Thanks for nothing, USAA

[ziggy29]

Don't lose any sleep over it... very unlikely they will increase your rates for that incident.

But I do agree... do not contact them unless you intend to file a claim.

Live and learn, sure. But it sucks that they initiated something which had the consequences I was very adamant about not wanting. I thought USAA was a little more ethical than that, but in the end they are obviously still an insurance company. At minimum I'll bark up the tree and perhaps move all my banking (including most of my emergency fund) to Schwab which has similar deals for the most part if even the higher levels refuse to lift a finger to make this right. I already have a Schwab checking account linked to brokerage; no biggie.

I don't think this will impact my rates by itself. I don't even think this would impact my ability to get insurance if I went elsewhere and they pulled up the report. The main point is that with this one in the database already, the loss threshold at which I'd file a claim for a future significant event just went up a lot. If I file another claim in the next couple years, I might be faced with much higher rates -- or worse, a nearly unsellable home.

 

[LOL!]

I am unimpressed with the moneycnn article. Of course the insurance companies should not insure a house sitting on the beach in a hurricane zone. Of course the insurance companies should not let you build on the remains of a mudslide. It's a big jump from the circumstances reported in the article to more common situations.

I would not be surprised if the the 40,000 Californians that lost coverage probably would've lost coverage anyways. The 100,000 Floridians who lost coverage should probably be self-insured anyways. The "use it lose it" is statement needs more proof than that article shows.

You can't build in flood zones and get decent insurance where I live, so folks don't build in flood zones. It is true that after 10 years, a home that wasn't in a flood zone, may now be in a flood zone.

PS: I am in no way connected to any insurance company, but I would prefer that my insurance company (USAA) does not insure insane home locations unless the premium makes sense.

The "Horror Stories" link had no horror stories. It was totally anecdotal and not much of that either. Is this an urban legend?

 

[Koolau]

Ziggy, this situation you find yourself in might argue for the "proactive" approach. Since you are now in doubt about what size of a claim you might be willing to "eat" (you mentioned from $5K to even $10K) perhaps you should simply up your deductible to recognize that fact. Save some premiums and then stop worrying about what you would do in case a claim comes along which exceeds your new, larger deductible. Not a great solution, perhaps, but one which deals with your perception of the reality of your situation. Naturally, YMMV. Good luck on this and thanks for the heads up to the rest of us who have ever "trusted" an insurance company to do the right thing for us.

 

[LOL!]

Usually we get more than one first-person confirmation, such as, "Yeah, that happened to me" on the forum for some of these mythical say-so's that make them real. C'mon folks, who had their insurance cancelled because of too many claims?

 

[ziggy29]

PS: I am in no way connected to any insurance company

Hard to believe, but I'll take your word for it.

 

[ziggy29]

Usually we get more than one first-person confirmation, such as, "Yeah, that happened to me" on the forum for some of these mythical say-so's that make them real. C'mon folks, who had their insurance cancelled because of too many claims?

Yeah, you're right. I'm delusional, emotional and full of it.

Can you drop your crusade now?

 

[REWahoo]

Is this an urban legend?

Sure.

 

[LOL!]

I'm not arguing with you; I'm arguing with myself, so you can ignore me.

 

[calmloki]

Usually we get more than one first-person confirmation, such as, "Yeah, that happened to me" on the forum for some of these mythical say-so's that make them real. C'mon folks, who had their insurance cancelled because of too many claims?

That would be me. Had coverage with the same company for about 15 years. About a year in I cut a limb off an overshadowing oak and ripped the porch roof right off the house. Told the agent what i did and the company covered it, to my total surprise.

Fast foward a dozen or so years without claims and we had someone rifle through the car and steal the stereo and a bunch of other stuff. Items in the car (not the attached stereo) were covered under the antique $100 deductible homeowner policy, so we claimed and I got a check for somewhere under $100. Within the year we got hit again and i enquired what the effect on my policy would be if I claimed - agent told me there would be no effect, and i don't like to leave money on the table, so claimed and I think got about $34. And later received a letter letting me know they would not renew our policy. Pisser.

