has USAA also and they fixed her a new roof no problem. The same roofer says mom's roof is much worse. USAA hires a third party company out of Atlanta who says the roof is not damaged. We disagree and hire a public adjuster and request a second adjuster so USAA forks out for an Engineer who meets with our public adjuster and the engineer makes a report that a certain number of nails are out of place and therefore improper installation and the claim is denied. I have called several public adjusters and gotten similar answers. It is a new scam by many Insurance Companies to get out of paying roof claims.

If you want to pick an auto insurance company go to 8 different collision centers and ask how the various insurance companies fix the customers cars. If you want a homeowners policy call five or six public adjusters who get complaints from consumers and see what companies are reasonably honest. The interesting thing was that they had the least amount of complaints, ie no claims against Texas Farm Bureau. I am a 44 year member of USAA and I don't want this to happen to me or my children so I am in the process of looking elsewhere.

USAA has changed. Even the life insurance ripped off the members about 2005.When I retired from the Air Force in 1990, I bought a usaa life policy instead of VGLI because USAA also had a decreasing tail benefit at the level premium after the 30 years was up all the way to 90 like the VGLI. It was the series three policy. This meant you could continue level premium after the 30 year policy and the benefit would drop all the way to 90 or 100 I have forgotten which. USAA decided that was not a good deal and initiated series five policies around 2004 and said at the end of the policy term not only would the benefit drop but the premium would go up and was shown to really go up to unaffordable levels unless by some chance you were going to die in a year or two and it was worth it to keep paying the double or triple premium for a year or two. If I had realized that would happen I should have split and bought both the usaa and the VGLI.

They, typical layman, does not commonly read their policy and throughout the years, I have identified them adding things that were not only unnecessary but nonexistent.. They said that it is their policy and on top of that, they added 4k to medical.. This, too, is not necessary.. Please all, read your policies! It is my intention to contact the local news and an attorney in pursuit of a class action lawsuit against this illegal addition.. And remember, this insurance was to be for the military..

Not long after that a man pulled up, then soon my husband and then the police! So cut this shorter the police ask me what happened then went to the women's house to get her statement and check the damage. The police and the women's husband come back. The husband tells me he's take his wife to the hospital and the dog to the vet and will I pay for the bills, I reply of course I'll take care of and gave him the info he needed. He left. I got a ticket to go to court for the incident. Just so you all know I knew it was all my fault and I was horrified about the whole incident and I owned up to it. A couple weeks later I went to court and to my amazement my case was excused with no fines, I don't know why it just was.

I had been keeping my eye out for hospital and vet bills in the mail but, nothing then, a letter for an attorney came! The lawyer informed to call my homeowner insurance to get in touch with him. So I did USAA claims dept. The gentlemen asked me about the incident, told me not to worry, he said that's what insurance is for and that he'd take care of everything and if he needed anything else he'd call me back. I hadn't hear anything for weeks then, last week I got a call from USAA that my policy came for review and that they noticed that I had put in a claim in January 2015 and want to know what happened.

So I told her the story, she said she would talk to the panel and give me a callback. In 5 minutes she called back with the news that USAA will not be renewing my policy! I am not saying I'm not at fault but is this not why we have insurance! This is the first time I put in a claim. In the 8 years that I have had my dogs they have never been out of our fenced in yard! And though I take the blame for this it was a repairman that had left the gate open! I just didn't think to check it! That's why I blame myself! USAA should be ashamed the first time and they canceled my policy all those years they took my money and felt protected! My dogs have never ever hurt anyone before this incident.

I felt compelled to write this so people know that if they decide to give your hard earned money to USAA this can happen to you as well! Insurance is to protect you not leave you on the streets, as this incident may well do to my husband age 75 and me age 60 for we may not be able to afford homeowners insurance. 40 years my husband served our country. I swear I have loved our country all the days of my life but, since last week I have never been so very scared every minute of the day and am so uncertain of our future.

As I proceeded with my documentation filing this claim, each time I submitted all my items, and provided a notarized affidavit I was asked for more detail and through literally scores of calls to the insurance company that has layers of office personnel that tell you your'e not meeting the terms of the insurance policy. The practices of these people as listed by the disgruntled people on Consumer Reports are true. They not only try to discourage you in numerous ways but insult good people to the point of frustration trying to encourage you to drop your case. I have talked to every level of personnel to date and am waiting for the CEO (consumer advocate) to call me back seeking settlement.

USAA has been deceptive in their practices telling me to figure it out when I had receipts removed and proof of loss is in pictures from the 1st loss. Not only do I feel deceived by an organization that represents military people only but spited, and demeaned is part of this humiliation. I will not give this battle up and Congress needs to intervene in this company's bad practices.

Original Review: May 16, 2015

I had two reputable roofing contractors inspect my roof and tell me I had severe hail damage. I opened a claim with USAA, I have been with them for 35 yrs, yes 35 yrs... Their adjuster showed up this evening and after only being here for 25 mins told me I had very little damage and that "he" would pay for a couple things but that's it. The other estimates I got were both around 10k. So the first thing USAA will do for you when you file a claim is screw you. They are not there to service you. You are wasting your money with USAA. I'll be moving on and telling everyone I know about it. Oh, the first thing out of the claim persons mouth when I called, was, "Well, why are you calling us now for this". Uh by law I have up to 2 yrs to file and it was less than a year. Of course they were implying I was trying to scam them from the beginning... Instead of saying "Oh we are so sorry, what can we do to help?"

The customer service I spoke to initially was so rude and implied that we should be more responsible and read our mail. We did not get mail, they claimed they sent a certified letter, but could not prove it. I am not sure what is going on, but The WORST company ever. We got some different insurance and closed all accounts. They do not care about veterans. They are shifty at best and should be exposed and should be prosecuted!

What did my auto policy have to do with my homeowners policy?? I have been driving all my life and never had a ticket. I had written Jose Robles, CEO prior but I was totally ignored by him. All I want is to have my roof repaired. Is this what you have to look forward to after you stay with a company 27 years?? Think twice about USAA before buying a policy!! Wonder why they have to advertise so much now?? Why are they in a class action for not wanting to pay claims?? I hope they will do what's right about my policies and claim for my roof.

The USAA rep claimed that this was normal for a two bedroom under 900 sq ft. Most of my furniture (%75) was destroyed. I had two small club chairs that was cleaned; Tempur-Pedic mattresses, boxspring, THREE sets of living room furniture - one for formal living room, one for TV (second bedroom) and a fainting couch and matching chairs (all fabric) were thrown away due to smoke damage. I never got to see the damages; I did not have large appliances - these were supplied by landlord. The second vendor, who I feel did much more work - dry cleaning/washing/folding my clothes, shoes, purses, hats, coats and linens/towels was paid under $4000.00. Other monies were paid to the three week stay in a hotel suite (but I had to buy food). The total paid to me was $1500.00. That's it!

I could have had my furniture travel by container and cleaned in CHINA for less than the $21,000. I think these charges are bogus - probably kickbacks. When I made a complaint to the office of the CEO - I was told they would assign me to another representative for investigation. Guess what? They told me it was ALL done correctly and I would not receive any other monies. USAA is horrible! RUN! Go to any other company. Deceitful. Incompetent. Before you think of USAA READ ALL the complaints. Since then I have gone to another insurance company, and plan to go to the Insurance Commission and States Attorney's office. If you have a genuine complaint you should too.

Needless to say, USAA will not dispute the illegally cashed check and want me to write a research paper to their 3rd party vendor reps, so they can look into it. Meanwhile winter 2015 snowfall is cracking more of my house and needs another evaluation. I'm getting older as the days and years go by.. customer service seems to be for the contractors and not homeowner. Why do they get to hold the claim check? They don't care about your home, only the $$! I read the reviews on USAAs homeowners insurance, and it is not something I wish on my enemy's.

Further - every year I double check rates and USAA is ALWAYS comparable rates..... The real kicker is when you look at coverage amounts AND covered events PLUS deductibles. You'll be shocked at how fair USAA is and how much coverage they give compared to other companies. Cant believe I didn't really know about them all these years as a veteran! So glad to have an insurance company which I KNOW HAS MY BACK!

My personal homes dwelling is only covered for $100 per sq ft and is 10 times nicer than my rental property and 15 minutes away from the rental. Yet my rental is valued at $116 per sq ft. I believe tearing down my 2800 sq ft house and clearing would cost more than tearing down a 1396 sq ft house. It doesn't make sense! The main problem is that they won't let me lower it. They argue with me every time. This time the customer representative stopped talking to me all together. It's my home, my choice and they won't allow me to lower it. I will be making a change, terrible customer service.

I immediately called SERVPRO and spoke to the owner and asked his advice and if he could please give me an estimate what the clean up and damage would cost me. He stated that clean-up would be approximately $15K and rebuild of home would range between $60K to $100K. So I called USAA back to get a better understanding that just maybe they were overlooking something since I pay every month religiously on the due date. Well surprisingly enough I received a denial of claim letter two days later. Thanks to USAA and the crook that took my copper pipes, it looks as though I have no other option than to foreclose on my home. What ever happened to Ethics and Integrity?

