Don't Use USAA insurance for your Rivian

[p3ck]

TL;DR: USAA has no clue what a Rivian is, and therefore has no business insuring it. They obviously can’t classify it in their system and have no data on costs associated with repairing it so they are just making it up as they go along. I had my truck for exactly 6 weeks after taking delivery, and it has now been at the body shop for over 4 weeks. The replacement parts haven’t even been ordered yet, which means it will likely be another 4 weeks or more until I can get it (if everything goes well). That means that in 14 weeks of ownership, I would have had possession of it for less than half of that time and the majority of that time has been back and forth between the body shop and USAA. In spite of my very obviously mounting frustrations, USAA has done virtually nothing to try and mitigate it. They thank me for my 17 years of membership and likely just assume that after 17 years I’m too entrenched to do anything about it.

How is your battery? Are you keeping it charged at the body shop? I don't think it would be good if the battery went to 0.

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[kurtlikevonnegut]

Sorry for your experience. At some point, you just have to pay the body shop to get your vehicle fixed and then seek reimbursement from the insurance company. I've had similar experiences with other insurance companies but would certainly expect better from USAA.

...This. You go out of pocket, get your truck through quickly, and raise hell on the backend to get reimbursed for what you spent. I've done it before with them for a rental flood claim after a pipe burst above me and it rained through the ceiling fans and lights.

The thought has crossed my mind, and frankly if I could go back in time to 9/15 when I dropped the truck of that's what I would have done, but at this point the damage is done and it's hard to justify floating $10,000 with the knowledge of an inevitable fight with USAA to get reimbursed anywhere close to the full cost and no reasonable expectation for when I would see that money again.

 

[ohseedee]

@zefram47 @a76marine @ohseedee @Perkmeup @DaveA @ads75 @AdventureIsOutThere @R1Sky Business

My initial intent with this was not to complain or vent, which is why I didn't want to get into details and tell the entire story but I can understand the desire to better understand what happened. I'm going to lay out the basic timeline of what happened, so that those who have USAA and either have or are buying a Rivian understand why I urge caution.

On 7/29, less than 48 hours after taking delivery of my truck I was hit by a deer, damaging my drivers door and some of the front quarter panel. On the morning of the 30th, I made a call to Rivian to ask for advice and a call to USAA to file the claim. Rivian informed me which body shop was certified in my area (the ATL shop that works with the SC in that area) and USAA sent me a link to start the claims process with an appraisal using their mobile system.

I used the USAA mobile claims system to take pictures of the damage and, frankly, it was awful. I'm not a troglodyte, I'm 35 and tech forward. It continually rejected pictures I took as being "blurry" even though they were crystal clear. I powered through and submitted my claim pictures. I also submitted pictures to the Rivian network body shop to get an estimate from them. The body shop provided an estimate that was about $4,500. 2 weeks after submitting the pictures on the mobile platform, USAA asked me to submit pictures for an appraisal again because they never received the ones I uploaded. I ended up having to email them the pictures and the body shop estimate 2x, but they finally got them. They then did their own appraisal based off the pictures and produced a laughable estimate of $1,050 for the damage and immediately sent me $500 to cover the costs (less the deductible).

On 9/15 I dropped my truck off at the body shop and informed USAA that I had dropped the vehicle off at my preferred shop and I also explained to them that I was using the shop because it was the only authorized repair shop in a reasonable distance. They assured me that once the shop sent in a supplement, they would update their appraisal to cover the additional cost differential between their appraisal and the shop.

On 9/20 the body shop informed me that they had submitted a supplement to USAA for additional damage and parts that needed to be ordered. They informed me that they couldn’t order the parts until USAA approved the supplement. I immediately called USAA to tell them that the supplement had been sent, and USAA said that they would assign it to an appraiser as soon as they received it and would update me on progress.

Around 10 days later, the body shop messaged me to tell me that they still hadn’t heard from USAA regarding the supplement and had tried contacting USAA multiple times in the meantime. I immediately called USAA and was told that no supplement was showing, and they called the body shop while I was on hold to walk them through submission of the supplement.

