USAA home insurance review: A+ coverage for military families

USAA home insurance offers stellar coverage and industry-best customer service at rates lower than the national average to military members and their families.

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By

Pat HowardManaging Editor & Licensed Home Insurance ExpertPat Howard is a managing editor and licensed home insurance expert at Policygenius, where he specializes in homeowners insurance. His work and expertise has been featured in MarketWatch, Real Simple, Fox Business, VentureBeat, This Old House, Investopedia, Fatherly, Lifehacker, Better Homes & Garden, Property Casualty 360, and elsewhere.

Edited by

Jennifer GimbelJennifer GimbelSenior Managing Editor & Home Insurance ExpertJennifer Gimbel is a senior managing editor and home insurance expert at Policygenius, where she oversees our homeowners insurance coverage. Previously, she was the managing editor at Finder.com and a content strategist at Babble.com.
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Reviewed by

Ian Bloom, CFP®, RLP®Ian Bloom, CFP®, RLP®Certified Financial PlannerIan Bloom, CFP®, RLP®, is a certified financial planner and a member of the Financial Review Council at Policygenius. Previously, he was a financial advisor at MetLife and MassMutual.

Updated

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USAA

USAA logo

Policygenius rating

Our proprietary ratings methodology takes multiple factors into account, including customer satisfaction, cost, financial strength, and policy offerings. See the “Ratings methodology” section for more details.
Full orange starFull orange starFull orange starFull orange starHalf orange star

4.9

AM Best rating

AM Best is a global credit rating agency that scores the financial strength of insurance companies on a scale from A++ (Superior) to D (Poor).

A++

Cost

Using a mix of internal and external rate data, we grade the cost of each insurance company's premiums on a scale from least expensive ($) to most expensive ($$$$$).

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The bottom line

USAA is the best home insurance option on the market for active duty military members, veterans, and their families, consistently scoring the best in J.D. Power’s customer and claims satisfaction studies, and scoring near the top of its digital experience study. 

A couple reasons why USAA is so highly rated by its customers? It offers numerous high-quality coverages at a rate that doesn’t break the bank. A few coverage highlights include extended dwelling coverage, coverage for military uniforms, higher limits on valuable items, and replacement cost reimbursements for personal property loss which comes standard on USAA policies.  

Pros

  • Affordable rates

  • Over a dozen additional coverage options

  • Industry-best customer service and claims satisfaction ratings

Cons

  • Limited to people affiliated with the U.S. military

Basic coverages offered

USAA home insurance policies include these six basic coverages to safeguard your home, belongings, and personal liability:

  • Dwelling: Pays to rebuild or repair the structure of your home, such as the roof, floors, walls, built-in appliances, and any structures attached to the home.

  • Other structures: Pays to rebuild or repair additional structures on your property that aren’t attached to your home, like a detached garage or gardening shed.

  • Personal property: Covers the costs of repairing or replacing your personal belongings, such as furniture, clothes, electronics, and any other possessions you own.

  • Loss of use: Helps cover the cost of hotel stays, restaurant meals, pet boarding costs, and other temporary living expenses while your house is being rebuilt or repaired after a covered loss.

  • Personal liability: Covers medical and legal expenses in the event you’re legally responsible for an accidental injury or property damage.

  • Medical payments: Pays for guests’ medical expenses if they’re injured in your home, regardless of who is at fault.

Additional coverages offered

The following additional coverages are either included or can be added to your USAA homeowners insurance policy for an additional cost: 

  • Extended replacement cost: As part of USAA’s Home Protector coverage endorsement, this increases the coverage on your home an additional 25% in the event your house is destroyed and the cost to rebuild exceeds the dwelling coverage in your policy.

  • Increased ordinance or law: While most standard policies come with a limited amount of ordinance or law coverage to cover the costs of higher rebuild costs due to changes to the building code, USAA’s Home Protector endorsement increases these limits an additional amount. 

  • Additional debris removal expenses: Debris removal costs are generally covered as part of your policy’s dwelling coverage, but these costs come with a relatively low limit — usually 5% of your home’s insured value. With USAA Home Protector, this coverage is extended an additional amount. 