Long story short, after a month, they emailed me the estimate of what they would give me. Now, keep in mind, almost everything had been a gift from my husband or from my wedding. I had Christmas presents purchased that were stolen in the bags with receipts. I had a 2 karat diamond stolen. They gave me 1300 for the diamond (try to find one for that). They gave me 84.00 per pair of UGG boots, brand new (they were 150.00). They gave me 65.00 on a set of sterling silver that is 4800.00 to replace. So now I am fighting with them. They also informed me that I can only claim 1000.00 of jewelry. Wish they had told me that when I bought the policy. I had a camcorder that was 1500.00 2 yrs ago and they gave me 150.00. Camera, 600.00, they gave me 60. I called Progressive Insurance. They have a policy for the same premium that covers double what USAA covers for me, and if you have a claim, you get ALL replacement cost. I am switching to them today. USAA is a rip off. Not only was I violated by a stranger, I was violated by the insurance company.

So finally, I noticed today they added $40 bucks on top of the normal fee for 5,000 in valuable jewelry...AND then they tacked on another $100 to the $1,250 in homeowners! So, lo and behold I went to my guy at State Farm and he gave me a near identical quote for $1030.00 with actually better premiums than what USAA said they would do to reduce the costs. Needless to say, I'm sorry to go as I truly love what USAA has done for me. But money and coverage is the key, and I do not feel the feels anymore on the insurance side.

So first, they say I don't have personal property because I changed for lower rates with my auto. They basically said I no longer had personal property because those were together. I know for a fact when I purchased my home, I'd requested for my PP to be added into my HO because I have a multi-family. In the end, I was told in order to get any info on my PP, I'd have to get a subpoena for them to release the information. Just goes to show that they didn't want me to have the information on what I was covered for or not.

I'm waiting months (3) before I even see a check for the fire and on top of that, Bank of America kept sending them back saying they're not written correct or they needed more info from USAA. I'm calling USAA to find out what's going on and finally get the checks sent correctly, fire was in August, didn't get checks until end of March. Now I'm dealing with BOA and their inspectors. Several times they sent out inspectors but they had to send out another because the one they sent didn't do something or were no longer working with them. Add on top of that the five to ten business days and time is flying past with little funds to get work done. So here it is, the house USAA placed us in, the lease is up and we're homeless because the work is just now starting. It's like splitting hairs to get the disbursements from BOA to keep the work going.

In the meantime, USAA drops my HO saying because the work's not finished. I can't get insured because the work's not complete and they still have my claim for my PP open but refuse to payout. I call USAA and they say my claim is still good and to continue the work. I get almost finished and BOA sells my loan, just great. New company says they don't have the funds so of course, I'm calling BOA and USAA. Can't reach USAA for months but I finally get new the company on the line with BOA and get the funds. But of course the funds are short - over $100,000 short.

When I finally get in contact with my rep at USAA, he says he's no longer in that department but email him pictures of the work. I do and it takes him over a month just to tell me he can't open the pictures so I mail him a disk. I'm pissed because I feel like he's not working my claim and ask for info for the new Claims Manager but he never responds. Another month passes before he responds saying he needs to send out a USAA rep to view property. Then he takes vacation and I'm back in the dark about what's going on. I'm calling the number he's left on his VM but it's not in working order so I wait and continue to call him.

When I finally reach him he says I need to send in receipts. Now this is my first claim, I've never even had an auto claim so I don't know the process and he only gave me info on Auto Claim in the packet he gave me. This is baffling because I was never told to keep all the receipts and the ones I had many of them were unreadable so I mail him everything I have. When USAA dropped my insurance, he never mentioned anything about the receipts then either. I'm emailing him to find out if he's received them and nothing, mailing letters, nothing. I've certified mailed my rep, Presidential Department, Claims Manager Supervisor, Claims Manager, any and everyone but still have not heard anything back. I've mailed them so many letters, it's beyond ridiculous. I finally contact the Missouri Department of Insurance and waiting again.

I'm at the end of my ropes and still, I don't know what to do to get USAA to pay the claim besides wait. I think this is total bs when I've paid them, now they don't want to payout without me having to get a lawyer. Between USAA and BOA, I've learned a great deal about the fraud that goes on with insurance. The fact that they can just not respond or take forever and a day to tell you anything is sickening. Any ideas on how I can get this problem solved, I'd appreciate it.

USAA stated that it was the property owner's responsibility to file on their insurance. Daughter got stuck with this bill! She was the victim here - thrice over stalker, property owner and then USAA! REALLY screwed up her credit rating because the property owners didn't tell her that USAA denied it until it was already sent to bill collection agency. What a bunch of ** for an active duty enlisted person to go through.

Then my vehicle was broken into twice. All my CD music which was over a hundred was stolen and my smart phone which I didn't even include in the claim - I didn't think to and other items and they didn't even cover the music and I almost 2 years ago. I am five months late on the consumer loan. I did pay it for over a year and a half but I ran out of money because I've been with my husband, two children from a previous married. They do nothing to help that veteran. I am a veteran of the United States Army. I'm a disabled battery. My husband wasn't - I am but because I had an account with them he also get in his own name.

Bottom Line? For the exactly same policy coverage for our home and 2 cars, USAA was $2600.00 more a year. I say again, TWENTY SIX HUNDRED DOLLARS more a year than my FARMERS INSURANCE COMPANY was! I was floored and to be honest, angry, that they have gotten away with saying and in fact hearing others say they are a good Insurance Company for Military Servicemen. Hogwash! USAA has raised their Insurance rates to match the highest of the Insurance Companies out there!

I am taking the time to write this report because I want people, and especially military people, to know that just because you are a honorably discharged military Vet, that Sir or Ma'am, DOES NOT MEAN that USAA is the best deal for you as far as Home/Auto Insurance Companies! Check out Farmers and at least 7 more before you decide WHO you will LET provide insurance for you and your family members. It is YOUR hard-earned money, NOT THEIRS. I will not be calling USAA in the future for quote rates and will tell my family members and military friends to beware of considering USAA before checking at least 7 Home/Car insurance companies FIRST before calling USAA.

Just one other thing, although the young lady was nice and professional she kept telling me AFTER we both discussed that USAA's quote she gave me over the phone was $2600.00 more a year to me, that "USAA is a very competitive Insurance company!!" I had to interrupt her several times to remind her that I was going to have to pay over twice as much for the same coverage if I decided to go with USAA! Guess what she said again to me??? "Well, Mr. **, USAA is a very competitive Insurance company."!! I just had to laugh and think to myself, Man, they sure do brainwash them good in the USAA training program they send these USAA insurance representatives through!

Life expectancy is reduced when one does not follow these precautions. After the initial cleaning was declared completed, my porches were still covered in soot and no rugs or upholstered furniture had been clean at all. I went immediately back to my oxygen machine to find it covered in soot on the outside and when I took out the filter and ran water through it, the water turns a grayish black. Stay tuned for more as I continue to deal with people who have minimalized my health and the effect of the smoke damage to my home.

Now I am supposed to have heard from your USAA adjuster for a week now. Meanwhile the home will continue to have water damage, when it rains. Is this how USAA has come to treat the loyal 25+ years customers? The roof metal is ripped, bent, paint has been stripped in spots, screws have been ripped out and more. This is not "WEAR". I have called Yolanda ** and her voicemail says "She is out of the office indefinitely and do not bother leaving a message". THIS IS RIDICULOUS.

Today I call and bypass Jamie's line to speak to another representative who informs me I'll be receiving a $71.00 check. REALLY! Guess I'll purchase 5 more tarps. Apparently my deductible went up somewhere between 2007 and now. Really considering someone else. It's not so much the deductible as it is NO personal communication from your claims adjuster. Swamped or not, I thought USAA was better than this.

Needless to say, I declined their offer and cancelled the USAA insurance. I am deeply disappointed that this company that "knows what it means to serve" seems only to know what it means to price gouge the citizens of the state of Florida. Believe me, when our auto insurance policies come due, I will be taking a long look at other companies then, as well. USAA is no longer an honorable company serving military and retired military; it is just another insurance company out to fleece its customers.

We were in process on military move. 6 day prior to have our schedule move, our home was Vandalized and burglarized. We have been robbed both by USAA and by the intruder of our home. We feel so violated. USAA does not have a clue or care about your needs. They just want your funds. They are just like any bank institutions - TO TAKE/MAKE MONEY. Reported the incident to the police and contacted USAA. USAA states they do not need to have inspector to come to our property. This was mishandled from the very beginning by incompetent staff - which represented USAA - FAIL TO PAY ON CLAIMS. Police report with photos submitted. 6 mos - a year passed no payment on Claim (closed the claim). No solution. MILITARY FAMILIES... CONSUMER, BEWARE!