About 5 days later, the body shop messaged me again telling me that they still hadn’t heard from USAA had had tried contacting USAA several times with no response. I immediately called USAA again and sat on hold again while they walked the body shop through submission of the supplement.

On 10/10, fully 3 weeks since the supplement had been completed and 4 weeks since I dropped the truck off, USAA confirmed that the supplement was there and had been sent to the appraisal team for review. On the same day, I received a voicemail from Enterprise (who my replacement rental is through via USAA) and a bill for $350 charged to my credit card. They told me that USAA had refused to continue paying for the car on 10/5 (USAA never reached out to communicate to me that they were stopping payment of the rental). I brought this up with the same person who I confirmed receipt of the supplement and they told me that they couldn’t’ do anything about it until the supplement was approved, since the additional rental fees would have to be billed to the supplement. Basically, I would have to float the rental until the supplement was approved and then if approved, they would retroactively pay for the rental during the intermediate time. I was told that it would be 24-48 business hours until the appraisal was reviewed (accounting for the holiday, that would have been Wednesday, the 12th). I was told that they would update me via message once this was done.

After hearing nothing on 10/12, I called towards the end of the day to get an update. I spent over an hour on hold to be told basically that the appraisal would take another 24/48 business hours, and should be done by Friday (10/14). I did not receive an update on 10/14, but I did hear from Enterprise (still nothing on their front from USAA, so I paid for another week of the rental out of pocket).

This morning (10/17) after another half hour on hold, I was told that since Rivian is a “specialty vehicle, like an RV or something” that they would have to have a field appraiser go to the body shop and see the damage and parts before approving the supplement. Due to the hurricane, the field appraiser in the ATL area is very busy, so they can’t give me an estimate for when that will be, period.


TL;DR: USAA has no clue what a Rivian is, and therefore has no business insuring it. They obviously can’t classify it in their system and have no data on costs associated with repairing it so they are just making it up as they go along. I had my truck for exactly 6 weeks after taking delivery, and it has now been at the body shop for over 4 weeks. The replacement parts haven’t even been ordered yet, which means it will likely be another 4 weeks or more until I can get it (if everything goes well). That means that in 14 weeks of ownership, I would have had possession of it for less than half of that time and the majority of that time has been back and forth between the body shop and USAA. In spite of my very obviously mounting frustrations, USAA has done virtually nothing to try and mitigate it. They thank me for my 17 years of membership and likely just assume that after 17 years I’m too entrenched to do anything about it.

This detail was very helpful. I've had USAA since I was 16 and never had a problem. After your original/short post without detail, I was thinking "eh, probably nothing here." But I am now considering using Rivian's partner (for now). The cost of repairs is clearly significantly out of wack compared to traditional vehicles. From their perspective, they are probably thinking: NO freaking way we are going to pay 4X what we normally would without doing some double/triple checking. I'd expect this to get better over time with rates likely going up as well once they have better information. In the meantime, probably better going with a Rivian partner.

 

[EVnewb]

First off thank you for the venting and the thorough explanation. We’re very sorry to hear about that poor experience with USAA. It shouldn’t happen with any insurance company. I also feel like you shouldn’t have to be so involved in the claim. Companies should do their job and take care of you in a timely manner without much involvement from you.

That said, I’m a believer in the squeaky wheel saying. I also have a hard time trusting most people to do their jobs so staying on top of it is imperative in todays age.

A lot of things are playing against you here with the R1 being a new vehicle on the road, parts supply shortages, and a recent hurricane leaving tons of claims. The adjusters are swamped right now. That body shop is probably also swamped. It will not go smoothly and early adopters like yourself will suffer for it unfortunately. Seems like most companies are lacking in the communication department these days.

I’m sure they will get you taken care of in the end, but it still sucks. Hope you get your truck back soon so you can enjoy it!

 

[Taycanfrank]

That sounds like a terrible experience but I also think you're a bit unlucky here. New vehicle (and brand!), repair shop not in the normal chain, and sounds like some miscommunication between the shop/insurance & maybe just not the best agent.

I'd personally consider this more part of the risk of owning such a new car/brand and getting USAA at a very busy time. They're dealing with thousands of unusual, complicated claims from the hurricane and probably have all of their best people tied up in that.

