Don't Use USAA insurance for your Rivian

[kurtlikevonnegut]

I see no one yet, has taken into account the USAA Subscriber Savings Account rebate and for me the 50 years of patronage rebate that makes my auto insurance almost free.

This certainly may not be the case for everyone, but for me personally I'd much rather pay for service that will get me my truck back than have a free service that requires me to treat getting help like a part time job while also causing delays to get my vehicle returned to me in full working condition. That was the essence of why I posted in the first place, to warn those who, like me, initially took advantage of what seemed like a good deal but really caused more harm than good in the long run.

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[2Labs]

As an insurance agent (and R1T owner), this isn't super surprising. As much as I'd love to pile on USAA right now, the entire industry is having trouble with staffing. If you go into an insurance professionals subreddit, and hear from claim's adjusters...they sound borderline suicidal.

On top of that, rate increases right now are absolutely astronomical that we're trying to keep our heads above water remarketing our clients.

I tend to have better results from our smaller regional carriers, rather than the large bureaucratic ones.

Lastly, and tooting my own horn here, this is another reason to have an agent. We're not miracle workers and make all headaches disappear or suddenly make adjuster's bow to our demands, but at least you can outsource some of those calls and chasing down appraisers.

I also was on the front end of writing a ton of Teslas when I first got mine back in 2015. Most carriers had NO clue on how to rate for them, and now they are much better and accurate. It'll take time with Rivian as well.

 

[Feetdry]

I also have to say my interaction with USAA on my last collision with an Allstate customer could not have been a smoother repair. My Ridgeline went into the shop and my Ford F-250 from Enterprise was waiting for me. The shop called me about 2 weeks later and I drove the rental to their shop, picked up my perfectly repaired Ridgeline and left behind the Enterprise Ford F-250. Later that day USAA called me to ask if I was satisfied. I said that I was, and Allstate paid for everything, no questions asked.

 

[NY_Rob]

Lastly, and tooting my own horn here, this is another reason to have an agent. We're not miracle workers and make all headaches disappear or suddenly make adjuster's bow to our demands, but at least you can outsource some of those calls and chasing down appraisers.

Couldn't agree more!

I've been with the same local independent agent for 31 years now and they literally treat me like family. They've always given me good service and good advice... they actually act act in my best interest when working with my carrier.

 

[BigE]

@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, that is crazy. Have you ever tried Amica? In my experience, they are amazing.

 

[timf]

Thanks for posting. I made the switch from usaa to the rivian insurance today. Rates for me were almost the same. For what they offer it's a no Brainer. 0 glass deductible, guaranteed rivian oem replacement parts, and will help with vehicle replacement if totalled.

You got a $0 glass deductible from Rivian Insurance? When I called for a quote they indicated $100 was the lowest deductible they offered.

 

[Mcfly Rivian]

You got a $0 glass deductible from Rivian Insurance? When I called for a quote they indicated $100 was the lowest deductible they offered.

Could vary state to state. Usaa didn't offer a glass policy when I inquired but nationwide did.

 

[kurtlikevonnegut]

Wow, that is crazy. Have you ever tried Amica? In my experience, they are amazing.

I have been insured by USAA since I started driving, they are the only insurance agency I've ever used for anything (home, flood, auto, renter, property). After this fiasco, I will likely be moving at least my auto policy to the Rivian policy through Nationwide, but if there are good discounts for the other policies I have I will move those over as well.

 

[delmi]

Recently totaled my 2017 Range Rover and had a check in under a month for the complete amount. Excellant service on the medical also.

 

[texasBuzzard]

A cautionary tale for everyone out there about choosing your insurance. I'm not going to go into detail about the entire process, but suffice it to say that I went from being a USAA lifer to strongly considering cancelling every policy and closing all of my USAA accounts due to the epic mismanagement of the claim I filed with them on my Rivian.

After this experience, I will probably go with the Rivian partner insurance because saving a few bucks isn't worth what I've been through and I recommend everyone else who is a USAA member to reconsider if you are planning to use their insurance for your Rivian.

My USAA quote was almost double of Rivian's insurance company that I choose during the final steps. I went with Rivians' policy.

I have been with USAA since I was 16 years old, (my father was a vet), I joined the army when I was 18 and have been on my own policy for 31 years. I have never had an issue with them. Very good customer service and always pay the claims fast and with no push back.

 

[atebit]

Only a handful of states allow $0 deductible glass replacement coverage. The best we can do in PA IS $0 glass repair.

 

[dsps70]

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.

 

[dsps70]

Sorry ur going thru this.. if u haven’t done so, I would forward the exact explanation and write up u referenced here to USAA customer sve or better yet, post it to their social media page ( twitter, Facebook).

 

[dduffey]

I am using Costco American family. Rates there for the R1T we're similar to Travelers (~$900/yr) for the same coverage. I moved from Travelers though because they mis-classified another vehicle and was costing over 3x the market rate.

 

[superfly_snook]

I have an ongoing USAA experience that is not with a Rivian (still waiting for an R1S) but with our Audi e-tron. It seems like USAA does everything electronically now and does not send an adjuster to physically see the car. For us, this has resulted in back and forth between USAA and the body shop since late August that was only just finally resolved about a week ago, well into October. Basically this resulted in a 5 to 6 week delay in getting our car fixed. This is all in a city of millions where I imagine USAA has several adjusters any of which could have physically visited the body shop to see the car and come to an agreement but what happened instead was a never ending cycle of the adjuster asking for more pictures or different angles etc and so on. The body shop mentioned to us they had another USAA customer experiencing the same issue since sometime in August so it seems USAA - which we have had for ~25 years without a problem - has changed some stuff in their way of working or something and it's hopefully just a period of adjustment but I feel for the OP and anyone else going through this as we have been down a car with no rental or loaner for several weeks and while it's a first world problem it still puts some strain on family operations so to speak.

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