I went with USAA because I had my Home and Auto with them at the time, initial annual was about $600. It has increased slightly over the years but has now gotten totally out of control. 2013 premium was $1,571; 2014, $2,021. I have contacted several other insurance companies over the years and have been told by all that the premiums are regulated by FEMA. So last year I contacted FEMA and received a response that my mortgage company imposed the required flood insurance and does not set rates. FEMA does, however, require that you acquire a new policy at least 45 days prior to expiration of current policy and formally request a change in writing to FEMA to change insurance companies?????

So the plot thickens, on March 24, 2014 our local paper posted "Nevada set to see higher flood-insurance costs," **. I think this is very amusing as from the USAA website they are proclaiming a net worth of $22.9 BILLION DOLLARS as of June 2013, **. So the way I see it is USAA had to pay out a substantial number of claims for victims of Katrina and Sandy, but not without a fight, as I am sure some policy holders will agree. Now they have FEMA backing their extortion operations, so hopefully they will see a net worth of $33 Billion at the end 2014.

So USAA sent out another adjuster. He said we will get this paid out fast, probably next week. After that day the adjuster never called us back. We have left messages on voice mail, using the portal on USAA online, even to the point of calling his manager. No help anywhere. So over two months later still no help. Everyone we talk to at USAA says “Oh we are on it.” We get told the same thing every week. I have never been more disappointed in an insurance company and its customer service. We can only hope that someone will eventually get our personal property claim so we can finally start replacing some of our belongings. The claim should be around 120k.

The front end customer service is always trying to sell more insurance coverage and not seem to be finding ways to reduce unnecessary coverage or more sensible coverage to better fit one's needs.

Essentially dealing with USAA's wind and hail department cost me almost 4000 dollars for nothing. Literally I paid almost 4000 dollars to get my mortgage payment back down and my escrow out of the negative. I have never had a problem before until this. My response from the USAA rep was I slipped through the cracks. I almost lost my house, chained smoked myself to death, spent all my savings and I did not even get a apology only a I slipped through the cracks. Horrible on top of horrible. I seriously can't explain how mad I am.

I contacted USAA through their website several times after my wife could not get anyone to listen her on the phone. I sent messages in and got 4 different replies from 4 different people. In 2 back to back messages I received a credit of $400 but in the next it was $62. After going back and forth with specific dates and policy amounts the policy change on 4/2/2013 disappeared from my documents on the website. Luckily I printed them.

So here I am deployed and trying to get help from USAA and all I get them fighting me tooth and nail. USAA got to be too big of a company and they are now more worried about their commercials and profit line to be concerned with the service member. I have been with them for 21 years and my wife has been with them for 27 years but it is time to move on. When I get this all straightened out I will update this post.

Then USAA agent told me my rate would be increased to 901.00 because of the frame of my house which is wood. They had that information when they gave me the quote. They were on my county's property appraisal website so she knew my house frame was wood. Now they will not honor the quote they gave me after getting paid and issuing the policy!! And trying to give me the run around about getting my money back so I can get more insurance!!

I am a disabled veteran who is totally and permanent disabled and only paid once a month. I do not have the money to get anymore insurance even if I wait until the 1st of Feb and my mortgage company will only pay once a year for insurance. So I have no choice but to have a gap in coverage until I get my money back from them!! I need help if anybody know what to do!! Thank you!!

Just for that I am looking for a new insurance company USAA or I guess most policies are deceiving. I may have significant damage to my home and to find out my insurance doesn't cover it. Their was no need to even see an adjuster and they always bring an apprentice with them because they know it's **. When you lose don't lose the lesson sudden and accidental. Their homeowner's insurance is not worth it in my opinion, maybe their auto insurance.

I have been so impressed w/ USAA and wanted all my business with them so to have insurance with seem a no brainer. I got the car and for the first time in 2 years had a dependable car I could drive around, shop, visit friends, and etc. I stopped by my storage Easter morning. I had bought some used furniture from friends and they met me there delivering furniture but there was a strange lock on my unit. I called storage facility and they had a maintenance man on property who came over and said did not look like one of their locks. General Manager was notified and came out, verified it was not their lock so I ask if he could cut it for me and at that time I noticed dead bolt lock had been pried open. When padlock was cut, I entered noticing all my tools and test equipment, televisions, etc had been stolen, roughly $8,000-$10,000 in value or more. I immediately called the police who came and made a police report with photos taken. I was issued a case number and was to follow up that week with any details to add to it with a detective.

I went to USAA online to file the claim and get a claim check list .I called back Monday morning and was advised that an investigator was going to notify me and he did so setting up a meeting at the storage unit. I also had the former manager of the storage facility to meet us there but was told he wanted to speak to me alone so I asked former manager to please wait. I thought investigator was to assist police in helping me reclaim my lost property. Instead he said before I turn on my recorder, no harm has been done to this point and we can walk away, no harm, no foul and pretend this never happened, or an amnesty if you will. I was totally shocked and angry at the implied and was hurt by the accusation that I told him to turn the recorder on and hear the facts of my theft that had taken place. He never spoke with the police or with the former storage manager and left. I spoke with Judy ** in the claims department who advised me to make a list of the items stolen and assign value to them with description.

I told her I would and it would take a while because I had a lot of tools and had to do it by memory. I also suffer from PTSD and this was very distressing to me so I had to take my time. I explained all the owner's manuals and etc. were in the cabinet along with my drill bits, Dremel bits, router bits and etc. So I had no help in trying to remember all what was there. 10-15 years accumulation of all the items. Then was informed I needed proof of my loss. I asked if sworn affidavits from friends and family would work and was told no, they would be willing to lie and cheat for me. I produced my list to the best of my memory and got prices. I emailed those in and following day, I called to see what else I could do to assist claim. Ms. Judy informed me she had already forwarded it to claims and then to legal dept. for possible actions, but nothing was need anyway for claim was not going to be paid anyway.

I held my anger. This was the 2nd time by this organization to accuse me or imply of some legal wrongdoing, not to mention all my friends and family were liars and cheats. I received the claims denied letter in roughly 4-5 days with the reason being I had failed to provide proof of loss in the form of receipts, etc. I have some receipts and affidavits of the existence and magnitude of the quantity of tools and etc. on the loss but was not given chance to provide them. If you want to get renter's insurance and are a disabled veteran, contact USAA, pay your premiums so they can accuse you of fraud, forgery and legal action if you ever try and file a claim with them. I guess best defense is good offense.

I am consulting and proceeding with legal actions against them for I have called superiors and complained and explained what has happened and story validity was checked and I was told to follow up with a supervisor. I did so with 3 phone calls none of which were returned. I am not going to be treated in this fashion by this organization or anyone for that matter and will not beg and/or appeal for them to satisfy a legitimate claim.

Finally, after 4 years of ** every time my renewal comes due, they gave me their "FULL DISCLOSURE" (their words - not mine) that they basically low-ball homeowners and increase premiums every year to a specific cap and that I'm only at 77% of that cap and therefore should expect another increase next year! You've got to be kidding me! I call that bait and switch and I don't do business with companies who have such deceiving practices! If any of you are currently with USAA - check your Homeowner's Policy - you might be surprised!

I called USAA and told them that I disagreed with their adjuster and informed them that I would call my own adjuster to look at the damage, and would let the two adjusters work together, just to be fair. The result came from my own adjuster that the whole roof needed to be replaced. So I called USAA and requested that I would like USAA to send ANOTHER adjuster go to look at the roof together with my adjuster. They sent in the same adjuster, the reason was he was the only adjuster in the area (what a joke!). But this time, their adjuster came to my house with his manager, and three of them (my adjuster, USAA's adjuster, and his boss) looked at the roof, and 3 of them agreed that the roof was badly damaged and needed to be replaced.

I rate 3 star because USAA somehow listened to their customer when I told them their adjuster was wrong, and they accepted my offer to let me do my part so that they could compare the real damage to my property. But what if I were not a fighter??? I would have paid for the whole roof myself. So I'm still an unhappy camper when their adjusters work for their benefits, not for us, the customers/members.

I called the adjuster to plead my case. I explained I was 8 months pregnant and unable to fly, and that my husband was currently deployed so it was impossible for us to attend to this in person. I explained that in fact there was a small leak that had been repaired previously that could have caused the warped cabinetry, that he claimed was the telltale sign of damage. While he admitted this was new information, he said he would not resubmit his findings to USAA because it would damage his credibility. I told him while that was all well and good, this bill was going to cause us to lose our home, file for bankruptcy and result in my husband's security clearance getting pulled and us being kicked out of the military.

I am absolutely disgusted to think his credibility as an adjuster trumps the well-being of a family with a deployed spouse. How could a company that claims to be there for military families be so arbitrary and well, greedy? We did the right thing - paid our premiums, reported the damage immediately and followed through with claims procedures. Now we face complete financial ruin because this man doesn't want to jeopardize his so-called credibility, even though he admitted he could have been wrong. I am beyond disgusted. Don't buy into their patriotic commercials. They couldn't give a rap about us. Shameful.

That's all well and good for now, but their not giving me any refund on all the excess premiums I've paid (which is at least $10,000 for the last 13 years) because I wasn't informed by them. Our mistake was we thought USAA was there for their members and did the best possible, which is why I refinanced the house through them and have always carried my car insurance with them - even though I know it's a little on the high side. I learned a valuable lesson the hard way and lost faith in USAA.