  • Replacement cost personal property: Covers the cost of replacing stolen or damaged personal belongings without deducting depreciation from your claim reimbursement. This coverage is standard on USAA home insurance policies, meaning you don’t need to pay extra for it. 

  • Home-sharing: If you rent out a home or room in your house on a short-term rental website like Airbnb, a basic home insurance policy likely won’t cover the costs if a guest destroys or steals your property. With USAA’s home-sharing coverage, losses related to your short-term rental are covered. 

  • Identity fraud: If your identity is used fraudulently, this provides up to $5,000 in coverage for legal expenses, lost wages, and other costs you incur while restoring your identity. 

  • Military uniform: If you’re an active-duty member of the military, USAA won’t charge you a deductible for covered losses to your military uniform or equipment while you’re on active duty. 

  • Computer: If you spill something on or drop your laptop, desktop computer, or tablet, this coverage will cover the cost of replacement or repairs after you meet the $250 deductible.

  • Cell phone: Provides additional coverage if you lose your smartphone, drop it, or someone steals it.

  • Flood insurance: USAA offers flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), the main provider of flood insurance in the U.S.

  • Umbrella insurance: If you have a liability claim that’s higher than your liability coverage limit, this kicks in to cover the rest of the costs. If you have assets valued at more than $500,000 (the maximum liability coverage limit on most home insurance policies), you’ll want to consider a personal umbrella policy.

  • Valuable personal property insurance: A separate insurance policy offered by USAA that provides higher coverage limits for your valuables worth $100 or more. Additionally, it extends coverage on these items to cover lost and accidentally damaged or broken property anywhere in the world — with no out-of-pocket deductible. 

  • Earthquake insurance: Residents of high-risk areas in California can purchase separate California Earthquake Authority (CEA) earthquake insurance through USAA. 

Ratings methodology

Price

4.5/5

USAA earns an excellent score on our price rating scale. With home insurance costs that are about 22% cheaper than the national average and six high quality discounts listed on its website, USAA is one of the most affordable major home insurance providers on the market. 

Customer experience

5.0/5

USAA earned the highest score of any insurer in J.D. Power’s 2022 customer and claims satisfaction study, and had the second-highest score in its 2022 digital experience study. While it wasn’t officially ranked in either study due to its limited availability, its excellent scores with J.D. Power were enough to give it a perfect score on our customer experience rating scale.  

Coverage options

3.6/5

USAA earns an above-average score on our coverage options rating scale. In addition to offering all of the standard home insurance coverages, it has up to 15 optional coverages, including extended dwelling coverage, protection for military uniforms, computers coverage, and standalone NFIP flood insurance and CEA earthquake insurance.  

Financial strength

5.0/5

USAA received a perfect score on our financial strength rating scale due to its excellent ratings with all the major credit rating agencies. As of 2022, it holds down an A++ rating with AM Best, an AA+ with S&P, and Aa1 with Moody’s. All of this is to say that USAA is in a strong position to fulfill its financial obligations, giving homeowners that extra peace of mind.

How much does USAA home insurance cost?

The national average cost of home insurance with USAA is $1,479 per year for a policy with $300,000 in dwelling coverage. This makes USAA about 22% cheaper than the national average. 

However, your own rates will depend on your home’s location and how much coverage you need. Here’s the average yearly cost of USAA for five different levels of dwelling coverage:

Dwelling coverage level

Average annual cost

$100,000

$743

$200,000

$1,105

$300,000

$1,479

$400,000

$1,725

$500,000

$2,009

What discounts does USAA offer?

Save on your USAA home insurance rates by qualifying for some of these policy discounts:

  • Home and auto bundle: Save an average of 6% on your home and auto rates when you bundle your home and auto insurance with USAA. 

  • Multi-policy: If you purchase one of the following in addition to homeowners insurance, you can save up to 5% on your home insurance premiums, according to USAA: rental property insurance, renters insurance, valuable personal property insurance, umbrella insurance, a bank product, or life insurance.

  • Protective devices: If your house has safety or security features like a monitored security system or monitored fire alarm, you can save up to 5% on your premiums, according to USAA.

