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USAA Auto Insurance Accident Claims and Payouts
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If you were hurt and the other driver has USAA auto insurance, you’re probably wondering:
✅ How much money you can get ✅ How long it’ll take to get paid ✅ And how to avoid messing up your case
I’ve settled over $935,000 in USAA injury claims — including crashes where my client didn’t even know if the other driver had enough insurance to cover their injuries.
In this article, I’ll walk you through:
How USAA handles car accident claims
What to know about uninsured motorist (UM) coverage
Real settlement examples — including one where we got $300,000
And common mistakes that could cost you thousands
Let’s make this easier for you — and help you understand what to expect if you’re dealing with USAA.
What is the Average Settlement with USAA in a Personal Injury Case?
In 2021 and through January 2022, my average personal injury settlement with USAA was $128,333. I’ve continued to handle serious injury cases involving USAA since them.
When calculating my average, I included the total settlement amount in cases where USAA was a bodily injury liability (BI) or underinsured motorist (UM) insurer — even if another insurer also contributed to the settlement.
For example, in one case, USAA paid $10,000 and another insurer paid $25,000. For average purposes, I counted that case as a $35,000 settlement, even though USAA only paid a portion.
From 2021 through January 2022, one-third of my personal injury settlements involving USAA were for $300,000 or more. The rest were for less than $300,000.
Take a look:
This chart shows a snapshot of my USAA settlements through early 2022. I’ve continued to handle serious USAA cases since then.
My educated guess is that the average USAA settlement is under $15,000. This is because most cases don’t result in serious injuries.
I tend to take seriously injured cases.
I usually take cases where the injuries are serious — and that makes a big difference.
In my experience, USAA tends to pay better than many other car insurance companies. That includes Progressive, State Farm, GEICO, and Allstate — at least when it comes to the personal injury part of a claim.
That said, USAA is still an insurance company. And just like the others, their goal is to pay you as little as possible. Don’t forget that.
USAA doesn’t always get it right. I’ve seen cases where their arguments were shut down by a judge or jury.
Can USAA pay out more than the coverage limit?
It depends on the state where the accident happened. For example, Florida has bad faith laws. Bad faith laws put pressure on USAA to pay the policy limits if the case is worth the limits or more.
If USAA fails to pay the coverage limit and protect its insured driver/owner, USAA may be on the hook for the entire judgement (after a verdict).
However, to have a valid bad faith uninsured motorist (UM) insurance claim, the injured party (or his/her attorney) must file a civil remedy notice of insurer violation. Additionally, 60 days must expire after filing the notice against USAA. In other words, USAA has 60 days to cure the bad faith and not face an excess judgment.
$300,000 USAA Auto Insurance Claim Settlement
Jose (not real name) was riding a motorcycle in South Florida. A driver crashed into Jose and he got injured.
USAA insured the car with a $300,000 bodily injury liability insurance limit. But they did not pay us immediately. USAA played hardball.
Within two months after this accident, we settled with USAA for $300,000.
Here is the settlement check (redacted):
My client was lucky that the driver had a big insurance policy with USAA.
Most USAA policies are for much less than $300,000.
$200,000 Settlement with USAA & another insurer
Mary (not real name) was driving her car in Miami, Florida. She was heading through a green light.
At the same time, a driver of another car ran a red light. Mary t-boned the other driver.
This is the damage to Mary’s car:
Paramedics rushed Mary to the hospital. An x-ray showed that she had a broken wrist. At the hospital, a doctor performed surgery on her wrist. Specifically, they put a plate and screws put in her wrist.
Shortly after the accident, Mary hired me as her attorney. USAA insured the at-fault driver with a $100,000 bodily injury liability limit.
USAA sent a check for its driver’s $100,000 bodily injury limits.
Why did they pay the $100,000 limits so fast?
They paid very quickly because Maria had surgery to her wrist. I’ve said it hundreds of times before:
What would’ve happened if I wouldn’t have found out that the at fault driver was working at the time of the crash?
Unfortunately, we would’ve been limited to a $100,000 settlement with USAA.
This would have meant that Mary’s case would’ve settled for $100,000 less than she got in this case!