I look online at my auto insurance, which was not due, and they decided to post the money to my auto insurance, without my permission. When I contacted them again on 1/11/2013, I was told by the individual I was speaking to that a check was issued right then. Today is 1/18/2013, I contacted them again and I was told the check was sent but it would take 7-10 days to get to me. Come on, people, the post office is bad at times in delivering, but it does not take 7-10 days for a check to get to me if it was sent out on Monday (7/14/13). I must check back with them next week around 1/25/13. In the meantime, my escrow account is short and I am being bugged to put the money back.

What USAA was using as proof was a wrong date given by my friend. However, the kicker to this story is even after I submitted a sworn statement from my friend correcting her date of my incident, along with my phone records, and a list of dates given by me, my account still remained in a fraudulent status with USAA. It became apparent to me that no matter how much proof I gave showing my claim was not an attempt at fraud, that USAA was determined to label it as such. In my opinion USAA is not a company designed for the military because when it comes right down to it, their customers are nothing more than a number to them. They are not there to help anyone but themselves. My biggest regret is only that it took me so long to realize it.

My mother passed away in July of 2008. My sister and I cared for my grandmother until my sister moved back to Michigan to work for the Department of Commerce in October 2009. I stayed in Missouri and worked for US Bank through Kelly. After my job ended, I traveled around. I helped my sister pack up her apartment in Michigan and move to Atlanta, GA in January 2011. I traveled back and forth between Michigan, Georgia, and Missouri. In February of this year, my step-grandmother, who had lived in my home after my mother's passing (she lived in my home until October 2009; at that point she moved to Beauvais nursing home, on Magnolia, in Saint Louis, MO) passed away in February.

On the same date of her funeral in March, my maiden aunt, Barbara **, left the hospital for the emergency room, where she was diagnosed with Uterine Cancer and subsequently had surgery. She has been going through chemotherapy and my sister and I have been up and down the highways taking care of her, as we both worked to rebuild our lives.

On June 26, 2011 I returned to my home to find that it had not only been burglarized, but it appeared to have been lived in. A realtor who was selling a home down the street had a sign in our yard, with a For Sale sign, with the arrow pointing to a home down the street (it gave the appearance that my home was for sale). At one point, I let the mail collect when I was caring for my aunt, and the post office put a vacant sign on the mail box. We think that this was when thieves moved in and burglarized and trashed the place.

I have neighbors who have witnessed strange people and reported this to the police on the day of the burglary and have called twice since to report people lurking about my home. My mother was an OCD neat freak and the house was so torn apart that it looks like an episode of Hoarders. I had many high-end handbags, as did my mother, lots of crystal, and Jewelry. I inherited a lot from my mother and grandmother. I have answered questions about my lifestyle, worked with USAA''s insurance investigator. I have receipts for over $14,000 of jewelry that I purchased when I worked on Wall Street.

I have bank statements of things that I owned, credit card statements of what my mother owned, and copies of credit cards that my grandmother had. I have provided pictures. My sister has answered questions (she had to establish that she had a home in Michigan), answer questions about what she received and why it looked like I had more (I did not, Holly''s things were not stolen, mine were). My mattresses have been slashed, the fridge broken, the oven broken, thousands of gnats in my home, as USAA asked me to keep the broken fridge, as I went through 5 claims people. I thought that I provided way too much information.

In some instances, I have the receipts for items, pictures, and have located them on the bank statements and have been asked to provide more documentation. I cannot comfortably stay in my home, and now my aunt, in addition to the chemotherapy that she is enduring, has diabetic issues, that may cause her to lose her legs. My sister and I are her only relatives. After the tornado here in Saint Louis, I looked at my policy and upgraded it. USAA sent a letter to homeowners advising that we do so. I think that between what I purchased, what my grandmother and my mother left me, I had $100,000 in jewelry.

I may have had $10,000-$40,000 in jewelry coverage, over $20,0000 in silver was taken - I may have had $10,000 in coverage. I had a total of $299,000 of coverage for personal items and with damages, my claim may be between $270,000 - $280,000. The claims investigator is telling me everything is in the hands of the adjuster, just get in my receipts and pictures, and the adjuster is stating that he must turn everything over to the investigator first. I have spent time that should have been spent on family and getting my home and life back in order jumping through hoops. I would like to retain your services, as I have made a commitment to get everything to the claims investigator and the insurance company over the weekend. I do not want to do this all in vain. I feel like I have been violated twice. You have a good reputation and I would like to hire your firm to assist me in finishing this claim.

The complaint is against USAA, 9800 Fredericksburg Road, San Antonio, TX 78288 for Claim problem, Claim delay, Premium problem, Policy problem. Details of complaint follows:

My original policy began with USAA in 2007. Since my emails to Mary **, those emails with all the policies have been purged. I purchased this home in 2005. At the time I lived in New York and had renter's insurance on my New York apartment. My mother lived in the house full time. I traveled with my job and I had a policy on the house. In October 2007, my mother was diagnosed with ALS, Lou Gerhigs. My sister lived in Michigan and had a ranch style condo covered through USAA. All USAA policies held by my sister, my mother, and myself, fell under my dad, Ronald **.

My sister walked away from her job to care for my mother. During that period the pipes burst. USAA paid her about $15,000 and then dropped her and her claim, stating that there was an invoice from the cleaners that had a weight on the unsavable clothing they returned to her. For that reason they dropped her claim, stating that she added an unsavable clothing box, even though USAA sent her the invoices. They closed her banking account, everything.

As my sister was the only one caring for my mother, she lost everything and had to declare chapter 7. My dad, a diehard ex-military man had USAA on his two homes and 5 or 6 cars. There was never a claim. On February 14, 2008, I walked away from my job in New York to help care for my mother. I notified USAA. In July 2008 my mother, a nurse, passed away. I notified USAA and continued to care for my grandmother in my home until October 2009. At that time, my sister got a job as the assistant manager for quality assurance in Dearborn, MI. She did not have much to move, as she lost everything to water and mold when the pipes in her home in Michigan broke in several locations.

She got a U-Haul and moved her things to Michigan. She has a lease, a business card, and paperwork, from December 2010 where the moving company picked up her furniture for storage, and then where to deliver it when she found a place in Georgia. My grandmother was 110. She loved Xmas. We left the Xmas tree and lights up from Xmas 2010 and had a special 2nd Xmas for her in February 2011. My sister and I actually missed the first Xmas in December. We were in Michigan packing her apartment.

Lena was staying in Beauvais Manor by that time, but she came home for the special Xmas. She is in the photo below along with how the house looked just months prior to the break in. There was a lot of sorrow. We lost my mother in July 2008, my sister's paternal grandmother (who always treated me as a grandmother) six weeks later. In October 2008, we lost her paternal Uncle. Then in July 2009, we lost her paternal, youngest aunt. It was just too much. My sister's job was over. I came to Michigan for a while in April. I had been working for US Bank in Saint Louis and was working through Kelly Services so I was in the home alone.

My sister decided to move to Atlanta. Her things were picked up by the movers and were to be placed in storage until she found a home in Atlanta. All this information was given to USAA. After the death of my grandmother, on the very same day as her funeral, my Aunt, Barbara **, was diagnosed with Uterine Cancer. Literally, we left the funeral for the emergency room. My aunt had surgery. After a recovery period, she was to start chemotherapy. I joined mysister who was living at an extended stay hotel to find a home. She decided to find something that my aunt could stay in. I went to Michigan with her, helped drive the car from Michigan to Atlanta, and we looked for a place for her to live.

After finding one, we returned to Saint Louis as my aunt was starting chemotherapy or had started and I was taking her to her chemo sessions. So I was back and forth out of town a few times. I do know that in April there was a major tornado that hit Saint Louis, Missouri and ripped the roof off the airport and left devastation following highway 270. I received a letter from USAA about the tornadoes and asking if I had enough coverage. I really took that to heart and I changed my policy. The primary changes were for the structure of the house, but I did add a jewelry rider. I inherited much from my maternal Grandmother, my maternal step-Grandmother (she was the one who passed in February 2011) and my mother, as well as my own things.

I received a call asking if I was going to cancel the other policies on the home and the renter's insurance. I let them know that had been cancelled long ago. The customer service person indicated it was not. USAA will not send a copy of this update. I did add $40-$45k in jewelry coverage and was still woefully under covered. I received a letter stating that due to my credit history, which took a traumatic hit during my mother's illness, the policy was changed. What I did not know was that I continued to pay for 3 policies after USAA was told time and time and time again.

After the report of the theft, I was under investigation for 6 months. I was never notified officially and I cooperated spending time that I was told that I would be reimbursed for, due to my cooperation. I was paying out of pocket for everything. I sought assistance and got a Public Adjuster, Inman and Associates, who have been a sad disappointment. It has been 18 months since my claim. Missouri law and my own policy have not been followed. Since USAA does not give money back, but gleefully took it and continues to take it, then I should have additional coverage.

