USAA Car Insurance Review (2024)
- Expertise: Auto insurance, home insurance and renters insurance
- Education: Sonoma State University (BA in English)
Aaron Besson has worked at LendingTree for more than seven years and has been a staff writer for the last five years. He specializes in producing research-backed content about auto, home and renters insurance. Aaron enjoys the deep dig into insurance data to get the right answers to hard questions. His work has been cited by CBS, iHeart Radio, the Sacramento Bee and Yahoo.
USAA offers great auto insurance rates, fantastic customer satisfaction and strong coverage, but only for military members and veterans, as well as their spouses and children.
Pros
Top-tier customer satisfaction rates
Available in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
Wide range of insurance coverage and banking products
Easy online quotes
Cons
Only available for active-duty and veteran military, as well as their spouses and children
No local agencies
Is USAA a good company?
USAA car insurance is an excellent option for active and veteran military members and their immediate families.
On average, USAA has low rates compared to other insurers. Their customer satisfaction ratings are superior, as well.
USAA had the top customer satisfaction index score in all 11 U.S. regions, according to J.D. Power’s 2023 car insurance study.
It also did well on the National Association of Insurance Commissioners complaint index, which compares the number of customer complaints to the average for similar-sized companies. USAA received a 0.9, where 1.0 is the average score.
USAA is also in a strong financial position to pay out all claims, according to A.M. Best, which gives it an A++ rating.
How much is USAA car insurance?
USAA has the cheapest full-coverage rates of all the major car insurance companies we surveyed ($1,199 a year on average) and the lowest liability-only coverage ($398 a year on average).
Its typical full-coverage rate is 39% cheaper than the national average of $1,970 a year.
USAA car insurance rate comparison
| Company | Full coverage | Liability coverage |
|---|---|---|
| USAA | $1,199 | $398 |
| Erie | $1,270 | $497 |
| State Farm | $1,487 | $597 |
| Travelers | $1,919 | $835 |
| American Family | $1,920 | $728 |
| Farm Bureau | $1,931 | $548 |
| Geico | $1,937 | $727 |
| Progressive | $2,032 | $791 |
| Nationwide | $2,226 | $963 |
| Amica | $2,548 | $1,098 |
| Allstate | $2,609 | $1,158 |
| Farmers | $3,091 | $1,188 |
| AAA | $3,835 | $1,520 |
USAA car insurance cost for a bad driving record
Among the major insurers we looked at, USAA has the second-lowest average car insurance rate for drivers with a traffic ticket on their record, at $1,457 a year. (Erie has the lowest rate, at just $1 less than USAA’s.)
USAA also has the second-cheapest rate for drivers with an at-fault accident, at $1,658 a year. (Erie is again the cheapest, at $1,597 a year.)
Similarly, drivers with a conviction for driving under the influence (DUI) will find the second-cheapest average rate at USAA, at $2,252 a year. (Here, too, Erie is the most affordable, at $2,172 a year.)
USAA average annual rate by incident
| Company | Clean record | Ticket | Accident | DUI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USAA | $1,199 | $1,457 | $1,658 | $2,252 |
| Erie | $1,270 | $1,456 | $1,597 | $2,172 |
| State Farm | $1,487 | $1,616 | $1,843 | $4,402 |
| Country Financial | $1,600 | $2,114 | $2,336 | $2,459 |
| Travelers | $1,919 | $2,468 | $2,699 | $2,893 |
| American Family | $1,920 | $2,352 | $2,980 | $3,114 |
| Farm Bureau | $1,931 | $2,191 | $2,662 | $3,343 |
| Geico | $1,937 | $2,493 | $3,341 | $4,584 |
| Nationwide | $2,226 | $2,839 | $3,460 | $4,376 |
| Amica | $2,548 | $2,739 | $3,943 | $8,905 |
| Allstate | $2,609 | $3,073 | $4,125 | $3,875 |
| Farmers | $3,091 | $4,252 | $4,598 | $4,758 |
| AAA | $3,835 | $4,925 | $6,454 | $7,867 |
USAA car insurance rates for teens
USAA is a good choice for qualifying teens looking for car insurance. Its average rate for young drivers is $2,847 a year, or 51% cheaper than the national average rate to insure an 18-year-old driver, at $5,824 a year.
Among major insurers, only Country Financial was cheaper, at $2,226 a year.
USAA average car insurance rate for 18-year-old drivers
| Company | Full coverage for 18-year-old | Liability coverage for 18-year-old |
|---|---|---|
| Country Financial | $2,226 | $1,401 |
| USAA | $2,847 | $1,030 |
| Erie | $3,086 | $1,264 |
| State Farm | $4,128 | $1,811 |
| Farm Bureau | $4,451 | $1,574 |
| Geico | $5,048 | $2,044 |
| American Family | $5,413 | $2,364 |
| Travelers | $5,758 | $2,655 |
| Allstate | $7,668 | $3,399 |
| Nationwide | $7,743 | $3,371 |
| Progressive | $8,495 | $3,193 |
| Amica | $9,052 | $4,071 |
| AAA | $9,111 | $4,075 |
| Farmers | $9,354 | $4,227 |
USAA car insurance discounts
USAA has many discounts to help their auto policy customers save money on their annual car insurance costs, such as:
- Bundling: If you bundle your auto insurance with a USAA home insurance policy, you could save up to 10% on your annual premium.
- MyUSAA Legacy Discount: If you were named on your family’s USAA insurance policy, are under 25 years old and have had no major violations three years before getting your own policy, you could save 10% on your auto insurance.
- USAA SafePilot: If you live in a qualifying state, are eligible for the program and install the USAA SafePilot app, you could get a 30% discount.
Other available discounts include:
- Safe driver
- Good student
- Multi-driver
- New car
- Anti-theft device
USAA also has discounts especially tailored to the military, including:
- If you’re deployed or storing your car, you can save up to 60% on your auto insurance.
- There’s a 15% discount if you store your car at a military installation.
USAA car insurance coverage
Besides offering liability-only car insurance and full coverage (which includes liability, collision and comprehensive coverage), USAA also offers these add-ons:
- Accident forgiveness: USAA will forgive the first accident on your record. You can either purchase it as an add-on or get it for free if you go five years without an accident.
- Rental car reimbursement: This coverage can help pay for a rental car while your car is being repaired after an accident.
- Roadside assistance: USAA can get you back on the road or help tow your car.
- Rideshare coverage: If you drive for a service like Uber or Lyft, this coverage offers protection while you’re on the app or waiting for a rider or delivery request.
Methodology
LendingTree obtains rates from insurance company filings reported to Quadrant Information Services. Rates are based on an analysis of car insurance quotes for sample drivers.
Unless stated otherwise, we used thousands of car insurance quotes from across the U.S. for a 30-year-old man with good credit and no tickets, accidents or DUI convictions, driving a 2015 Honda Civic EX.
For full-coverage policies, coverage limits include:
- Bodily injury liability: $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident
- Property damage liability: $25,000
- Uninsured motorist: $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident, where required by law
- Personal injury protection: Minimum limits, where required by law
- Collision: $500 deductible
- Comprehensive: $500 deductible