That’s a whole lot of money.
How We Got $120,000 from USAA in Aaron’s Case
When Aaron reached out, he wasn’t just a personal injury victim. He was a father, a husband, and a disabled veteran who had once stood guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier while President Bush laid a wreath.
Let that sink in.
This wasn’t just another claim. This was about restoring dignity and peace of mind to someone who had already given everything for his country.
What Happened to Aaron
Aaron was riding his e-bike on a sunny day in Tampa, Florida, when a car cut him off and crashed into him. He fell hard. Scraped his thigh, foot, and ankle. He got up and talked to the driver. No police were called. No ambulance. No flashing lights.
He thought he was okay… until the pain hit.
Within 24 hours, Aaron was in the VA emergency room. The pain in his ribs, ankle, and lower back was intense. He had an IV in his arm, got a CT scan, and was diagnosed with a back fracture and herniated discs.
Aaron in the va emergency room.
Why This Was a Tough Case
Aaron had pre-existing injuries from his military service. USAA could’ve argued:
“How do we know this accident caused his pain?”
Also, because no police came to the scene, the driver could’ve changed their story — or denied fault altogether.
But we didn’t let that happen.
What We Did (That You Should Too)
1. We Got the Case Set Up Fast
We called USAA, the other driver’s insurer. They hadn’t even reported the accident yet. If no claim is set up, you get nothing.
2. We Built His Credibility
We shared photos of Aaron’s military service. Why? Because claims reps are human. Credible claimants often get bigger offers.
3. We Requested Surveillance Footage
We told the other driver to preserve any camera footage. Why? Because Ring doorbells and dashcams can prove fault.
4. We Reported the Claim to His Own Auto Insurer
Aaron had $20K in underinsured motorist coverage (UM). That kicked in after we got the other driver’s $100K policy paid out.
The Insurance Company Fought Us — Hard
USAA didn’t fix Aaron’s e-bike.
The VA wanted to take $38,000 from his settlement for his medical bills.
Even Aaron’s own UM adjuster didn’t make an offer.
But we kept going.
I threatened a lawsuit. I pressured USAA to pay the full $100K BI limits. I got the driver personally to contribute $15K out-of-pocket.
I fought Aaron’s UM insurer — and they finally paid the $20K limit.
Total settlement: $135,000.
Aaron’s wife left this 5-star review after his $135K settlement. She said the payout was three times more than anyone expected.
But Here’s the Best Part
The VA backed down. After intense negotiations, I got them to accept just $15,000 — saving Aaron over $23,000.
I wired him over $74,980, and didn’t charge him a penny for reducing the VA’s claim.
His wife was shocked.
She said it was “three times more than we expected.”
What You Can Learn From Aaron’s Case
If you’ve been hurt in Florida and the other driver has USAA — or any insurer — you need to know this:
USAA insured the pickup truck with $100,000 in bodily injury liability coverage. USAA paid me the $100,000 insurance limits.
We were able to get the hospital to lower her medical bills.
$70,000 Settlement with USAA (Pedestrian Hit By Car)
Watch an interesting video about this settlement:
A passenger, Daisy (not real name), was in a car driving down the street in West Palm Beach, Florida. It was daylight outside.
Daisy saw a hose in the middle of the street. She decided that she wanted to get the hose.
The driver (Barbara) of the car that she was in made a u-turn. The driver stopped the car.
Daisy got out of the car and walked to the middle of the street. Thus, she was a pedestrian. She was walking on her way back to the median. Before reaching Barbara’s car, another driver (William) hit her.
USAA insured the driver of the car that hit Daisy. USAA’s first offer was just $30,000! Ultimately, I settled her auto insurance claim with USAA for $70,000.
Here is a settlement check:
On the bottom left of the settlement check, you can see that it says “Fed-Ex Overnight”.
I told the USAA claims adjuster that I would only accept the $70,000 offer if they sent the check via overnight delivery. And they did so. It never hurts to ask.
Here is a comparison between USAA’s first offer and settlement:
Like most cases where a car hits a pedestrian, most of the settlement was for pain and suffering.
I estimate that about $68,057 of the $70,000 settlement was for pain and suffering.