As credit score cannot be utilized in Missouri, my jewelry rider should be acknowledged. USAA has had a spreadsheet of stolen items for 6 or 7 months. The public adjuster and Chris ** are still ambling around on the dwelling. This is my claim and I want to replace my stolen items. I would like my ALE that is due. This company has put such a financial strain on me that it has taken its toll on me, my sister, and my aunt, who passed away November 19. Additional family members, six of seven, have passed away during this time.

Our Aunt was our mother's older sister. I do not want to spend another Thanksgiving (which ended up being a trek to get my aunt's body). Medicare wanted to know after her amputation that she had a place to go (prior to all of this she lived on her home). Barbara had too many steps to return to my home and it has been 18 months and Josh ** is is charge of stolen items. It has been 18 months since they theft. The criminals were living in the home, they defecated, urinated, stole the motors or some workers from all 3 fridges in the home.

Since it took USAA 3 months to come to the house, it was filled, like a horror movie, with millions of gnats. Over 18 bug bombs were set off, there are gnat bodies and poison in everything. The police found tons of medicine boxes and pots with stuff stuck in them. I was told my home was possibly used for meth. ARRS, the restoration service, deemed almost everything as unusable. Now USAA is questioning ARRS and there has been no movement on the home. Furniture that was in the home was broken and almost all household items placed in the garage. The gnats are back.

If items were saveable, they are not now. All furniture in the home down to the dishes were purchased new when I bought the house for my mother. Her partner and fiance had died and this was a new beginning. The only things not new, were the dining room set, the master bedroom set and the 2nd bedroom set and one television in the basement. All other furniture were purchased in 2005 along with the carpet for the basement. Except for the china, all dishes, mixers, toaster, microwave, pots, pans dinette set, living room furniture, basement furniture and patio furniture were new as well as all decorations.

My grandfather fought in WWII, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. There were many heirlooms that he sent home. I had photos and I had to show what I inherited versus my sister. There was much silver, Waterford, and Japanese ivory and such. There are pictures of the items in the home, and I had to account why I had photographs of the items and the photographs were clearly years old. USAA has put me in a financial bind. I could lose this home. I want to know why we cannot work on replacement of theft which is what I asked for from day one. The house really needs to be gutted, disinfected and fixed.

I need to know how much I have in coverage since I was paying for 3 policies. I have read the policy and found all the breaches, not Inman and Associates, my public adjusters. They seem to be inept. I am begging for any assistance as rules in my policy have been ignored, Missouri law, and it is 18 months. This is crazy. I don't want to live in a hotel anymore. I want funds immediately for replacement of stolen items and a clear answer of how much coverage I have since I was paying for 3 policies up until 6 or 7 months ago. I will email all information instead of attaching it. USAA has been busy since I contacted you purging documents that have been on file since 2007. I believe Josh ** may have gotten rid of everything with his name on it.

The manufactured home is, in every respect, better than most stick-built homes and impeccably maintained. It sits on a pad and foundation on 6 acres. Though we are not on a public water system, there is a hydrant one block from the corner of our property line. The shop is detached by 500 and has been inspected and approved by the EPA for compliance under home-based business guidelines. I am writing this, not in anger, but more in bewilderment. I always thought of USAA as a kind of comrade that I could count on like a buddy at my back, a member of our family. I enrolled under the advice of my father who was a two-war veteran and a lifetime USAA member. All of my 10 brothers and sisters are insured through USAA including my brother-in-law, who retired as the last Commander at Fort Vancouver and served as Mayor for that city for 12 years. He was a Silver Star recipient and combat veteran in Vietnam and hosted the Vancouver Medal of Honor Reunion.

The thing that made the USAA family different is that we had a bond of allegiance based upon Gen. Robles' own words that simply stated said, "We are doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do." The question in my mind is, given the import of this notification, is that still true? The agent who looked into this when I contacted them explained that USAA was in the process of getting rid of all manufactured home policies. They, of course, recommended another insurer which they have a financial interest in promoting. Their premiums are outrageous. So much for General Robles and his Board and their better than thou attitude.

We called and asked them to reconsider by looking at our history as loyal customers for the past 20+ years with no claims. After calling every week, for over a month, we finally got a call back from the head of the claims adjustment department. We were told that our history past the last 3 years was not considered; they were under no obligation to warn us when filing small claims that there was a possibility that we would be dropped and that the reason they can offer such low rates was because they had very few claims.

I pleaded with them to reconsider and reinstate us based on our history and if we had known that we would be penalized, we would not have made those small claims and put our policy in jeopardy. I asked them have a little compassion for those they claim to support. All was to no avail. It was a very emotional conversation without any respect or sympathy for our situation.

In the end, never have I been so frustrated, humiliated and hurt over this realization: USAA, a company we were faithful to because of its claims to support and uphold those who serve our country are no different than any other company out to gain a profit. That when given a chance to show compassion and correct a wrong, will choose not to support those they claim to honor.

Needless to say, the five-day deadline does not get met with revenue and buyers often lost. IMHO, in a financial mess we find ourselves in, costing homeowners money in this manner is irresponsible and dare I say, even negligent. USAA responded by stating to me that their "underwriter will not allow clue reports to be provided and that it is in direct violation of an agreement between USAA and said underwriter." Fair enough, but it is costing patrons money and buyers, and should be corrected; something USAA has no intention of doing.

It sounded to me like all the things that were available on the original home appraisal and tax records, and building cost estimates are readily available to track changes from the original insurance estimate. So, I asked the inspector to also be provided a copy of what he sends to USAA. He replied, "Sorry, I work for USAA. You'll have to contact them about that." This sounds very intrusive to ask of my tenant, especially since I do not know what the purpose of the inspection is. I have been a customer of USAA for more than 30 years. During this time, the company had earned my trust and loyalty, so I tried to be cooperative. I also come from a long military family background where our combined experience with the company is over 150 years. So trying to be cooperative, yet suspicious, I asked the inspector to put this in an email to me with some proposed dates and I would send his email along with a scanned copy of USAA's letter and a cover requesting support from my tenant, so this inspection could be coordinated and accomplished.

Our discussion took place around 5PM and he sent me an email shortly afterward that evening, but stated now that his calendar had booked up, that he only had one day and one time available. We put him in touch with our tenant directly, who asked for the inspection to be rescheduled to 1st week of August instead of 3rd weekend of July as they are traveling out of town during that time. The inspector said, "Sorry that won't do, we must get in contact with USAA." My tenant owns a large business and has multiple insurance policies and called this out to me, stating he has never ran across this before. Makes you think the insurance company is casing out the house.

I called USAA, said I am not doing anything differently and this inspection comes out of the blue for an unknown reason. Then, I commented on the length of time this would take and the inspector's inflexibility, and requested this be rescheduled. Still, I asked them why. I understand that when you purchase a home, an insurance inspection makes sense to appropriately document for coverage purchases and to get an idea of replacement costs etc., even a drive by occasionally to check the condition. But really, 4 years after purchase? They would know if anything was wrong, a claim would exist. I told them that I do a thorough walk through inspection with my tenants, including pictures and written checklists that we both signed during beginning and end of leases.

The current tenants have only been in the house for ~3 months and I would be happy to share this formally documented information. I have owned ~5 homes, last one for 10 years and have never had this issue. Something has changed at USAA. I am highly suspicious of a hidden agenda, rate increase, dropping insurance, finding something they could exclude in the future, let your imagination take you there. The USAA agent hesitated, thinking of what to say, then told me that our home values have increased and this inspection is to adequately check the value of our home. This is counter intuitive in today's economic, employment and housing environment. I have had 2 appraisals on my home and track current values. In fact, my current resident is a builder, leasing our home while building his own custom home 2 doors down in my neighborhood.

I live in an exclusive manned gated community. I can answer the question directly. I am satisfied with my current level of coverage and believe I am adequately insured for the replacement value of my home. I have an inside track to what is being built in the neighborhood. I feel that USAA is using bullying tactics that show a mistrust of current long term customers and I hate to say it, but this is making me think of going elsewhere for my auto and home insurance needs and encouraging the same from brothers, sisters, father and children. This tactic will inherently backfire and cost USAA far more in company brand equity and customer loyalty (affecting the bottom line) more than they realize.

The competitors a.k.a. Geico and others have ramped up marketing campaigns and sponsorships, targeting USAA customers at practically every major military event and is nipping at their heels. Once customer and the brand loyalty is lost, kiss it goodbye. The piss off factor is large, especially if as I suspect, the true hidden agenda is only one-sided - raise my rates to increase company revenues with no value added proposition. My question is, what do I get out of this for the ** pain? I am finding it difficult to make excuses to my current tenants for the behavior of my insurance company. I'm waiting to see what they'll come back with for rescheduling and the "why" again.

Our tenants informed the Paul Davis Restoration water mitigation crew of this, as we did as well after our tenants informed us. There was one fan blowing in the vicinity of the central air system equipment. We inquired as to whether or not the service panels were removed and the air handler inspected for standing water during this time. It was not. We were told their equipment would pull the water out of the air from the air handler. Our tenants also noticed that Paul Davis Restoration didn't remove the vinyl flooring from underneath the cabinetry. All they did was remove the kick panels from underneath the cabinetry and place fans in that direction. After Paul Davis Restoration removed all of their water mitigation equipment, we inquired as to when restoration would begin.

