USAA Lucid Experience

[donfenn]

FYI, my wife's family has had USAA insurance forever... Despite their stellarreputation, our experience with recent claims processing was not very good... My step daughter's car was badly vandalized and there was not much in doubt... USAA took forever to get the claim handled... Actually more than 5 weeks. Their adjuster was never available, and every call to their office resulted in 35-50 minutes of hold-time in the phone queue before we could speak with anybody. They finally totaled the car but it was very slow, and the process was quite frustrating. They seem understaffed and inefficient.

 

[pjdcorp]

I used to have USAA too. Had them for 35+ years & the pricing was competitive & the service was excellent on the few occasions I made a claim. However, I had a claim not too long ago on my Touring where their estimate of the damage was 20% of what the repair shop was looking for. That claim is still pending, but their intransigence, combined with their jacking my premium 25% led me to change carriers. BTW. the increase in premium was made before I made this claim. I have Amica now with the same coverage for less than what I was paying USAA pre-claim. So it was a no-brainer to make the switch.

 

[Brown Eyes]

I have been with USAA for almost 53 years. Never had any bad experience with them and the service response on line has always been very quick and fully supportive. I have all my insurance needs covered with USAA. I am sorry to read about your experiences and find it totally out of sync with mine. That said, I have not had any accident or home claim in the last 15 years. Whenever I call for information or to make changes in my coverages, it is always quick and simple.

Wait until you have to file a claim. Pre-claim, the experience is great. Post-claim, the experience will be similar to Rogue - delays and inability to reach the insurance adjuster. I've been with USAA for over 40 years. I'm looking for other insurance and am considering moving my banking as well.

 

[joec]

Wait until you have to file a claim. Pre-claim, the experience is great. Post-claim, the experience will be similar to Rogue - delays and inability to reach the insurance adjuster. I've been with USAA for over 40 years. I'm looking for other insurance and am considering moving my banking as well.

I have to agree. I don’t use USAA, but the person who hit me earlier this year did. They were nice enough on the phone, when I could reach them. But then they stiffed me for over $1k in rental fees they promised would be covered. Still fighting with them over this, though now they are just ghosting me. So I had to file a complaint with the state’s department of insurance.

I wouldn’t use them or let anyone I like use them for anything at this point.

 

[Instinctive]

I have to agree. I don’t use USAA, but the person who hit me earlier this year did. They were nice enough on the phone, when I could reach them. But then they stiffed me for over $1k in rental fees they promised would be covered. Still fighting with them over this, though now they are just ghosting me. So I had to file a complaint with the state’s department of insurance.

I wouldn’t use them or let anyone I like use them for anything at this point.

I've never banked with them (use NFCU) but had a perfect, smooth, fast experience with them pre, during, and post claim on our Lucid getting front panel and mirror replaced. I don't know why a non-member would expect the same level of service as a member, but that's a whole other data point. I had at various points All State, State Farm, and some no name local place from age like 16-24 via my parents.

In my 30s, as part of this community, it's difficult to imagine any of those other firms treating me with the level of respect and speed and kindness they do.

I'm with Saratoga. As a forum that has at times had weird brigading of the vehicle/company we've hitched ourselves to, I feel obligated to make sure the more common experience, which is absolutely incredible, is also represented.

 

[MJAir23TheGoat]

Trying to decide if we are making the move with 5 autos on State Farm policy or switching to USAA

 

[joec]

I've never banked with them (use NFCU) but had a perfect, smooth, fast experience with them pre, during, and post claim on our Lucid getting front panel and mirror replaced. I don't know why a non-member would expect the same level of service as a member, but that's a whole other data point. I had at various points All State, State Farm, and some no name local place from age like 16-24 via my parents.

In my 30s, as part of this community, it's difficult to imagine any of those other firms treating me with the level of respect and speed and kindness they do.

I'm with Saratoga. As a forum that has at times had weird brigading of the vehicle/company we've hitched ourselves to, I feel obligated to make sure the more common experience, which is absolutely incredible, is also represented.

You would expect as a non-member to be stiffed for $1,000 and then ghosted?

Okay.