The rest was for the out of pocket medical bills.
After my lawyer fees, costs and paying back my client’s medical bills, I gave her a check for $44,667.
The $70,000 payout was about 36 times the final out of pocket medical bills.
In other words, the pain and suffering multiplier was about 36.
Corey was driving his car through a green light near Tampa, Florida. Ricky was driving a pickup truck and had a flashing yellow light.
Ricky made a turn and violently crashed into Corey. Corey felt pain in one finger in each hand.
Police came to the scene and gave Ricky a ticket.
Both Corey and Ricky had USAA auto insurance. The day after the crash, Corey went to urgent care. They took x-rays and told him he had a broken finger in each hand.
Since Florida is a no-fault state, Corey gave his own auto insurance information to his own insurance company (USAA). And they paid 80% of his medical bills and 60% of his lost wages from missing work.
But that’s where things stopped being “easy”.
Like many people who get injured in accidents, Corey thought USAA would be fair. Corey had been watching some of my Youtube videos and thought he could handle his personal injury claim against USAA himself.
But months went by and Ricky’s insurance (also USAA) only offered Corey around $6,000 to settle his personal injury claim.
As more time went by USAA did what car insurance companies do. They focus on their other claims unless you’re demanding. Some insurance adjusters have as money as 200 claims at one time!
Corey realized that he couldn’t handle his case alone as he didn’t have experience dealing with big and tough insurance companies.
So Corey completed the short form on our website to see if I could be the lawyer for him. We spoke and he hired me as his lawyer soon thereafter.
I finally got USAA to make an offer. I thought they’d do the right thing and pay us their driver’s $50,000 limit of bodily injury coverage.
And then we got some bad news.
They only offered us $21,000.00.
I told USAA to tell Ricky to start gathering his financial information. USAA finally offered $50,000.
I quickly sent USAA a detailed form for Ricky to complete to see if there was any additional insurance that would cover him. Unfortunately, there wasn’t any.
And Corey didn’t have underinsured motorist insurance coverage, so we couldn’t make a claim against that coverage.
We ultimately settled his case with USAA for $50,000. Here’s the settlement check.
After my attorney’s fees and costs, Corey got over $33,300 in his pocket. He was thrilled!
I wired him his money and he got it within 5 minutes of me sending it. After getting his money, Corey said:
Thank you so much. You guys have been amazing!
Text message from Corey to us.
$50,000 USAA Car Accident Settlement
Pierre was driving a company car near Orlando, Florida at night. He was heading west. (In the above diagram, Pierre’s car is #2.)
John was driving a van heading East. That car is #2 in the diagram above. Pierre made a left hand turn to pull into a gas station.
While doing so, John’s van hit Pierre’s car almost head on. Pierre claimed that John’s van had its lights off. The crash report said that an independent witness said that he couldn’t see the van.
As a result of the crash, the airbags in Pierre’s car deployed.
Paramedics took Pierre to the hospital.
There, a doctor took an x-ray of his finger.
It showed that his finger was broken.
The doctor put a cast on Pierre’s finger:
USAA insured the other driver on his personal car.
At the time of the accident, the other driver was driving a rental car. However, he didn’t purchase rental car insurance.
Fortunately, Pierre did not need surgery to his finger.
Pierre also had neck pain. An MRI of his neck showed that he had a C6-7 broad based central posterior disc herniation resulting in impingement of the thecal sac.
The same cervical (neck) MRI said that Pierre had straightening of the normal cervical lordotic curvature which can be seen with muscle spasm due to ligamentous sprain and disc Injury.
I got USAA to pay us the other driver’s $50,000 bodily injury liability policy limits.
USAA likely felt that the pain and suffering value of this case was over $36,000. I say this because the final medical bills were almost $14,000.
This is what Pierre said in his 5 Star review of my law firm on Google Maps:
I would like to start with Jenny (Justin’s paralegal ). I truly appreciate your time and efforts during the entire process. You were prompt, understanding, and patient as this was my first injury claim of any variety. I initially called [another law firm] and wanted to speak with someone else.
Just really didn’t feel as if I were being heard – just rushed to answer the next question as if I were inconveniencing them. After a bit of research including YouTube videos, I called Justin’s office and Jenny answered the phone.