Paul Davis Restoration was also hired to do the restoration of our home. We waited for restoration work to commence, but nothing happened. After about a month of waiting, of which during this time our tenants continuously informed us of the continued state of the property (that they were walking around on nothing but subflooring) and USAA continuously informing us the coverage for temporary accommodations was being reviewed, we started following-up on what our restoration contractor from Paul Davis Restoration (Peter **) was saying. He informed us he was waiting for the company who was going to fix the cabinets and was going to come in and do the work to detach them.

However, we were informed by our USAA claims representative, Felicia ** that Paul Davis Restoration was supposed to detach the cabinetry. We found out that nothing had been done or ordered in the entire month after Paul Davis Restoration had pulled their water mitigation equipment from the home. We then caught Paul Davis Restoration lying to us about why the progress had been delayed. I had called up the companies they stated they were waiting on and found out the orders for their services had only been requested that day. So we fired Paul Davis Restoration and brought in another contractor, who immediately informed us that they hadn't cut enough of the damaged drywall out (which was also verified by a 3rd party mold remediation company that same week). Needless to say, once we got the kitchen cabinetry removed and the vinyl pulled up, we found mold.

USAA denied accountability, even though their preferred network provider was supposed to be held to a 3-year guarantee on workmanship. Paul Davis Restoration also denied liability (at first). We also found mold in the venting and the air handler at a later time also failed due to an electrical short from standing water from the loss, as determined by a COL inspection. USAA wanted us to have the entire air handler unit and heat pump detached and shipped to their inspectors in Georgia to determine the cause. We contacted a couple of other insurance agencies, such as State Farm to see how they manage such situations, which led our formal request for USAA to pay for the COL inspector in the area that State Farm utilizes. They agreed, but never paid him. They stated he never furnished him with the appropriate paperwork.

Due to the COL inspection stating the loss and compromise of the central air system was due to the water loss, we requested USAA cover the costs of repairing or replacing it. We had a previous estimate done by an HVAC company in the area, who estimated around $3,500 in repairs. USAA wouldn't agree to them, despite the COL inspection results, and only 50% of the cost at that. The units weren't even 10 years old, but the warranties weren't transferable. USAA only covered $260 of the repairs to the HVAC, of which in the end cost us $5,600 for a new air handler and heat pump due to catastrophic electrical failure caused by the shortage induced by the water that had entered the unit.

Paul Davis Restoration also claims they aren't accountable for its loss or the increased mold spores in the ventilation resulting from the standing water and allowance for excess moisture build-up in the system. We hired a mold remediation specialist to take lab samples, which required their services. We weren't surprised to see the increase in the estimate from the new contractor than was received by Paul Davis Restoration. Paul Davis Restoration’s was only about $12,000 where as the new contractor's estimate was roughly $30,000. USAA then informed us a USAA adjuster would need to come out to determine the cost of the repairs. We requested a 3rd party insurance adjuster, so one was hired from IAS, whose estimate was very close to that of the $30,000 estimate. It makes you wonder what sort of relationship there is between USAA and Paul Davis Restoration. It doesn't stop there though.

National Restoration was hired by USAA to repair the cabinetry. They came in and simply refurbished what was there without detaching it; trying their best to make it look as though it was fixed on the surface by applying veneer over the damaged pieces. However, when our new contractor went to install the new flooring, they found that the structural supports and foundation of the cabinetry had not been repaired at all and the water damage was quite visible. It took us several months arguing with USAA to get them to have it done properly, in which case we chose to replace the cabinets ourselves with stock cabinetry from Lowe’s. The cabinets in the condition they were in made the home uninhabitable by state standards. However, despite our various attempts at requesting USAA to allow us to get another contractor to replace the cabinets was futile.

It went on for almost five months before they said they would cover the cost of the replacements; however, not after they brought in the same company who messed it up the first time to make a new estimate to cover the cost of the replacement or repair which was lower than their original cost of replacement. The thing about these types of cabinets is that they are glued together, which makes repairing them impossible. Coincidentally, the difference in cost in replacing them was right around how much National Restoration originally charged USAA to the shoddy repairs in the first place. The cabinets were old and the lowers couldn't be repaired or replaced, without replacing the upper cabinets as well.

Despite the matching clause in our insurance coverage, which would require USAA to pay for the repair or replacement of the uppers as well to match the lowers, they denied us that coverage, which is why we did it ourselves. We traded our own labor for the replacement of the upper cabinets to match the lowers. Fair? Legal? I don't think so. When we finally got the go ahead to have the damaged cabinets removed, we gave Paul Davis Restoration right to cure. In which case, they came out the next day to remedy. However, they didn't put up any sort of barrier to prevent the spread of mold spores throughout the house (of which incidentally, our current tenants were allergic to the common mold spores found in such situations; diagnosed by a doctor due to symptoms at the time).

Paul Davis Restoration didn't even treat the entire affected area, although they said they did. We had to call them back the next day, as our tenants informed us they had only removed and treated an area behind one section of the cabinets. They came back the next day, same thing; they didn't detach all of the cabinets and left a section remaining untreated. At that point, we were out of time and authorized our new contractor to remedy the mold behind the remaining section. Paul Davis Restoration is claiming they are not at all liable for the charges our new contractor imposed upon us for the mold remediation services provided. I felt that calling them back the second time was more than enough of an opportunity to comply with right to cure and we needed to get the new flooring installed that day.

So now we are left with a bill from installing a new central air system because USAA wouldn't pony up the dough and they won't even enforce their 3-year guarantee to their preferred network provider which doesn't even come up on any list in our area as a network provider for that area. It's enough to make your head spin. What recourse does anyone have against such large companies as USAA or Paul Davis Restoration? Even with irrefutable proof and supporting documentation from tenants and professionals in the same field? How is it that an insurance company can bid lower than what it costs to repair or replace such things and get away with it? All I can say is stay away from these three companies. They have way too many deceptive and unfair trade practices to account for.

On 17 August 2011 at 11:57pm, my friend arrived at the residence. On 18 August, I contacted USAA who assigned the case an adjuster known only to us as Mike **. In five days, Mike never once contacted us, responded to any messages left for him nor was available in any way and in fact, I still have never had any contact with that agent. On 18 August, USAA dispatched Steamatic out of Tempe, Arizona to begin clean up operations to the residence. On 19 August, I packed a 20-foot U-Haul with all our possessions and began the drive to my new residence in Arizona. On 20 August 2011 at 10:16pm, I arrived at the residence late at night and immediately inspected the damage to the residence. The entire floor to the master bedroom, closet and bathroom was removed. The walls up to about six inches were removed in those same areas. Large industrial fans were running to dry out the damage. In the garage, the two-car garage door was damaged. Most of the interior drywall was removed and fine dust insulation filled the air everywhere throughout the residence.

The temperature that day was a whopping 115 degrees in the shade. We moved our belongings inside the downstairs of the residence and tried to reside there but we had no way to prepare food, no water until the 22 August, no water filtration system had yet been installed, and we could not escape the miserable heat because the home was exposed to the outside air. At one point that day, the heat from the garage door exceeded 125 degrees in the garage rising and entering the house. These conditions persisted throughout most of the claim only subsiding around mid November. On 22 August, after numerous attempts to contact an agent of the insurance company, USAA, I finally contacted a person back east who promised to have a local agent call.

A person, who would only identify herself only as Terry, said she was from the non public Phoenix Office of USAA. After explaining to her the deplorable living conditions as explained above and explaining that the policy requires I get her (USAA) permission to live in a motel or other housing, I asked her if we were eligible to stay in a motel until such time as the conditions were improved. She hesitated then replied that if we could cook food and a room of the house was inhabitable then we were not eligible to stay in any other accommodations. I again repeated the conditions we were living in and added that we were coughing up our lungs, in a manner of speaking, due to a heavy layer of unsettling insulation dust floating everywhere throughout the house. She again repeated her exact same statement as above getting more and more agitated with me as I persisted. I then asked her if she thinks the living conditions I have described to her (as stated above) we are currently living in meet the criteria as inhabitable and she hesitated and then said yes. I implored her to think of what it is like to live in such conditions and she said, "It's nothing personal." I explained that we needed someone to begin repairs and she set up a contractor after explaining it was much easier to do things that way.

On 24 August, I received a call from Crowley Construction and a request to come out to the residence and begin work right away. The next morning (25 August), I met Jim and his son, Dan, and measurements were taken and information gathered and I explained USAA needed to know the cause of the water damage. It was at this point that I began to realize that the owner, Jim **, was senile. He couldn't remember things, couldn't dial his phone correctly and was having trouble discussing general issues. Out of politeness, I said nothing but was very concerned hoping that his son was the primary party on this job. We also discussed the purchase of a new set of appliances as we were being forced to live in the house under these conditions. We were assured that we had nothing to worry about and that they would ensure our new appliances were protected. Amidst the work, we had the new appliances delivered and installed a washer dryer combo and a refrigerator. I explained to Dan ** that we were having troubles flushing toilets and that the drains were not draining properly and he said he would send out a plumber to inspect the cause.