 

[borski]

You would expect as a non-member to be stiffed for $1,000 and then ghosted?

Okay.

No, of course not, lol. But it seems possible that the experience for their own members is superior; I have, on average, also heard only great things. Like anything else, that doesn’t mean individual experiences won’t vary.

It’s sort of the opposite with PURE. Getting them to cover you is a massive PITA, but if/once they agree, it is bliss. Phone calls get answered, stuff is done quickly, people get paid, and so on.

However, for one of my claims, my claims handler got fired in the middle of my claim (or took time off for an emergency, I can’t recall) and I got lost in the shuffle, so my emails and calls when ghosted for like 2 months while I tried to get a hold of him. I eventually called the main line and was like “WTF” and they could not fall over themselves more to apologize and fix it. Everything got handled within the next 48 hours.

But getting them to cover me? Took like 2 years of documentation and proof I had retrofitted and blah blah, and they *still* won’t cover me for earthquake lol

 

[JayZee#293]

I am reaching either near the end or the beginning for my insurance claim. Where do I start? The beginning I guess.

Date of Accident: 11/12/2023
Location: Chattanooga, TN
Insurance Provider: USAA
Extent of Damage: Undriveable at the Scene (4 Cars Involved)
Claim Date: 11/12/2023

Pictures of the accident exist elsewhere on the forum. See this thread: https://lucidowners.com/threads/actual-cash-value-quotes.7127/
General Notes: My adjuster always sent my calls to voicemail. Sometimes I would hear back after 1 day. Sometimes I would hear back almost 3 days later. Emails were worse. Most of the time I had to call twice to get an answer.

11/12/2023, Day of the Accident: The car was towed without any hassle on my end to a location nearby. We grabbed a ride with one of the folks involved to a local airport to get a rental because we had a non-movable appointment on 11/13/2023. Rental car scheduled the next day for a location on the way back (actually near Chattanooga, TN).

11/14-15/2023, Return from Trip: Enterprise folks were nice. Kia Soul was the only option, so we kept the one we rented on our dime, swapped into insurance policy, and continued on our way.

11/17/2023, Planned Tow to SCA Site: Agreed on date. Tow got delayed repeatedly. Eventual tow was sometime the next week.

11/26/2023, Planned Inspection Completion: Never occurred. The inspection was delayed to the next week.

11/30/2023, SCA Inspection Completed: USAA paid SCA to do the inspection. This was supposed to be THE inspection, but I found out after calling SCA and USAA that it was not. The SCA inspection details had to be sent off to an internal team at USAA due to being an electric car and a specialty car. More delays... Wasted time.

12/07/2023, Crash Data from Lucid: Lucid was fairly prompt with the request (under 1 week). The data put us at fault going 11 mph. No information on the car that absolutely rammed us from behind. USAA was more than happy to put us at fault with no disclosure on responsibility percentage.

Additional Context: At this point, I am calling every other day for updates. I have expressed holding a new Lucid on order with incentives expiring 12/31/2023 with a need to execute quickly. The possibility of totaling the car if repairs were estimated to take 6+ months had been made. Rental car set to expire after 50 days. The car does not have an estimate of damages, timeline for repairs, etc.

12/27/2023, Car Declared Totaled: The completion of the initial estimates showed 40k+ in damages. However, USAA declared the car totaled. I moved forward immediately to purchase a new car to get a 2nd vehicle back in the driveway and swinging the loan in the meantime. A literal 2 minutes from signing the Purchase Agreement USAA calls to tell me the car is not totaled, oh well if I had signed the Purchase Agreement, to expect no wiggle room on totaling the car if repairs take 6-9+ months, and so out of luck for wasting 50 days of the rental car period. A 2 minute difference before bringing sheer financial chaos because of USAA with little to no apology. The cherry on top: USAA admitted the time wasted for an estimate was useless because no one was qualified to provide an accurate quote of the damages and labor, so we waited for nearly 50 days for nothing.

12/27/2023, Contacted Certified Body Shop: I sent over the initial estimates with photos. Shop was quick and asked to have the car brought in immediately after photo review.