After our exchange and subsequent initial conversation with Justin, I felt valued and as I had an opportunity to explain myself thoroughly. I allowed Justin to represent me right away.
Justin got to work IMMEDIATELY. Crash reports, consent forms, and all other investigative aspects of the case seemed as if they were happening at light speed!
He was able to find an imaging center to treat me up-front as I was uninsured. This led to me receiving chiropractic and occupational therapy for my hand, wrist, back, and neck.
Throughout the case, Justin was always able to be reached. He would respond to emails with haste and copied me on everything he did even if there was no action to be taken on my part – just to keep me completely in the loop.
In fact, on three or four occasions, Justin and I spoke on the phone for over an hour plus, which made him seem personable and if I was his only client. It was like having a buddy, who just happened to be an attorney as well.
Justin, I can’t express enough how grateful I am to have had you represent me in this difficult time – all the way from Orlando too! I learned a TON about the law, insurance, and a few life lessons sprinkled in there as well hahah!
If I ever run into any situation where your services are needed again, I will not hesitate to call.
thankfully, Pierre
Google Maps 5 star review of JZ helps (a Florida injury law firm)
$10,000 USAA Car Accident Claim Settlement (State Farm Also Paid $25K)
Sandra’s employer gave her a car to use for work. In August 2020, Sandra was driving east in Crestview (near Pensacola), Florida. Daniel was in a car heading south. He ran a stop sign.
As a result, the front of Sandra’s car struck the passenger side of Daniel’s car.
You can see the damage to Sandra’s car here:
You can see the actual diagram from the crash report here:
State Farm insured Daniel’s car (#1 in the diagram) with $25,000 in bodily injury liability insurance coverage.
After the accident, Sandra had back and neck pain. She said that her workers’ compensation insurance company gave her limited information about how wage loss worked.
Sandra searched Google for how wage loss works with workers’ compensation. She found my website my website. She got a free consultation with me.
Sandra was working at the time of her accident. Thus, her workers’ compensation paid all of her medical bills.
I got State Farm to pay me its driver’s $25,000 BIL insurance policy limits. You can see the settlement check:
This was about 6 months after the car accident.
It gets better:
USAA insured Sandra’s personal car with $10,000 of uninsured motorist insurance coverage. At the time of this accident, Sandra was not driving her personal car. However, her underinsured motorist insurance (from her personal car) covered her for this accident.
I got USAA to pay me Sandra’s $10,000 limit of uninsured motorist coverage.
Normally, you have to pay back the workers’ compensation insurance company from your personal injury settlement. However, they must reduce their claim (lien) by your attorney’s fees and costs and other factors.
Here, Sandra’s workers’ compensation lawyer got the workers comp insurer to waive it’s lien. Sandra was happy with our personal injury settlement.
Sandra also settled a workers’ compensation claim with her employer’s insurance company.
$30K Settlement for Meniscus Tear from Orlando Car Crash
The 29-year-old man claimed that the accident caused his herniated disc with impingement. The careless driver was driving a friend’s vehicle at the time of the accident. State Farm paid its policy limits of $10,000.
The car that the claimant was in (“host car”) had UM coverage with USAA. USAA paid $9,850.
USAA Offers $44,500, Gets Hit With $173,250 Judgment for Golf Cart Accident Case
Boca Raton, Florida
Look:
I’ve said that USAA pays better than the other big auto insurers in Florida. However, they still pay less than the fair value of the case. Here is one example.
This isn’t my case. Roslyn Posner claimed that on January 13, 2009, Linda Berger-Buvitt ran a stop sign at the intersection of the golf cart path and pedestrian sidewalk.
Posner was allegedly 82 years old at the time of the crash. USAA insured Berger-Buvitt.
Posner also sued The Polo Club for failing to maintain the bushes in the area. Berger-Buvitt blamed the bushes for blocking her line of sight. Zurich insured The Polo Club.
USAA offered $44,500 to Mrs. Posner to settle her personal injury case. She didn’t accept this offer. At trial, the jury found Posner 25% at fault.
The good news for her?