None of that excuses the terrible experience, but I think it's something USAA will get sorted and probably more of an unusual circumstance than a common response.

 

[kurtlikevonnegut]

I'd personally consider this more part of the risk of owning such a new car/brand and getting USAA at a very busy time. They're dealing with thousands of unusual, complicated claims from the hurricane and probably have all of their best people tied up in that.

None of that excuses the terrible experience, but I think it's something USAA will get sorted and probably more of an unusual circumstance than a common response.

I'd be more sympathetic if they hadn't already botched things prior to the hurricane. The truck had been at the shop for weeks before the hurricane made landfall. The situation they are in that they are now playing catchup was entirely avoidable.

 

[LL75]

I find that they are normally responsive when you blast them on social media platform or email the USAA ceo directly.

 

[kurtlikevonnegut]

From their perspective, they are probably thinking: so freaking way we are going to pay 4X what we normally would without doing some double/triple checking. I'd expect this to get better over time with rates likely going up as well once they have better information. In the meantime, probably better going with a Rivian partner.

I can't upload the pictures right now, but looking over their estimate they refer to the Rivian as a "generic van" and estimated $137 for replacement parts.

This isn't a case of not being willing to pay 4x their estimate. It's a case of their estimate being completely and utterly detached from reality and having no understanding of what it is they are insuring. If you don't have even a modicum of understanding of what it requires to fix a vehicle, don't offer to insure it.

 

[kurtlikevonnegut]

I find that they are normally responsive when you blast them on social media platform or email the USAA ceo directly.

This forum is the closest thing that I use to "social media" although the point of this post was not to get their attention so much as it was to warn other USAA members who are buying a Rivian. That said, maybe I'll email Rob Gronkowski and let him know how upset I am and see what happens.

 

[domoplaytime]

USAA has no clue what a Rivian is, and therefore has no business insuring it.

looking over their estimate they refer to the Rivian as a "generic van"

That explains why USAA quoted me less to insure my soon-to-be R1T than my existing seven year old Tesla. Or maybe they just anticipate that I won't crunch the front fender on low parking curbs any more.

 

[zefram47]

Certainly sounds like quite the shit sandwich all the way around. By the time I get my truck I'd assume they'd have a few more of their ducks in a row and maybe it won't be so bad. Didn't Tesla owners have similar issues with insurance and rising rates in the beginning before the insurance companies knew what a Tesla was and the real costs to repair them?

 

[LL75]

This forum is the closest thing that I use to "social media" although the point of this post was not to get their attention so much as it was to warn other USAA members who are buying a Rivian. That said, maybe I'll email Rob Gronkowski and let him know how upset I am and see what happens.

You will be surprised on the CEO thing. I had a bad experienced with insurance panel dropped my coverage for no reason. After going thru hell like what you did. I decided to email the ceo to vent my frustration and it resolved quickly

 

[R1Sky Business]

No claims yet…just renewed and prices went up a little on the R1T though…

Expected I suppose

 

[R1Sky Business]

@zefram47 @a76marine @ohseedee @Perkmeup @DaveA @ads75 @AdventureIsOutThere @R1Sky Business

My initial intent with this was not to complain or vent, which is why I didn't want to get into details and tell the entire story but I can understand the desire to better understand what happened. I'm going to lay out the basic timeline of what happened, so that those who have USAA and either have or are buying a Rivian understand why I urge caution.

On 7/29, less than 48 hours after taking delivery of my truck I was hit by a deer, damaging my drivers door and some of the front quarter panel. On the morning of the 30th, I made a call to Rivian to ask for advice and a call to USAA to file the claim. Rivian informed me which body shop was certified in my area (the ATL shop that works with the SC in that area) and USAA sent me a link to start the claims process with an appraisal using their mobile system.