01/04/2023, Planned Tow to Certified Body Shop: This was after USAA made no progress of selecting a certified body shop or offering options. An off the wall claim of Lucid having a policy of only being allowed to tow Lucid vehicles lest voiding warranties, etc., etc., etc. Delays... More delays... I called to see what was going on since the car had not moved on the app. SCA could not tow the car due to crossing state borders.

01/10/2023, Car Arrives at Certified Body Shop: After several false starts, the car finally gets towed to the shop. The promised 1 week turnaround was gone. Initial questions about the accuracy of the initial quote resulted in outright laughter and mockery of USAA's ability to be contacted and provide accurate estimates by the shop. I was not amused, and the behavior seems to extend beyond specialty cars.

01/25/2023, Supplemental Quote: 83k+ in damages. 99 days inputted for the time to repair. Questions to the shop about battery, frame, and exposed electronics have received no response, but they are quick and will likely get back to me on Monday. My suspicion is 99 days was the max they could input. My gut feeling is easily 6+ months.

01/25/2023, Call to USAA: I received the typical voicemail. Maybe I will hear something back Monday from USAA, but I suspect I will be told to take a hike on getting the car totaled. If the repair route occurs, my time of ownership and driving (<12 months) will almost equal my time of waiting on USAA and repairs (2 months for accurate repair estimates, 6-9+ months of repairs?, 8-11 months total).

Conclusion: We will see. Right now I would drop USAA in a heartbeat if it weren't for the accident forgiveness. Those details have not been sorted out to date. Insurance premium increase? Who knows. Incompetence and dodging of any and all responsibility as an insurance provider for timely updates have been the hallmarks of my experience. Sheer debauchery of 50+ days for an accurate estimate when a certified shop should have been the first place the car was sent. The near financial chaos USAA nearly sent my household under due to falsely claiming the car was totaled is unforgiveable. I suspect the true clash will begin Monday if they decide the repair route to leave my household down to 1 car for an outrageous amount of time.

I hope fellow USAA insured owners never have to go through this process.

I dropped USAA in 2010. Have Travelers since. Had an Accident on 12/23/24, nowhere near as involved as yours. Drivable, SCA came out and estimated $8000. Certified body shop billed $8500 with supplemental that travelers did not question. Dropped off at body shop end of January and picked up four weeks later. Thankfully, the headlights were intact.

 

[joec]

For the sake of fairness, I feel obligated to report USAA today finally got back to me. They decided to cover the final $1k after all, and sent me the forms for a diminished value claim.

I have no idea if the report to the department of insurance had any influence on this decision. But in any event, they did do the right thing, after too much work on my part.

The whole insurance conversation drives me nuts. And when it comes to cars this expensive, everything just gets more difficult.

Bottom line, there's much more to insurance shopping than the price of your policy. What the company does with a claim is much more important in the long run, should you ever find yourself in the middle of one.

And pro tip: Keep after them. I think many of these companies see how little they can get away with paying. I imagine many people just let it go and pay out of pocket when they really shouldn't. But they know that, so they try it out on you. Be persistent.

 

[Brown Eyes]

I've never banked with them (use NFCU) but had a perfect, smooth, fast experience with them pre, during, and post claim on our Lucid getting front panel and mirror replaced. I don't know why a non-member would expect the same level of service as a member, but that's a whole other data point. I had at various points All State, State Farm, and some no name local place from age like 16-24 via my parents.

In my 30s, as part of this community, it's difficult to imagine any of those other firms treating me with the level of respect and speed and kindness they do.

I'm with Saratoga. As a forum that has at times had weird brigading of the vehicle/company we've hitched ourselves to, I feel obligated to make sure the more common experience, which is absolutely incredible, is also represented.

Glad USAA came through for you, but like Joec said, it shouldn't be this difficult and there is more to insurance shopping than the price of the policy. I don't file a lot of claims. Some issues I handle myself or don't worry about it, if its small. I didn't claim any physical injuries, just wanted my property damages processed fairly. If USAA had done this, after 40 years, I would not look to move elsewhere.