They found USAA’s insured, Berger-Buvitt, 75% at fault. Thus, after reducing the value for Posner’s fault, she got a $173,250 judgment against USAA’s insured.
This is crazy:
Settlement isn’t an exact science. However, USAA’s offer was too low by $128,750. It’s not like USAA’s offer was off by $1,200. Or even $12,800.
USAA was off by over $128,000!
Point this case out to USAA the next time they try to lowball you.
Wife’s Death Results in $10 Million Dollar Judgment Against USAA Insured
This is not my case. USAA issued an automobile insurance policy to Andrew Booth Buckman.
In November 2010, Buckman was involved in an automobile accident that resulted in the death of Dennis Lee Kemp’s wife. Kemp sued Buckman for wrongful death in a Florida state court. He got a $10 million dollar judgment against Buckman.
USAA Offers $100K to Settle Injury from Fall (from Dog Encounter)
This is not my case. In 2011, a claimant sustained personal injuries when the claimant fell. She fell after an encounter with dogs owned by Colleen Brennan, a USAA insured.
The claimant made a pre-suit demand for the $100,000 policy limit of Brennan’s insurance policy. USAA accepted the demand and tendered its check for the policy limits.
Rather than cashing USAA’s settlement check, the claimant, in March 2013, filed a personal injury lawsuit against Brennan. She sued Brennan and others in the Palm Beach County.
USAA Argues That PIP Doesn’t Have to Pay Off a Workers’ Compensation Lien
If you have PIP insurance with USAA, and were working at the time of a car accident, should you still give all of your medical providers your USAA PIP information?
Yes. Even if workers’ compensation pays your bills and/or lost wages.
Otherwise, USAA may argue that USAA PIP doesn’t have to pay a workers compensation lien. USAA is has a reputation for making this argument.
If a court agrees with USAA, this would put less money in your pocket.
Hit by a Drunk Driver Insured With USAA (Claims and Settlements)
What happens if a drunk driver (insured with USAA) hits you and injures you?
Either way, you want to make a personal injury protection (PIP) and Medpay claim with your car insurance company. You should give your PIP and Medpay information to the hospital.
If you are from out of state and you’re in a Florida car accident, you may or may not have PIP. It may depend on whose car you were in at the time of the accident. If you were in your own car (from another state), you need to see whether your out of state car insurance covers you with PIP. It will depend on the language in your auto insurance policy.
Either way, the hospital should bill your PIP or Medpay coverage before your health insurance. Failure to give your PIP or Medpay insurance to the hospital can delay your settlement. Also, give the hospital your health insurance information.
If Medpay pays your medical bills, your car insurance company may be entitled to get reimbursed. One of the 13 advantages to hiring a personal injury lawyer is that a Medpay insurer often has to reduce the amount that you’ll pay it back by your attorney’s fees and costs. In Florida, the Medpay insurer must do this. Thus, if you have an attorney, you get a benefit. If you don’t have an attorney, you don’t get this benefit.
The solution is simple:
Get an attorney.
If you’re from another state, whether you’ll have to pay back Medpay may depend on the other state law.
If the DUI driver who hit you has BIL coverage, this is good news. DUI means driving under the influence. Of course, you can make a claim with the DUI driver’s insurance company for your out of pocket medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering. This assumes that the DUI driver’s carelessness caused your injury.
You can also tell USAA that you are also making a claim for punitive damages against the DUI driver. A Florida auto insurance policy won’t cover punitive damages against the DUI driver. However, USAA as a duty to settle claims against the drunk driver if it could and should.
A punitive damage claim increases the full value of the personal injury case against a drunk driver. Thus, a punitive damages claim against the drunk driver adds pressure for USAA to settle for more money (and quicker).
USAA May Not Be Able to Remove an Uninsured Motorist Insurance Cases To Federal Court
Many car insurers like to remove UM injury cases from state court to federal court. They believe that having a UM injury case in federal court means that they will owe less money than if the case was in state court.
Different rules of procedure apply in federal court. If you sue USAA for uninsured motorist insurance benefits, they may be able to remove your case to federal court. It will depend which USAA entity you sue.
