• 07
  • November
    2011

My office receives almost daily calls from members of the military returning from Afghanistan or Iraq who are having trouble getting claims paid by USAA. USAA was formed for the purpose of serving our Nation's military, and is often the go-to insurance company for military personnel, who expect to be treated with respect and good faith practices when they need the help insurance is meant to provide. How else would USAA have the guts to put "honor" in their advertisements?

Unfortunately, we do not see the honor when USAA's insureds are getting sinkhole claims denied due to unsupported legal theories to avoid paying valid claims. Specifically, I am addressing claims associated with sinkhole damage, where USAA denied the claims after finding sinkhole activity. Instead of paying the claims, USAA has decided to change their interpretation of their policies, so they can argue "yes, it's a sinkhole, but no, it's not covered." I have blogged about this for months.

I say, if USAA wants to talk about "honor," they should listen to the multitude of judges who reject their arguments. As a lawyer who represented dozens of insurance companies before I focused on helping policyholders, I can tell you there are honorable, ethical insurance companies. In the end, everyone should be judged by their conduct and not their marketing. At this USAA has some explaining to do.