As I said before, USAA has good to great service when you're updating your insurance, adding a checking/savings account, looking at retirement options - but in those scenarios, I'm usually paying them money. In the two scenarios where USAA should pay me fair compensation for damages to my home/auto after I've paid them premiums for over 40 years, USAA made me jump through far too many hoops. I was a loyal customer who was not asking for the moon - just fair treatment/compensation.

 

[Instinctive]

Glad USAA came through for you, but like Joec said, it shouldn't be this difficult and there is more to insurance shopping than the price of the policy. I don't file a lot of claims. Some issues I handle myself or don't worry about it, if its small. I didn't claim any physical injuries, just wanted my property damages processed fairly. If USAA had done this, after 40 years, I would not look to move elsewhere.

As I said before, USAA has good to great service when you're updating your insurance, adding a checking/savings account, looking at retirement options - but in those scenarios, I'm usually paying them money. In the two scenarios where USAA should pay me fair compensation for damages to my home/auto after I've paid them premiums for over 40 years, USAA made me jump through far too many hoops. I was a loyal customer who was not asking for the moon - just fair treatment/compensation.

Weird. My experience was a fast, easy claim with no questions, paid out immediately with no issues. Far better than I expected for a brand new car from a brand new manufacturer.

They've actually proactively reached out to send someone to come assess potential claims after major storms, e.g., when a power line was dropped on our home. I would (and I imagine do) pay more for the level of service we get.

And it sounds like joec's issue was resolved. And I would always expect interacting with the other party's insurer to take forever, personally.

Sorry your experience hasn't been the same. Good luck with whoever you get now!

 

[Steveinarizona]

And pro tip: Keep after them. I think many of these companies see how little they can get away with paying. I imagine many people just let it go and pay out of pocket when they really shouldn't. But they know that, so they try it out on you. Be persistent.

Oldest trick in the book. You are entirely correct.

 

[SaratogaLefty]

I have to agree. I don’t use USAA, but the person who hit me earlier this year did. They were nice enough on the phone, when I could reach them. But then they stiffed me for over $1k in rental fees they promised would be covered. Still fighting with them over this, though now they are just ghosting me. So I had to file a complaint with the state’s department of insurance.

I wouldn’t use them or let anyone I like use them for anything at this point.

Why are you dealing directly with the other person's insurance (USAA)? That is not your job and your insurance should be handling your interactions with them. I have had accidents in the past that weren't my fault and my insurance did all the negotiating on my behalf and i never had any dealings with the other person's insurance. USAA has always been fantastic for me. We had an ice maker connection to our refrigerator break a number of years ago and the water did a lot of damage since we were away for a few days when it happened. They (USAA) handled everything without any hassles or problems. Had a lady hit us broadside after running a red light and again everything handled perfectly without my having to get involved much at all.

 

[pjdcorp]

I am reaching either near the end or the beginning for my insurance claim. Where do I start? The beginning I guess.

Date of Accident: 11/12/2023
Location: Chattanooga, TN
Insurance Provider: USAA
Extent of Damage: Undriveable at the Scene (4 Cars Involved)
Claim Date: 11/12/2023

Pictures of the accident exist elsewhere on the forum. See this thread: https://lucidowners.com/threads/actual-cash-value-quotes.7127/
General Notes: My adjuster always sent my calls to voicemail. Sometimes I would hear back after 1 day. Sometimes I would hear back almost 3 days later. Emails were worse. Most of the time I had to call twice to get an answer.

11/12/2023, Day of the Accident: The car was towed without any hassle on my end to a location nearby. We grabbed a ride with one of the folks involved to a local airport to get a rental because we had a non-movable appointment on 11/13/2023. Rental car scheduled the next day for a location on the way back (actually near Chattanooga, TN).

11/14-15/2023, Return from Trip: Enterprise folks were nice. Kia Soul was the only option, so we kept the one we rented on our dime, swapped into insurance policy, and continued on our way.

11/17/2023, Planned Tow to SCA Site: Agreed on date. Tow got delayed repeatedly. Eventual tow was sometime the next week.

11/26/2023, Planned Inspection Completion: Never occurred. The inspection was delayed to the next week.