  • Connected home: If you purchase a qualified smart home water leak sensor, smoke detector, or security monitoring system, you can save up to 7% on premiums, according to USAA. Learn more about USAA’s Connected Home Program

  • Claims-free: If you go five or more years without filing an insurance claim, you can get up to 15% off your rates, according to USAA.

  • Loyalty: Once you’ve reached the three-year mark as a policyholder, you’ll get up to 5% off your rates, according to USAA.

Compare home insurance quotes from USAA and other top insurers

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USAA home insurance state availability

USAA homeowners insurance is available in every U.S. state and Washington D.C.

What to expect with USAA home insurance

  • How to get a quote: To get a USAA homeowners insurance quote, one of the following needs to apply to you: you’re an active duty officer, you’re in the National Guard or a Reserve officer, you’re an officer candidate in commissioning programs, you’re a spouse or child of a USAA member. From there, the actual quote process — which is entirely online — takes about five minutes. 

  • Customer service options: USAA’s contact page offers two main ways of getting in touch: by messaging one of their automated agent’s via online chat, or by calling their main customer service numbers at 210-531-8722 or 800-531-8722

  • How to file a claim: USAA gives you the option to file a claim online through a special claims portal on its website or via the USAA mobile app. However, according to the claims section of its website, the claims process (including service and scheduling) may take longer than usual due to global supply and labor shortages. 

  • How to cancel your policy: To cancel your USAA home insurance policy, you can do so online or by calling 800-531-8722.

USAA home insurance in the news

  • In January 2023, USAA ranked No. 8 in a new survey of the most-considered insurers for Americans switching home insurance companies in 2023. (YouGov)

USAA vs. other home insurance companies

Compare USAA to similar homeowners insurance companies using the table below. 

Company

Policygenius rating

AM Best rating

Cost

USAA

4.9/5

A++

$$

Auto-Owners Insurance

5.0/5

A++

$$

State Farm

4.8/5

A++

$$$

Amica

4.6/5

A++

$$$

The Hartford

4.6/5

A+

$$$$

American Family

4.5/5

A

$$$

Encompass

4.5/5

A+

$$$$

Erie

4.5/5

A+

$$

Farmers

4.5/5

A

$$$

Nationwide

4.5/5

A+

$$$

Progressive

4.5/5

A+

NA

Stillwater

4.5/5

A-

$$$

Allstate

4.4/5

A+

$$$

Country Financial

4.4/5

A+

$$$$

Travelers

4.4/5

A++

$$

AAA

4.3/5

A

$$$

Hippo

4.3/5

A-

$$

Homesite

4.3/5

A

$$

Liberty Mutual

4.3/5

A

NA

Safeco

4.3/5

A

$$$

Mercury

4.1/5

A

$$$

Lemonade

4.0/5

NA

NA

Geico

3.9/5

A++

NA

Swyfft

3.5/5

A-

NA

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Frequently asked questions

How much is USAA home insurance?

The average nationwide cost of USAA home insurance is $1,479 per year for a policy with $300,000 in dwelling coverage, but your own rates will depend on where you live and other factors specific to you and your home.

How do you qualify for USAA home insurance?

To qualify for USAA homeowners insurance or any other USAA insurance or banking product, one of the following needs to apply:

  • You're an active duty officer

  • You're in the National Guard or a Reserve officer

  • You're an officer candidate in commissioning programs

  • You're a spouse or child of a USAA member

What is USAA's home insurance phone number?

To get in touch with USAA about anything related to homeowners insurance, you can call its property insurance division at 800-531-8722.

Author

Pat Howard is a managing editor and licensed home insurance expert at Policygenius, where he specializes in homeowners insurance. His work and expertise has been featured in MarketWatch, Real Simple, Fox Business, VentureBeat, This Old House, Investopedia, Fatherly, Lifehacker, Better Homes & Garden, Property Casualty 360, and elsewhere.

Editor

Jennifer Gimbel is a senior managing editor and home insurance expert at Policygenius, where she oversees our homeowners insurance coverage. Previously, she was the managing editor at Finder.com and a content strategist at Babble.com.

Expert reviewer

Ian Bloom, CFP®, RLP®, is a certified financial planner and a member of the Financial Review Council at Policygenius. Previously, he was a financial advisor at MetLife and MassMutual.

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