USAA homeowners insurance

Overview

USAA (United Services Automobile Association) insures the homes of military members, veterans and their families, and only them. Its NAIC group ranked #3 among U.S. homeowners insurance groups by 2025 direct premiums written, with $13.26 billion, or 7.01% of the national market, according to NAIC market share data. It was among the 10 largest home insurers in every state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Its strongest markets follow the military map:

• second-largest in Virginia (16.31% of the market), Colorado, Arizona, South Carolina, Alaska and Delaware
• third in Texas ($2.22 billion, 10.83%), Georgia and North Carolina

USAA is a reciprocal based in San Antonio. Its property and casualty policyholders insure one another through the exchange, which is managed by USAA Reciprocal Attorney-In-Fact, Inc. Profits come back to members as dividends and distributions rather than going to outside shareholders. USAA reported 14.3 million members at the end of 2025.

It sells as a direct writer: online, through the mobile app and by phone, with no local agents. Membership is open to active-duty and Reserve members, veterans who left with an honorable or general-under-honorable-conditions discharge, and eligible family members. Juan C. Andrade, formerly chief executive of the reinsurer Everest Group, became president and CEO on April 2, 2025, succeeding Wayne Peacock.

History

On June 20, 1922, a group of Army officers met at the Gunter Hotel in San Antonio and formed the association to insure one another's cars, because auto insurers of the day treated officers as high-risk drivers. They elected Maj. William H. Garrison as the first president. Navy and Marine Corps officers became eligible in 1923.

USAA began selling homeowners insurance in 1960. Enlisted personnel became eligible in 1995. Since 2009, anyone who has served honorably, and their families, can join.

The association posted a net loss of about $1.3 billion in 2022, its first since 1923, and raised homeowners rates by 14.7% in 2023, according to S&P Global data reported by Insurance Journal. It returned to a profit of about $1.2 billion in 2023. Property policies are written by several affiliates: the association itself, USAA Casualty Insurance Company, USAA General Indemnity Company, Garrison Property and Casualty Insurance Company, USAA Falcon Property & Casualty Insurance Company and USAA County Mutual in Texas.

Homeowners coverage

A USAA homeowners policy covers the dwelling, other structures, personal property, personal liability, medical payments to others, temporary living expenses and loss assessments from a homeowners association. Two standard features stand out:

• Contents at replacement cost. USAA pays to replace belongings at today's price with no deduction for depreciation, where many insurers start at actual cash value.
• Military benefits. Active-duty and Reserve members pay no deductible on a covered loss to uniforms and personally owned military gear such as insignia, flight cases, headsets and body armor. USAA also waives the deductible when personal property is damaged or lost because of war, a peril the standard ISO forms exclude.

In eligible states and dwelling types, policyholders are enrolled at no charge in the USAA Wildfire Response Program. Its contractors monitor active fires and can send certified firefighters to protect a home.

Optional coverages include:

• Home Protector, which adds 25% to the dwelling and other structures limits for rebuilding, debris removal and building code requirements (a form of extended replacement cost)
• water backup
• earthquake
• personal injury (libel and slander)
• home sharing, for rentals of less than a month
• accidental-damage coverage for electronics

Valuables can go on a separate Valuable Personal Property policy with no deductible. Homes needing $1.5 million or more of coverage are placed through the USAA Insurance Agency.

Two gaps to plan for:

• Flood. USAA offers NFIP and private flood policies.
• Coastal wind. Near the coast in Alabama, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas, a USAA homeowners policy may exclude windstorm. The USAA Insurance Agency then places a separate windstorm policy, so check your declarations page for a wind exclusion before hurricane season.

Discounts and savings

USAA's discounts, with the maximums it advertises:

• up to 10% for bundling home and auto (the auto policy must be active within 60 days)
• up to 8% through the Connected Home program for sharing data from smart leak and smoke devices
• up to 15% after five years without a claim, with USAA or a prior insurer
• up to 5% for keeping a property policy three years in a row
• up to 5% as a protective device credit for monitored fire or burglar alarms
• up to 9% for members who also have a Valuable Personal Property policy, an umbrella, USAA banking and USAA life insurance

Connected Home is offered only in select states. In most states the protective device credit and the Connected Home discount are not combined.

Where it sells and recent market moves

USAA writes homeowners insurance for eligible members in every state. In California, where it ranked 7th in 2025 ($1.00 billion), the Department of Insurance has listed USAA among insurers that have committed to grow under the state's Sustainable Insurance Strategy. In a July 23, 2026 alert, the department said USAA will expand homeowners access across the state starting in January 2027, and noted it had previously approved a 6.9% overall USAA rate increase. In Florida, USAA ranked 7th in 2025. Its large 2026 Florida dividends went to auto policyholders, not homeowners.

The 2025 catastrophe year was heavy. USAA responded to 62 catastrophes, handled 233,000 catastrophe claims and paid nearly $5 billion in losses, including nearly $1.7 billion for the January 2025 California wildfires. Its 2025 report to members puts its average time to pay a catastrophe claim at 9 days.

Claims

You can report a homeowners claim on usaa.com or in the USAA mobile app, then add details and documents in My Claims Center. You can also call 800-531-8722, which reaches every USAA department. USAA can refer you to a network of contractors for repairs.

In June 2025, Los Angeles fire victims sued USAA in Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleging it underestimated replacement costs and left them underinsured. One Pacific Palisades plaintiff had $584,000 of dwelling coverage plus a $146,000 home protection endorsement. USAA said then that it had paid nearly $1.4 billion on wildfire losses. The case is a reminder to check your dwelling limit against current local building costs, whoever your insurer is. In October 2026, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Josh Hawley asked USAA and five other large insurers for data on homeowners and auto claims closed without payment.

Ratings and reputation

On May 27, 2025, S&P Global Ratings lowered its financial strength ratings on USAA's core insurance companies to AA (Very Strong) from AA+, with a stable outlook. S&P cited weak results and regulatory problems at USAA Federal Savings Bank, including a December 2024 consent order from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, while noting USAA's much better underwriting profit in 2024. USAA says it is highly rated by all three major agencies. USAA's net worth rose 20% in 2025 to $38.6 billion.

Who it suits

USAA suits eligible military families who want a financially strong insurer, belongings covered at replacement cost and deductible-free protection for military gear, and who are comfortable working by app and phone. It is not an option for anyone without a military connection. Homeowners who want an agent's office, or who live near the Gulf or Atlantic coast and want wind on the same policy, may do better elsewhere.

• Strengths: among the top 10 home insurers in every state; AA (Very Strong) S&P rating and $38.6 billion net worth (2025); replacement cost on contents as standard; military-specific benefits, including deductible waivers for uniforms, gear and war losses.
• Weaknesses: membership limited to the military community; no local agents; coastal windstorm may need a separate policy in eight states; homeowners rates rose 14.7% in 2023, and wildfire policyholders have sued over replacement-cost estimates.

How to contact USAA