About USAA home insurance

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

Who is eligible for USAA?

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

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

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

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

USAA home insurance rates

USAA vs. the competition

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

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

USAA home insurance coverage types

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

Dwelling coverage

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

Other structures coverage

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

Personal property coverage 

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

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

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

Loss of use coverage

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

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

Liability coverage 

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

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

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

Medical payments to others

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

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

Additional coverages offered

• Extended replacement cost coverage: Provides additional coverage for your dwelling if the claim exceeds your initial dwelling coverage limit. 
• Cellphone coverage: USAA has a relationship with ProtectCELL® if you want loss, theft and accidental damage coverage for your phone.
• Computer coverage: This coverage protects you against accidental damage to computers and tablets. It’s not unlike the protection plans retailers offer when you buy electronics. You’ll have a $250 deductible for any claim.
• Flood insurance: A standard homeowners insurance excludes damage caused by floods. You can buy flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program.
• Home Protector: Similar to the “ordinance or law” coverage offered by other insurers, Home Protector increases your claim payment by 25% so you can deal with rebuilding costs, debris removal and building ordinance or law requirements that cost more than expected.
• Umbrella insurance: This coverage gives you up to $5 million in personal liability coverage beyond what your homeowners policy provides. You may consider umbrella insurance if your assets exceed your home insurance liability coverage limit.
• Valuable Personal Property: This offers financial protection against accidental damage and loss to high-value items such as jewelry, cameras, musical instruments and fine art, with no deductible. This coverage is separate from your home insurance policy.

What does USAA home insurance cover?

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

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

• Fire and lightning.
• Windstorm and hail.
• Explosions.
• Riot or civil commotion.
• Damage caused by aircraft (not your own).
• Damage caused by vehicles (not your own).
• Smoke.
• Vandalism or malicious mischief.
• Theft and home break-in. 
• Volcanic eruption.
• Falling objects.
• Weight of snow, sleet or ice. 
• Accidental discharge or overflow of water or steam.
• Sudden and accidental tearing apart, cracking or burning.
• Freezing.
• Sudden and accidental damage from an electrical current (like a power surge in some cases).

What doesn’t USAA home insurance cover?

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

• Earth movement: Damage caused by earthquakes or other types of earth movements, like mudslides. You can buy separate earthquake insurance for this coverage.
• Flooding: Downpours, failing infrastructure, storm surges, hurricanes and more can turn your living room into a swamp. Get flood insurance if you want to be covered for repairs in the event of flooding.
• Fungus: Don’t ignore that leak under the sink. If you end up with a mold problem that wasn’t caused by sudden and accidental water damage, you’ll be paying out of pocket to hire a mold remediation professional. Your health could suffer, too.
• Neglect: Whether you’re sick, injured, cash-strapped or just plain busy, you have to find a way to keep up with your house’s routine maintenance. Losses that would normally be covered could be denied if your insurer can prove that you could have prevented the loss.
• Water or sewer backup: If your sump pump fails or your drain backs up, your policy won’t cover the damage unless you buy an endorsement.
• Windstorms (in some cases): In areas that experience hurricanes, homeowners insurance may not cover damage caused by high winds or hail. You’ll need a separate windstorm policy for that.

USAA home insurance discounts

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

• Bundle discount: If you bundle your home and auto insurance, meaning insure your car and house with USAA, you could save up to 6% on average on your homeowners rates, according to our analysis.
• Claims-free discount: It takes a combination of luck and judiciousness to earn this one. According to USAA, you can get up to 15% off when you go at least five years without filing a claim.
• Connected home discount: Homeowners in most states can save up to 7% on home insurance premiums by installing at least two smart water leak detectors and sharing the data with USAA through the Residio app.
• Loyalty discount: Being a property insurance customer for at least three years can earn you a discount of up to 5%. (That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t shop around and compare homeowners quotes when it’s time to renew.)
• Multi-product discount: Also called a multi-line discount, you could lower your homeowners premiums by as much as 5% if you also have a rental property, renters, valuable personal property, umbrella or life insurance policy with USAA. You can also qualify for the discount with a mortgage, personal loan, savings account, checking account or credit card from USAA.
• Protective device discount: Having a monitored fire alarm or security system in your home could reduce your premiums by up to 5%.

USAA customer reviews and complaints

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

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

Filing a claim with USAA

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

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

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

Methodology

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

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

• Rates: 60 points. We analyzed home insurance rates from Quadrant Information Services. The average rates are based on policies with dwelling coverage of $200,000, $350,000, $500,000 and $750,000. The homeowner profile was someone with a good credit score and no claims history.
• Complaints: 25 points. We collected complaint data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, which shows the volume of home insurance consumer complaints against each company. When a consumer lodges a complaint to their state’s department of insurance — often about an insurance company’s claims process, delays, denials or settlements — these complaints are logged.
• Extended/guaranteed replacement cost coverage upgrade: 10 points. We evaluated whether or not a company offered extended and or guaranteed replacement cost coverage. This type of coverage extends dwelling coverage limits and is increasingly important as we see inflation and natural disasters affect rebuild costs across the country. 
• High deductible discount: 5 points. Raising your deductible is one of the easiest ways to lower home insurance costs. We evaluated the discount companies offer when you raise your deductible.

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