Never Seen This Before
I have been dealing with some USAA cases recently where brazen action seems to be commonplace. One case involves the carrier disregarding the instructions of their insured. The second one involves them telling me they would do something then subsequently refusing. The third case they potentially exposed their insured to an excess judgment on a minimum limits policy by resolving two of four cases before getting a grasp of all exposures.
Advertise: We Are Family
Let me preface this blog post with the fact USAA advertises all over the place about how great they are and have returning customers. My guess is that is a result of not many people filing claims. The carrier has feel-good stories from military members. Their commercials are all about family and the carrier taking care of you after something bad happens. I can say that my experience (and that of my clients) with USAA is drastically different.
Three Examples
Case 1:
USAA calls me up after lengthy pre-litigation investigation and tells me they will pay my clients outstanding $5,000.00 in medical expenses. My client is a USAA insured and paid premiums for these benefits. For whatever reason USAA wanted to put her through an examination and question her to get previously bargained for coverage. After the investigation, the adjuster called and told me benefits would be paid. This allowed me to resolve the bodily injury case. I then receive a letter telling me no benefits would be paid. It dumbfounded me. How can a carrier tell me one thing and then pull a complete 180? I had never seen it before. Litigation is ongoing.
Case 2:
I sent a letter to USAA and instructed them not to pay a particular entity. I did so in order to get my client more money at the end of the day. Pursuant to Kentucky Law a lawyer can make that call. USAA disregarded my instruction. I was later told the claim was put on the equivalent of autopay. The carrier went so far as to try to get back the payment they made. USAA was unable to do so. Instead, I was told the carrier would pay extra contractual benefits AKA more coverage than was initially purchased. Two months later they send me a letter stating the benefits would not be paid. I sent them a lawsuit Monday.
Case 3:
My clients are in a crash involving a USAA driver. That driver I later find out has a minimum policy. Four people are hurt. USAA resolves two of the cases and leaves my two clients claims outstanding. My clients send a demand to USAA in an attempt to resolve their cases BEFORE a lawsuit was filed. USAA delays and delays the prompt payment of the claim under the guise of “investigating.” They refuse tell me how long the “investigation” will last. Time limit demands are ignored. Low ball offers are made. I file a lawsuit only to find out USAA may have delayed the payment of this claim because they resolved two of the four claims and put themselves in a bad spot. Litigation is ongoing.
Experienced Claim Adjuster Opinion
I spoke to an unrelated claims adjuster about the actions of USAA in Case 3. I was told “I don’t care if the other two people don’t see a doctor at all…you don’t resolve those cases leaving the other two outstanding.” This adjuster was of the opinion it was a mistake the carrier made and not intentional. Nonetheless, it has caused my clients significant delay in the prompt resolution of their claim.
Forced Litigation
I do not have similar problems with other carriers completely changing their position or leaving their insureds exposed by resolving cases and leaving others outstanding. Keep in mind I have handled hundreds of claims with each and every carrier you can imagine. Only USAA has forced me litigate these issues. This would not bother me if they weren’t out there galivanting around like its military and families that are being protected by USAA. In my opinion that is disingenuous. If you take premiums from people there is a standard to uphold. It is my opinion that USAA has failed to live up to their standard in the cases discussed above.
The above information is the opinion of Brian R. Dettman.
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