🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <323960FC.2592@access.digex.net>, James Treworgy
<jamie@access.digex.net> wrote, quoting me:
>> Not a Geico customer, but I am insured by the best insurance company in
>> the business, USAA, and I've never even *heard* of a one-year policy.
>> Six months, every time.  Is this unusual?
>
>I'm curious as to why USAA is the best insurance company in the world. 
>I don't know much about them, except when I went to get an estimate on
>my car when I was in an accident, the body shop guy said "You're not
>insured with USAA, are you?  Oh good.  We won't work with them" and
>didn't go into more details.  Does anyone know of any problems with USAA
>paying shops?

Yikes.  That's the first I've heard *that*.  The first time I ever had
an accident (actually, it was my wife's accident), the tow truck came
and wanted cash on the spot to take the disabled vehicle to the shop.
I didn't have it and just asked him if he could let the insurance
company take care of it, promising to call them the first thing the
next day.  He asked what insurance company, I said USAA, he said, yeah
for them he'd make an exception.

I have had probably seven or eight claims (most minor, two major) in
the sixteen years I've been insured with USAA, and *every* time, they
got their adjuster out right away, worked with the shop to resolve any
problems *before* I even heard about them (and I found out in one case
that there were plenty of problems).  In both collision cases where it
was the other person's fault, USAA paid the *whole* bill (no
deductible) up front, and worried about getting the deductible back
from the other insurance agency itself.  (I was shocked the first time
I found out this is not standard practice.)

The price you pay for this level of service?  Only the lowest rates in
the industry, bar none.  I used to shop around a lot whenever I moved
to a new area.  Now I don't even bother.

Sadly for those of you moved to check USAA out on the basis of my
testimonial, only former military officers (and, I think, senior
NCO's) are eligible for membership.  Among active duty officers, I
think they insure something like 98%, which market share reflects
their relative value pretty well, I think.

If USAA is making up the margin by screwing auto repair places, I
don't approve of it, but it's not really my concern as a customer.  I
have serious doubts as to how widespread this practice is, as I have
never heard of it, and have never heard such a story from any of the
hundreds of officers with whom I worked during my naval career, almost
all of whom were insured with USAA.

As for their other services (other insurance, financial services, etc.),
whenever I get a call from a telemarketer trying to sell me such
services, I just say, "I belong to USAA," at which point they always
--without exception--thank me politely and hang up, knowing that they
are wasting their time.

If you are eligible for USAA membership and aren't taking advantage of
it, I suggest looking into it.
--
 From the catapult of J.D. Baldwin  |+| "If anyone disagrees with anything I
   _,_    Finger baldwin@netcom.com |+| say, I am quite prepared not only to
 _|70|___:::)=}-  for PGP public    |+| retract it, but also to deny under
 \      /         key information.  |+| oath that I ever said it." --T. Lehrer
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