I drop a limb on the porch, my fault, cost the company thousands and they pay without a peep. Loyal customer without claims thereafter for a dozen years, then cost them under $150 in a year and got non-renewed.

Reasonable to be concerned - OP just had a strike called on him - he's not out, but he's not as safe as he was.

 

[deserat]

Couple of comments - have had similar issues with USAA - still use them but am very wary.

I find the CLUE acronym hilarious - like someoneneeds to get a clue.

If insurance companies keep dropping honest people who pay the bills and only make a few claims, there won't be any people left to gather money from to pay out the other insurance claims - it seems they are punishing honesty - they get what they deserve if they treat all people like crooks....

 

[Gumby]

I dislike insurance companies as much as anyone, and probably more than most, but let's try to look at it from their point of view:

When the insurer underwrites your insurance and determines your premium amount, they have models to predict the probability of occurrence and amount per occurrence. Implicit (or maybe even explicit) in that model is an estimate of the probability that your house, as a typical house in your area, will get hit by a falling tree. The fact that your house has now actually been hit by a falling tree is relevant data. It may mean that your house, due to the location of the trees or the house, the localized wind patterns or something else, has a greater chance of being hit by a falling tree than the model assumed. Accordingly, it may affect the underwriting decision (and the premium price). Note that this information is relevant whether you actually file a claim or not. Sure, it may be small dollars this time, but the next tree might destroy the whole house.

 

[Rustward]

You don't need to have a claim to impact your CLUE score. Even calling to inquire about filing a claim can (and is) reported and can lower your rating.

Yep. We had a major hailstorm in 2003 that caused damage to the roof, gutters. windows, and air conditioner fins (and broke a bird feeder which I did not claim). When I called the agent about this, she put the issue into a "Do you want to file a claim or not?" kind of wording. I guess it confused me a little, but she explained that you should really be sure you have some damage before you file a claim. My response was something like "No, I might have been mistaken about all this damage, and I need to recheck. I am not filing a claim right now." and ended the call. I'll never know if she kept me out of CLUE on this issue or not.

Months later, after almost every other house on the street got new roofs, I had multiple competing contractors determine I needed a new roof, then I filed a claim. No changes to the premium related to this that I could detect.

Bottom line, contrary to the advertising, the insurance company is not your friend.

 

[dessert]

Usually we get more than one first-person confirmation, such as, "Yeah, that happened to me" on the forum for some of these mythical say-so's that make them real. C'mon folks, who had their insurance cancelled because of too many claims?

I had a pipe start leaking under my slab so I called "A**state" to see if a problem like that was covered under my home owners policy. I already had an estimate for the repairs so I wanted to see if it was covered.
I told the lady that I would just pay for it myself and thanked her for the information.
That's when she informed me that this would be a claim against my insurance. Say what??
We argued about this for a short while because I was just dumbfounded that this would be true. She assured me that when a person inquires about anything then it is a claim even if they don't pay out anything.
I am no longer allowing them to sell me insurance.....for anything.
Just like some have said, "live and learn".

 

[LOL!]

^ But did they cancel your insurance? Raise your rates?

Allstate paid for an entire new roof for us and didn't raise the rates the next year.

 

[FreeAtLast]

After hurricane Wilma down here in South Florida I had some roof damage which appeared to be loose tiles. I did not want to file a claim as I thought future insurance would be harder to obtain or my rates would go up.

I had a roofer replace the broken tiles and just paid out of pocket. About 6 months later I got a notice from the insurance company that they would not be renewing my policy as they wanted to lower the total number of customers that they had in South Florida to reduce their risk.

A few weeks later we had a really bad rain storm and the roof started to leak in several places. I filed the insurance claim. The adjuster came out and said he was not sure about the damages and would have to get a roofer to inspect it.

The roofer came out and declared that the roof was not repairable and I got a new roof for a value of about $45k. I just paid the $500 deductible.

I did get new insurance at a lower rate with another company mainly due to the fact that I recently added storm shutters.

 

[dessert]

^ But did they cancel your insurance? Raise your rates?