11/30/2023, SCA Inspection Completed: USAA paid SCA to do the inspection. This was supposed to be THE inspection, but I found out after calling SCA and USAA that it was not. The SCA inspection details had to be sent off to an internal team at USAA due to being an electric car and a specialty car. More delays... Wasted time.

12/07/2023, Crash Data from Lucid: Lucid was fairly prompt with the request (under 1 week). The data put us at fault going 11 mph. No information on the car that absolutely rammed us from behind. USAA was more than happy to put us at fault with no disclosure on responsibility percentage.

Additional Context: At this point, I am calling every other day for updates. I have expressed holding a new Lucid on order with incentives expiring 12/31/2023 with a need to execute quickly. The possibility of totaling the car if repairs were estimated to take 6+ months had been made. Rental car set to expire after 50 days. The car does not have an estimate of damages, timeline for repairs, etc.

12/27/2023, Car Declared Totaled: The completion of the initial estimates showed 40k+ in damages. However, USAA declared the car totaled. I moved forward immediately to purchase a new car to get a 2nd vehicle back in the driveway and swinging the loan in the meantime. A literal 2 minutes from signing the Purchase Agreement USAA calls to tell me the car is not totaled, oh well if I had signed the Purchase Agreement, to expect no wiggle room on totaling the car if repairs take 6-9+ months, and so out of luck for wasting 50 days of the rental car period. A 2 minute difference before bringing sheer financial chaos because of USAA with little to no apology. The cherry on top: USAA admitted the time wasted for an estimate was useless because no one was qualified to provide an accurate quote of the damages and labor, so we waited for nearly 50 days for nothing.

12/27/2023, Contacted Certified Body Shop: I sent over the initial estimates with photos. Shop was quick and asked to have the car brought in immediately after photo review.

01/04/2023, Planned Tow to Certified Body Shop: This was after USAA made no progress of selecting a certified body shop or offering options. An off the wall claim of Lucid having a policy of only being allowed to tow Lucid vehicles lest voiding warranties, etc., etc., etc. Delays... More delays... I called to see what was going on since the car had not moved on the app. SCA could not tow the car due to crossing state borders.

01/10/2023, Car Arrives at Certified Body Shop: After several false starts, the car finally gets towed to the shop. The promised 1 week turnaround was gone. Initial questions about the accuracy of the initial quote resulted in outright laughter and mockery of USAA's ability to be contacted and provide accurate estimates by the shop. I was not amused, and the behavior seems to extend beyond specialty cars.

01/25/2023, Supplemental Quote: 83k+ in damages. 99 days inputted for the time to repair. Questions to the shop about battery, frame, and exposed electronics have received no response, but they are quick and will likely get back to me on Monday. My suspicion is 99 days was the max they could input. My gut feeling is easily 6+ months.

01/25/2023, Call to USAA: I received the typical voicemail. Maybe I will hear something back Monday from USAA, but I suspect I will be told to take a hike on getting the car totaled. If the repair route occurs, my time of ownership and driving (<12 months) will almost equal my time of waiting on USAA and repairs (2 months for accurate repair estimates, 6-9+ months of repairs?, 8-11 months total).

Conclusion: We will see. Right now I would drop USAA in a heartbeat if it weren't for the accident forgiveness. Those details have not been sorted out to date. Insurance premium increase? Who knows. Incompetence and dodging of any and all responsibility as an insurance provider for timely updates have been the hallmarks of my experience. Sheer debauchery of 50+ days for an accurate estimate when a certified shop should have been the first place the car was sent. The near financial chaos USAA nearly sent my household under due to falsely claiming the car was totaled is unforgiveable. I suspect the true clash will begin Monday if they decide the repair route to leave my household down to 1 car for an outrageous amount of time.

I hope fellow USAA insured owners never have to go through this process.

What a horrible experience. I had USAA for 35+ years for everything - home, couple of cars & umbrella. In the last few years service, which used to be incredibly good, had dropped off a bit. The kicker for me was when they quoted my renewal at a price about 30% more than I could get with Amica. I just figured that since that formerly gold plated service was not really all that great anymore, it was time to look elsewhere. I shudder when I look at what they've put you thru. I hope you get some justice.