A few days later, the plumber arrives to inspect the hot water heater. We explained the issues with poor flushing toilets and poor draining sinks and to our surprise were literally told us we needed better toilets. The workers were arriving at our residence unannounced and entering in the early hours of the day. The part of the house that was being worked on was never isolated from the rest of the house despite numerous requests and demands to by us. As a result, we were under constant debris fallout long after the workday was done. It was at this point I asked an Crowley why the workers felt as if they could do as they please in my home and he responded by telling me that they have never had people living in the home that needed this level of work before. Several additional requests to USAA to move to a more suitable living condition were denied so I requested a new adjuster be assigned the case. I was reassigned to David ** out of the Texas office. I was repeatedly told that I was not a priority and would be dealt with on occasion because there was an approaching hurricane on the south east coast and it needed their full undivided attention.

At one point, I could hear shouting coming from the laundry room. As I approached, I could see and hear an employee and my ex-wife yelling at each other. As I stopped the yelling and asked what was going on, my ex-wife turned to me in tears and mumbling something, pointed to the pile of wood and debris that had dropped from the ceiling above on top of her new appliances. Crowley Construction assured me that a trained specialist would eventually be sent to inspect the appliances and it was never done. After the initial assurance that wouldn't happen fell through, I expected nothing. At one point, David ** needed to have Crowley Construction contact him so I told Jim, the owner. He was in a terrible senile moment and unable to dial the phone properly and David was short with me until I explained the situation. I was constantly having to explain what needed to be done on the job to the constant new unsupervised workers each day to the point of frustration. I demanded a solution to this with David ** (assigned adjuster) and he set up a three way call between Crowley Construction, David and myself that only ended in me shouting, "...either put me on payroll or do your own damn job. I'm sick and tired of doing it for you!" Nothing changed. There was a 3/4 circle about 5 feet wide in the bathroom floor. The supervisor asked if he could leave it that way and I replied no. This caused tremendous tension. A security sensor was broken off on a window.

On 30 August, my ex-wife was upstairs taking a shower when suddenly a loud bang and a couple of booms startled me. A short time later, sewage and water and all manner of foul things were bursting and spewing forth from every hole in the house and a few places even in the walls. I called Crowley Construction who dispatched their plumber (same man as before). He arrived and declared there might be foul play, that sometimes people who lose their homes will sabotage a sewer line out of spite and that he would dispatch a specialist he knows to look in the line with a special camera to see what the problem might be. Not wanting to wait, I immediately went outside to the sewer access port and opened it. To my shocking amazement, out floats a red tag with the words printed in white: Property of Johnson Utilities. Do not remove under penalty of law.

I called the utility company, took pictures and notified the plumber. Jose, the utility worker, arrived at our house within minutes of my call, removed his plug (under tremendous force) in front of four witnesses and we could all hear the surge of sewage empty into the line. Damage to the downstairs of the home was extensive. That evening, the insurance company, USAA, was notified of all the circumstances. I was told it would be better to proceed by letting the insurance company pursue the utility company but not a word was mentioned of the devastating effects of filling two claims in such a short period of time. On 31 August, Steamatic of Phoenix was again dispatched to my home and conducted several days of clean up and removal. I had also decided this day that due to the poor treatment of the residents by workers, the damage to our appliances, the poor communications and the inept misinformation on the part of the plumber that got us in this mess in the first place, it was time to derail and part company with Crowley Construction.

I notified David ** who informed me he was also glad to end the ties with them and that he had an excellent company in mind called VBS whom he could get us in touch with. On one occasion, all the belongings we had were moved to the garage so painting could be done with the promise that everything would be restored. I had to restore everything without any help. No tack boards were removed throughout the home despite charging USAA for it. When I questioned it, I was scolded by a site manager. We were left to replace our own appliances and the garage was never pressure washed as bid and promised. After not having received a call from VBS Construction for over a week after they were notified by USAA of the contract, on 8 September 2011, I called Mike ** from VBS and asked him to come out to the residence to measure and write up an estimate.

Later that same day, he arrived, introduced himself and conducted his measurements. While he was doing this, I ran him through the list of mistakes made by Crowley Construction. Among the top priorities I over emphasized was care for the appliances and respect for the people residing here. He reassured me this would not be a problem and said he would email me a copy of the bid the next day and departed with his information. On 12 September after not having had any contact with VBS Construction, I called Mike ** to inquire about the bid and he stated he had been behind due to a flood of work related issues but did not go into any kind of detail. Mike then stated he would get a copy of the bid emailed to me and several days later I received it. VBS was hiring local workers, sending them out to the residence to work with little or no instructions. As a result, we were doing their job by briefing the workers on what had been accomplished and what needed to be accomplished. The workers were playing music from their large radios (boom boxes) without regard to the residents resulting in hostile attitudes and clashes.

As a result of the clashes, workers were asked not to return. At one point early on in the restoration process with VBS, a project manager was even confrontational with me. I asked Mike that he not return and a new project manager was assigned to our home restoration. Both Mike ** and Melissa ** arrived at the house a few days later apologetic offering movie tickets as an apology. The new project manager arrived upset early one morning demanding I show him what needed to be done, flipping haphazardly through the bid house plans explaining in an obvious upset voice that he now had to do his job on the other side of Phoenix and the job of the manager that just quit. Several times, we woke to workers staring in our room at us sleeping. It was uneasy and on one incident, I filed a written complaint with VBS.

On October 4th, 2011, I received a call from Cody ** of Champion Garage Doors stating he would need access into my garage the next day about 7am. I explained that I was currently staying in Mesa at a motel and that I'd be certain to be there at the residence at 7am to let him install his door. On 5 October 2011 at 7am, I arrived at the residence and no one was there. I was hanging around the house when at about 9am, I received a typical call of lost workers whose bosses had never informed them where to go. I drove out to meet the workers (carpet layers) and found them in a local school parking lot and they followed me back to the house and began setting up operations to conduct their installations. It was at that moment that I realized the garage door installer had not arrived yet so I called him.

When he answered the phone, I asked him why he had not showed up at the site yet and he said in a real nasty tone that he was at a friend's house and that it was none of my business. I replied that I had waited from 7am and asked him if he had ever heard of an invention called the telephone and why he had not used it to at least let me know. With that, he became enraged, explaining his friend's garage door situation. With that, I told him he was not coming out to my house, that I would find a different company that understands common courtesy. He said **. A few minutes later, he arrived agitated and upset. He first encountered a carpet layer demanding that they move their carpet from the driveway because he had garage doors to install. As he was doing that, I cut off his conversation and explained I was the home owner and he turned and got in my face. Much taller than I, he stared down at me and asked me what my problem was. I explained that I had been here since 7am on his account and he didn't even have the decency to call when he didn't show up. He yelled something about his brother's garage door. I explained that all he needed to do was pick up the phone and then I reminded him that he is not installing his door in my house.

With that, he attempted to become intimidating, got back in my face and yelled that this is his job site. He was hired to install the door and it was going in. At that point, I explained that he needed to get off my property and he refused so I told him I was going to get a can of mace that would help him understand he needed to leave so he slowly backed off the property. He sat in his truck in front of the house for about a half hour on the phone and I was busy notifying VBS of the incident to ensure his garage door would not be installed in my home and talking to neighbors who said they were there if I needed them. On Oct 9th, I filed a complaint with the BBB over the incident. In his response dated 18 October, Mr. ** confesses, "Jim called me right back and told me that he would figure out another way to get this job done so that another altercation would not be had. I then had another garage door installer complete the job on 10/7/11 without incident due to another project manager having to be present to keep the homeowner from attacking the other contractors."

First, I had never attacked anyone and second Mike at VBS reassured me that they were hiring a different door company to install the door and that they told Mr. ** he was finished. Both obviously stone cold lies that I angrily confronted Mike with. At that point, he was angry with Mr. ** apparently for exposing him and I demanded the garage door be removed and soon after it was and a new one was installed with a different company some time later. I was constantly calling VBS to get things corrected like sharp wood trim pieces jetting out, improper angles that needed repair, no tack boards being removed although it was bid to have them removed, lesser quality lighting fixtures being installed, inferior carpet being installed, glue all over the floors, doors and walls all causing new managers to be assigned and more aggravation with foul attitudes.