Allstate paid for an entire new roof for us and didn't raise the rates the next year.

No they did not raise my rates, nor cancel me.
I simply don't believe that this is ethical nor honest business practices to have an entry in my history that is not true.
They said that I made a claim against my insurance when I did not do that. It's the principal of the thing.
I think I deserve better customer service than that. I was a 30 year customer with no claims at all.
I can only protest with my money and that's what I did. I pay someone else for my insurance and it's a whole lot cheaper I might add. Should have done that many years ago.

 

[LOL!]

So in reality you should be thanking your old insurance company for making you mad enough to switch companies. They saved you money by doing so.

 

[ziggy29]

Allstate paid for an entire new roof for us and didn't raise the rates the next year.

That has never been my point. What would have happened if you have another claim within the next couple of years?

How many times can I say it? I don't expect to be non-renewed or have my rates jacked up because of this single event. But it does make me a LOT more wary of filing a second claim, which should have been the first claim if my insistence on not doing anything to hit the CLUE report were honored.

 

[Texas Proud]

The bottom line is, whatever the threshold is we're one step closer to reaching it than I intended to be.

This whole thing makes me think there needs to be an insurance version of Miranda rights: "You realize that by sending out an estimator, you are filing a claim that may count against you even if the damage does not exceed your deductible..."

First... I do not even know what a CLUE is.... so no help there...

There was once where I had a small problem... and called to see what they thought... the person TOLD me that if they come out to estimate then it is considered a claim even if they do not pay... so I declined... I agree that if that was not told to you they need to fix the problem....

 

[dessert]

So in reality you should be thanking your old insurance company for making you mad enough to switch companies. They saved you money by doing so.

Yes you are right! Every time I renew my new policy, I thank A**state.

 

[ziggy29]

the person TOLD me that if they come out to estimate then it is considered a claim even if they do not pay...

I wish I was told that. This disclosure would have been sufficient for me to decline their estimator and find my own contractor for an estimate. I did not get that. THAT is what pissed me off about this. I made it very clear that I didn't want to file a formal claim (even I knew that would be entered in CLUE) and what I got from the guy on the end of the line made it sound like "you can pursue a claim if the damages are enough to warrant it."

Yes, now that I think on it, "pursue" a claim is not the same as "open" a claim, but I feel like my trust was violated (even if not intentionally). I parsed it as the time as "we can open a formal claim that gets entered in CLUE if the estimate comes back large enough to warrant a claim."

"Pursuing" a claim could mean starting one and dropping it if the estimate reveals $1300 damage on a $2500 deductible. I guess I let my guard down a bit because I trusted USAA a bit more than I'd trust most insurance companies. Fool me once, shame on me?

 

[LOL!]

Sounds like a new part-time job for someone (thefed?): Fake claims adjuster, you call them to see if your problem is big enough to call your insurance company.

 

[dessert]

Sounds like a new part-time job for someone (thefed?): Fake claims adjuster, you call them to see if your problem is big enough to call your insurance company.

Good one....

 

[SecondCor521]

It seems that OP is upset based on an assumption that the USAA employee had any choice in whether or not to submit it to CLUE. That may not be the case.

It also seems that OP may be upset because USAA did not do what he told them to do. This is surprising to me. If I told USAA to, say, bill me my homeowner's policy and my auto policy in separate mailings and they refused to do so, I'd at least consider the possibility that they have decided to run their business differently than the way I requested. If it bugged me enough, I'd look to switch, but I wouldn't be upset or angry about it.

It could be that every insurance company behaves in the same way in terms of always reporting to CLUE and dropping people who make claims. Good information to have, but then not a reason to switch.

Finally, there seems to be an assumption that the "non-claim" CLUE report can be revoked/removed by USAA if the OP rattles enough cages. It seems plausible, even logical, that this might be the case. It also seems at least a little plausible that removing a CLUE report might require jumping through hoops that USAA can't or won't do.

2Cor521

 

[ziggy29]

I plan to take $1-2K a week out of my USAA banking accounts into my Schwab account if they don't make this right. Tick, tick, tick...