USAA Home Insurance Review (2023)

Our rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Year founded: 1922

J.D. Power rating: 886 out of 1,000

AM Best rating: A++*

State availability: 50 states and Washington, D.C.

USAA provides comprehensive homeowners insurance options. Its standard coverage includes a few perks that other providers offer only as add-on endorsements, such as replacement cost coverage on personal property.

• Dwelling coverage: After you pay a deductible, dwelling coverage pays for the cost to repair or rebuild your home due to damage from a covered event. It also covers any structures permanently attached to your home, like an attached garage or deck.
• Other structures coverage: This covers property damage to structures that are on your property but not affixed to your home, such as fences, detached garages, sheds and gazebos.
• Personal property coverage: This coverage includes personal belongings within your home, such as furniture, clothing, appliances and computer equipment. USAA provides replacement cost coverage as part of its standard home insurance policies, which offers enough money to replace the full value of damaged or stolen personal belongings. Other companies may provide the actual cash value of your belongings, which accounts for deterioration and depreciation.
• Loss-of-use coverage: If a covered loss leaves your home uninhabitable, USAA will pay for additional living expenses such as lodging, transportation and meals.
• Personal liability coverage: This coverage helps cover medical payments if a guest is injured in your home and requires care. It also covers the cost of damages that a policyholder or covered family members cause to another property.

Additional Coverage Options

For an additional charge, USAA offers the following add-0n coverage items or endorsements:

• Flood insurance: USAA customers can add flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program.
• Earthquake insurance: USAA offers earthquake insurance for residents of California through the California Earthquake Authority. Other USAA policyholders can add earthquake coverage for a fee.
• Umbrella insurance: This endorsement offers extended liability insurance for costs that exceed your other policy’s coverage limits, including your home insurance, auto insurance and rental property insurance.
• Valuable personal property insurance: This endorsement boosts your personal property coverage. We recommend this coverage for customers who own high-value items such as jewelry, musical instruments, collectibles and guns.
• Personal cyber insurance: This policy helps pay damages caused by identity theft or other incidents related to a cyber attack.

The average annual cost of a USAA home insurance policy is $2,196, which is lower than the national average insurance rate of $2,417. This figure reflects the average cost of a standard policy before discounts or endorsements.

It is important to note that individual homeowners insurance premiums can vary. Your premium costs will consider factors such as:

• Your home age, size and construction
• Your geographic location
• Your credit history
• Your claims history
• Your insurance coverage options, including selected coverage limits, deductibles and endorsements

Since premium costs can vary, we suggest reaching out to USAA directly for the most accurate quote. Cost is an important factor to consider when comparing home insurance providers.

USAA Discounts

USAA’s list of available discounts is shorter than some other providers, but the few insurance discounts USAA offers can save policyholders anywhere from 5% to 15% on premiums.

Discounts that are available to you should be automatically applied to your projected premium when you get a home insurance quote from USAA online. Available discounts include:

• Bundle-with-auto discount: By bundling your USAA homeowners insurance with USAA auto insurance, you can save up to 10% on your home insurance premium.
• Multi-product discount: You’ll save up to 5% on your home insurance if you have other insurance products from USAA, such as life insurance, renters insurance, umbrella insurance or valuable personal property insurance.
• Loyalty discount: Once you have been with USAA for at least three consecutive years, you can save up to 5% on your home insurance premiums.
• Protective device credit: If you protect your home with a monitored fire alarm or home security system, you can save up to 5%.
• Claims-free discount: If you have made no claims on your home insurance for at least five years, you can qualify for a 15% discount.
• Connected home discount: With qualified smart devices that monitor your home for water leaks, smoke or security breaches, you can save up to 7% on your home insurance premiums.

In addition to its lineup of discounts, USAA home insurance includes several unique perks for active-duty members of the military, such as covering military uniform replacement and military equipment. USAA also covers personal property loss or damage without a deductible if it is a direct result of war.

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) and Trustpilot have a mix of positive and negative customer reviews for USAA. Satisfied customers have commented on the level of personal attention they received from representatives and the ease of USAA’s claim process.

Some customers expressed concern over a perceived trend that USAA has become less customer-focused in the past few years. Other customers have complained about using the company’s website.

“Every time I’ve had to deal with USAA, it’s been a pleasure. [The company has] taken my insurance claims, done its due diligence and gotten everything sorted out with a minimum of stress. [USAA has] put a calming note on the experiences that necessitated calling them.”  —Sam B. via Trustpilot

“I have been with USAA through checking, savings, auto insurance, etc. for over 24 years now. It has been the most professional, understanding, knowledgeable and friendly people I have ever met throughout my life.” —Jason B. via BBB

“For most of my adult life, I have loved USAA. For example, I get checks from USAA every winter before Christmas. When I had wind damage, it did not argue with me about the payout. I’ve never had a service problem. I have [USAA} credit cards, car insurance, homeowners insurance, wrap-around protection and car loans. However, in recent years, as USAA has sought to expand its market, it has severely compromised customer care and its focus. I call it institutional drift.” —Bill P. via Trustpilot

“I have been a customer for several years and have had no issues with customer service, financing or anything really. The issue I have is the security of the site leaves much to be desired. Passwords are limited to 12 characters and the two-factor authentication methods available are either insecure or on a proprietary app/platform that I would only use for this account.” —Steven N. via the BBB

USAA is unique in that it offers affordable insurance coverage only to active members of the military, veterans and their immediate families. Its nationwide availability, comprehensive coverage, targeted discounts and added perks make USAA homeowners insurance our top pick for military members. It also boasts a high financial strength rating from the credit rating agency AM Best.

USAA’s standard policies also provide coverage that competitors typically offer as add-on endorsements, including replacement cost coverage for personal property. Conversely, USAA’s selection of discounts and add-on endorsements are compared to other top insurance companies. If extended coverage or multiple discounts are essential to your choice of home insurance policy, Allstate or Liberty Mutual may better fit your needs.

We recommend that you get a quote from USAA to see if it provides the coverage you need at a price you can afford. If you are not a member of USAA, you need to become one to get a quote.