At one point, we confronted a worker because he stood on top of our washer putting a dent in it. When I confronted Mike about it, he found it to be humorous while we did not. The refrigerator door had received a dent in the front during the flooring installation process as well and VBS was notified. The workers dumped their paint and cleaned out their brushes on our plants and all over our backyard leaving things that way. All too often, workers would drive right up on the grass, running over plants and such. We had a so-called electrician arrive who shocked himself off the latter enough times. We honestly thought we were going to need to dial 911 to save his life. He left burn marks on fixture ceilings and wired the garage so poorly we couldn't shut off the lights and the door bell quit working. I complained to David **, my adjuster with USAA insurance, but all he did was talk over me, put us on 3-way calling and listen to us argue or as he was fond of doing, ask me ill gained questions about VBS or employees of VBS and then informed me they had been listening on the other end of the line all along. There was a constant demand I kept making of the employees to clean up after themselves especially in the toilet that went unheeded. The broken security sensor on the bedroom window still has yet to be replaced. A garage door was wired wrong and the small garage door leaks water in the garage because an aluminum flange at the bottom of the door was never installed.

In the middle of the Christmas holiday while our house was full of guests, USAA and VBS both wanted their carpet pulled from the entire home. It was only after I raised a lot of fuss about how that was going to look real bad and make conditions very difficult that they both agreed to wait. It was at this point I decided to "cash out" the issue and attempt to complete the remaining tasks on my own. After notifying my adjuster, he told VBS to write it up and submit it. After receiving a copy of both revised bids, I attempted to discuss them with my adjuster and it aggravated him so I had to ask for a new adjuster. On 5 January 2012, I called several insurance companies to see what they had listed on file about my claims. To my amazement, all it said they were shown closed and paid. Later that day, I received a rather disturbing call from a man I could barely understand, who said he literally just moved in from Michigan and who had so much noise on his phone. I could not understand him. When he called back, he was hitting his own phone buttons so much it wasn't any easier. I simply told him he had no idea of conditions in Arizona, was coming in on a very bad situation I'd bet he had not been properly briefed on and I was in no mood to deal with it.

Currently, I have issues with Insurance not being available because I have filed two indoor claims within a 10-year period or some such nonsense. You think USAA would have let me know this was going to be an issue. As it is, I'm a hostage to them now. There is also the issue about USAA not pursuing a lawsuit against the faulty utility company as promised. They simply asked the utility company to pay and when the utility company responded no, USAA dropped the case. I am trying to get USAA to drop my auto insurance rates to the $93 premium they promised. Not only am I paying far more than that but it shows no end in sight and the payments are all over the place (inconsistent).

So by my calculations, the only way USAA will pay a claim for any home burglary is if it happens on the second Tuesday of the 13th month - never. I've been with USAA for 40 years. They used to treat loyal customers with respect, but now they really don't care if you're a customer or not. I guess they only care about maintaining their multi-million dollar Gulfstream.

In September 2009, we had another major storm that came through with high winds and more damage was done to the roof along with a flood inside the house from the roof. Another claim was filed and again, USAA contracting company recommended the roof to be replaced. USAA would only pay for the roof to be patched and the damages inside house. December 2009, another major storm with high winds and the roof was damaged again by shingles being removed and lying throughout the yard. Another claim was filed and USAA contracting company again suggested that the entire roof needs to be replaced.

This time after arguing with USAA for two months on this issue, they agreed to pay for the roof to be replaced. Now if they would of listen to their contracting company the first time, we would not have had to file three claims. Due to their neglect, we, the customer have to pay for it by being dropped and having to pay a higher premium with another company. I was paying $1,959 a year. The first quote I received was for $8,900.00 a year. I thought USAA was about taking care of service members and veterans. It doesn't appear to be the case.

Now last month, I woke up to water covering my ankles in my bedroom and everywhere else in the house except my kids' room. I placed a claim. Lord, they wanted me to get the plumber out first, then water remediation, then contractors. Well, it didn't go that route at all because of miscommunication by the representatives. It is now July 28, 2011 and I just got the plumbing fixed, and the remediation company will be out.

Oh, mind you, they sent the adjuster out on the last week--three weeks after the damage. My son has asthma. They didn't want to put me up in a hotel; I had to call every two days begging for monies to be allocated for hotel stays. I ended up spending all my savings in this tight economy on hotels (which they ended up paying seven days later). I had to spend another 1300 on plumbing myself.

Now the adjuster, Ms **, had the nastiest attitude I've ever seen. Some of my personal items were damaged such as couches, clothes, etc. I was told to take my clothes to the dry cleaner to see if they could be salvaged. Same thing with my couches. I was floored simply because of the length of time that all these items were exposed to the moisture.

I'm very disappointed, still living in a home that has an odor, just got water back a day ago, and living like a refugee. The only adjuster who was understanding and nice was Ms. **. She was initially my claims point of contact. It's a shame that we pay years on a "possibility" that something may happen, but when it's time to report a problem, you face hell and attitudes. I don't know what else to say but I will be investigating other insurance companies before I leap and say yes to one that "supposedly" caters to the military and their families.

After I did that, she then transferred to another adjuster Joseph who did nothing until I contacted him. He said he needed a recorded statement. I went into detail about how the other adjuster accepted my statement instead he said, "I don't care." So I set up a time with him on Thursday to conduct this. He never called. When they were confronted today with the facts and that I spoke with the executive office and they said a written statement is sufficient, I was told, "Too bad. I am transferring your claim to be investigated."

USAA intimidation not impressive and very poor service. This is the second problem I have had with them. The first was on a car accident that they still owe me wage loss and medical that was for an accident not even my fault. Not a very good company anymore.

At no time did USAA mention, or recommend calling Servpro, or other type of water remediation service. Instead, the first of 3 adjusters told us to call one of the 3 contractors they gave us, and asked them to come out and estimate the property damage. We were finally able to arrange for a contractor on 11/3/2010, who told us that we, ourselves could not set up their visit, but that USAA had to have that contractor be placed on "a property direct repair program for assignment".

After I told this to the USAA adjuster, and that she did not tell us the correct procedure, she finally sent our info to the contractor (**), who came to our home on 11/5/2010 and only took some photos and a few measurements. I don't recall that he even asked us what happened. I have taken extensive notes to date, and photos and recordings. The contractor happened to mention something randomly in our conversation about Servpro, and I said, "shouldn't they at USAA have told us to do something about the water damage first?"

The gentleman, Ryan **, from the contractor, **, said that yes, normally the water issue is dealt with first, and that the contractor is called secondarily. I said that the USAA rep had incorrectly advised us, and had never mentioned anything about possible mold problems, or continued wet areas due t the broken dishwasher.

From there, the problems began. I have been reading books about mold, and found out that it begins within 24 to 48 hours of wetness. USAA is now trying to say that our sudden malfunction of the appliance, which caused several areas of damage to the cabinetry around the dishwasher, the kitchen floor and the ceiling downstairs, is not sudden, but a long term leak. There is mold, of course, since so much time has passed with USAA never advising us initially about mold issues, which are not covered in Virginia, or our policy. I maintain that our policy states that the ensuing property damage from the breakage of the appliance is covered (except for the dishwasher itself), and that the property damage, including the mold that has formed on the downstairs ceiling insulation (area less than 10feet by 10feet), the still wet kitchen sub-floor and surrounding wood cabinets, is caused by the covered peril,listed in our policy. I already noted from conversations, with the second of 3 adjusters, that USAA is backpedaling on what they intend to cover.

Meanwhile, we have been without the use of our dishwasher since about 10/21/2010. Servpro has had "air movers" and "dehumidifiers" for 3 days, yet the flooring still registers wet. As more time goes by, we are concerned about further mold formation, and resulting health issues. I am already immuno-compromised and disabled, and my husband is currently unemployed. There is a 6" x 6" hole cut by Servpro in our downstairs ceiling, which the initial Servpro guy said, since he saw mold on the ceiling insulation, he had to call in their certified mold guy, who came in, and took photos upstairs and downstairs, and wetness measurements, and was supposed to give us his estimate of remediation necessary, before anything else could go forward.

He came to our home on Friday, 11/12/2010. We are very concerned that USAA is trying to claim that they aren't going to cover much, due to the damage being from a long term leak, which it is definitely not. We also note that we, for several years, have been using Hunter Air Purifiers in most of our rooms, which may help dry out and help cleanse the air. Our kitchen floor still registers wet, and the sub-floor under the ceramic tile and cabinetry bottoms next to dishwasher area are discolored, and possibly wet. We are afraid for our health, that of my 11 yr old daughter, and for our wallet. What recourse do we have at this point?

The plumber replaced the shower (an acrylic set = pan and walls) and we paid $2100. The bill was faxed to USAA. Ms.**, the USAA adjuster, then informed us that we submitted a claim from a plumber and plumbing work was not covered. The bill is very specific as to what work had been done, there's no mention of any work on the actual plumbing. When we asked who but a plumber could have done the work we did not get an answer. The claim for the dryout as well as the finish work will not be paid either! 2 1/2 years ago, we had the same problem and USAA paid the same plumber for the same work without a problem minus our $500 deductible of course. USAA at that time refunded to pay for a new shower door since that is considered a 'luxury' item. At this point we are getting ready to hire an attorney!

Two problems here, you cannot get the new carpet warrantied without replacing the pads and their replacement offer was drastically reduced. I have been trying to contact them for 3 days and no one will answer or return my calls. They seem very eager to talk when a payment is due, but not so very much when they owe me.

Is there anything that can be done to help me?