I used the USAA mobile claims system to take pictures of the damage and, frankly, it was awful. I'm not a troglodyte, I'm 35 and tech forward. It continually rejected pictures I took as being "blurry" even though they were crystal clear. I powered through and submitted my claim pictures. I also submitted pictures to the Rivian network body shop to get an estimate from them. The body shop provided an estimate that was about $4,500. 2 weeks after submitting the pictures on the mobile platform, USAA asked me to submit pictures for an appraisal again because they never received the ones I uploaded. I ended up having to email them the pictures and the body shop estimate 2x, but they finally got them. They then did their own appraisal based off the pictures and produced a laughable estimate of $1,050 for the damage and immediately sent me $500 to cover the costs (less the deductible).

On 9/15 I dropped my truck off at the body shop and informed USAA that I had dropped the vehicle off at my preferred shop and I also explained to them that I was using the shop because it was the only authorized repair shop in a reasonable distance. They assured me that once the shop sent in a supplement, they would update their appraisal to cover the additional cost differential between their appraisal and the shop.

On 9/20 the body shop informed me that they had submitted a supplement to USAA for additional damage and parts that needed to be ordered. They informed me that they couldn’t order the parts until USAA approved the supplement. I immediately called USAA to tell them that the supplement had been sent, and USAA said that they would assign it to an appraiser as soon as they received it and would update me on progress.

Around 10 days later, the body shop messaged me to tell me that they still hadn’t heard from USAA regarding the supplement and had tried contacting USAA multiple times in the meantime. I immediately called USAA and was told that no supplement was showing, and they called the body shop while I was on hold to walk them through submission of the supplement.

About 5 days later, the body shop messaged me again telling me that they still hadn’t heard from USAA had had tried contacting USAA several times with no response. I immediately called USAA again and sat on hold again while they walked the body shop through submission of the supplement.

On 10/10, fully 3 weeks since the supplement had been completed and 4 weeks since I dropped the truck off, USAA confirmed that the supplement was there and had been sent to the appraisal team for review. On the same day, I received a voicemail from Enterprise (who my replacement rental is through via USAA) and a bill for $350 charged to my credit card. They told me that USAA had refused to continue paying for the car on 10/5 (USAA never reached out to communicate to me that they were stopping payment of the rental). I brought this up with the same person who I confirmed receipt of the supplement and they told me that they couldn’t’ do anything about it until the supplement was approved, since the additional rental fees would have to be billed to the supplement. Basically, I would have to float the rental until the supplement was approved and then if approved, they would retroactively pay for the rental during the intermediate time. I was told that it would be 24-48 business hours until the appraisal was reviewed (accounting for the holiday, that would have been Wednesday, the 12th). I was told that they would update me via message once this was done.

After hearing nothing on 10/12, I called towards the end of the day to get an update. I spent over an hour on hold to be told basically that the appraisal would take another 24/48 business hours, and should be done by Friday (10/14). I did not receive an update on 10/14, but I did hear from Enterprise (still nothing on their front from USAA, so I paid for another week of the rental out of pocket).

This morning (10/17) after another half hour on hold, I was told that since Rivian is a “specialty vehicle, like an RV or something” that they would have to have a field appraiser go to the body shop and see the damage and parts before approving the supplement. Due to the hurricane, the field appraiser in the ATL area is very busy, so they can’t give me an estimate for when that will be, period.


TL;DR: USAA has no clue what a Rivian is, and therefore has no business insuring it. They obviously can’t classify it in their system and have no data on costs associated with repairing it so they are just making it up as they go along. I had my truck for exactly 6 weeks after taking delivery, and it has now been at the body shop for over 4 weeks. The replacement parts haven’t even been ordered yet, which means it will likely be another 4 weeks or more until I can get it (if everything goes well). That means that in 14 weeks of ownership, I would have had possession of it for less than half of that time and the majority of that time has been back and forth between the body shop and USAA. In spite of my very obviously mounting frustrations, USAA has done virtually nothing to try and mitigate it. They thank me for my 17 years of membership and likely just assume that after 17 years I’m too entrenched to do anything about it.

Wow.....disaster indeed

 

[R1Sky Business]

I'd be more sympathetic if they hadn't already botched things prior to the hurricane. The truck had been at the shop for weeks before the hurricane made landfall. The situation they are in that they are now playing catchup was entirely avoidable.

And this is the perfect place to vent..

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