Look at the USAA declarations page to see if USAA is listed as United Services Automobile Association (“A Reciprocal Interinsurance Exchange”). If they are, they won’t be able to remove the case to federal court. This is because its members it is a reciprocal with its members everywhere so they cannot remove.
However, USAA owns at least one incorporated insurer, that is incorporated in Texas, and they can remove the lawsuit to federal court. I know a personal injury lawyer who says that this USAA will remove when they want to, based on how they feel about the state court judge assigned to the case.
USAA is more likely to remove to federal court if they think that the state court judge is more liberal (leaning towards favoring the plaintiff as opposed to an insurance company) in his/her decisions. USAA General Indemnity Company is an incorporated insurer who can remove personal injury lawsuits to federal court.
I also believe that USAA Insurance Inc. can remove injury claims to federal court.
Is Garrison Property and Casualty Insurance Company the same as USAA?
Yes. Although they are different businesses, your claim is basically handled the same way, and by a USAA adjuster.
In Florida, USAA issues liability policies as:
USAA Casualty Insurance Company
USAA General Indemnity Company
Garrison Property and Casualty Insurance Company
You can go to Florida Office of Insurance Regulation Company Search to get USAA’s current mailing address for Florida claims.
You can go to A.M. BEST to get USAA’s main fax number.
However, sending a fax to the main corporate office may not speed up a claim. From my experience, USAA adjusters do not give out their email address.
As with larger insurers, USAA adjusters tend to me more educated than adjusters at smaller insurers.
You can call USAA at to report a car accident claim.
However, I can’t emphasize this enough…
An injured person should not give a recorded statement if he or she is making a claim against someone who USAA insures.
Why not?
The injured person doesn’t legally have to. The statement can be used against them. It can decrease the full value of the case.
As with every insurance company, the representative will ask you some basic questions.
The USAA representative will then give you a claim number. The claim will be assigned to a particular adjuster. If you have a more serious injury, the claim will be assigned to a higher level adjuster.
USAA Claims Adjusters Tend to Be Nice
The USAA insurance claims adjusters whom I’ve dealt with have been nice. Below are just a few of them:
PIP
Christine Gutierrez Southeast Regional Office USAA General Indemnity Company
Many others
I’ve had claims with USAA bodily injury liability adjusters Kathy Gegan, Jodi Weaver, and Shannon Luker and many others.
What types of liability insurance does USAA offer?
USAA also offers enters Insurance, Homeowner Insurance, Rental Property Insurance, Home and Property Insurance, Umbrella Insurance, Motorcycle, RV and Boat Insurance, and Small Business Insurance.
Did someone’s carelessness cause your injury in a Florida car crash or other type of accident?
Watch My Video About USAA auto insurance claims
See if I can represent you against USAA (or someone else)
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on May 2013 and I periodically review it.
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Reader Interactions
I will not become your attorney by you leaving a comment. There is a time limit to file a lawsuit. All comments will be public. This includes the name that you enter. I only represent people who were hurt in Florida or on a cruise ship; or if the injured person lives in Florida or a family member (in the case of a death) lives in Florida. This is because I am only licensed in Florida.
Thank you for your kind words. I’m sorry that you were involved in this accident.
Unfortunately, I do not know any attorneys in California.
You should ask a California lawyer for legal advice. I wish you good luck, and hope that you feel better.
Sincerely,
Attorney Justin “JZ” Ziegler
Disclaimer: Your case is subject to one or more statutes of limitation. In other words, your lawsuit must be filed within a certain period of time or be forever barred.
Hello, I was rear-ended by a USAA policy holder.
Do you know of any lawyers here in XXXX, California who share your beliefs and motivation?
Thank you! it would by most appreciated!
Deborah xxxxxxxx (xxx) xxx-xxx
Deborah:
Thank you for your kind words. I’m sorry that you were involved in this accident.
Unfortunately, I do not know any attorneys in California.
You should ask a California lawyer for legal advice. I wish you good luck, and hope that you feel better.
Sincerely,
Attorney Justin “JZ” Ziegler
Disclaimer: Your case is subject to one or more statutes of limitation. In other words, your lawsuit must be filed within a certain period of time or be forever barred.