The United Services Automobile Association (USAA) is a financial services company best known for its homeowners insurance products, banking services, and other insurance offerings. The company focuses on serving the military community, including active-duty members and veterans. However, while researching its offerings, we found that it doesn’t offer a home warranty to its members.
While a home warranty and home insurance may sound similar, they are two completely different financial products. A home warranty covers the normal wear and tear of your home’s appliances and systems, while a home insurance policy protects your home’s structures against covered perils, such as windstorms.
Currently, USAA doesn’t offer home warranty coverage. If you’re looking for a home warranty, we recommend checking out our list of the best home warranty companies we reviewed. In this article, we’ll review USAA’s products and services and explain our reasons for choosing American Home Shield for your home warranty needs.
Our Take on USAA
USAA is a reputable insurance company that has served military members since 1922. At the time of writing this article, USAA doesn’t provide home warranty coverage. However, it does offer a variety of insurance policies, from auto insurance to life insurance.
Since USAA doesn’t offer home warranty plans to new or current customers, we didn’t score the company against our rating methodology. Instead, we reviewed its product and insurance offerings and detailed them in the sections below in case you’re in the market for home insurance.
We recommend USAA if you:
- Are an active-duty military member, a veteran, or have a family member who has served in the United States military
- Are looking for home, life, or car insurance
- Want access to USAA member perks
We don’t recommend USAA if you:
- Are looking for a home warranty policy
- Aren’t an active military member or have a family member in the military
- Prefer having in-person interactions for your insurance needs
USAA Coverage
As mentioned above, USAA offers several financial products and services, all of which are only available to military members. The general public cannot access USAA coverage options. We discuss the company’s offerings in the sections below.
Insurance
USAA is a major player in the insurance industry. It offers several types of insurance products related to your home, such as home and auto insurance. Its home insurance policy covers events and conditions that other home insurance companies cover, such as storms, fire, theft, and vandalism.
USAA also offers additional insurance add-ons to its standard policy, such as earthquake protection and flood insurance. Note that USAA pays the replacement cost value of your covered items, which means it will pay for the current value of the item rather than what you originally paid for.
We outline the situations that USAA’s home insurance covers below:
- Fire
- Identity theft
- Liability
- Most weather-related events
- Theft
- Vandalism
Here’s a list of items that USAA’s home insurance includes in standard coverage:
- Dwelling coverage
- Home sharing coverage
- Loss of use
- Medical payments to others
- Other structures
- Personal belongings
- Personal liability
Financial Services
Alongside its insurance offerings, USAA offers optional financial services to its policyholders. For example, policyholders can use USAA’s banking services, open a retirement account, or use its investing platform. Below is the full list of financial services USAA offers:
- Auto loans
- Brokerage accounts
- Checking accounts
- Credit cards
- Financial planning services
- Home mortgages
- Individual retirement accounts
- Mutual funds
- Savings accounts
USAA Cost
We attempted to get a quote from USAA but were unable to because of its strict military-member-only policy. We then looked at online forums and customer reviews from third-party websites to see how much the company charges for a policy.
We found that costs vary widely depending on location and the policy you choose. One user on Reddit reported receiving a $550 monthly quote for an auto insurance policy on two vehicles located in Florida. Another user reported paying $101 per month for two vehicles located in Oregon.
For the most accurate pricing, we suggest requesting a quote directly from USAA. As mentioned above, you must be a military member or have a family member in the military to access USAA’s services.
Discounts
Although we couldn’t get a quote from USAA, we were able to find the various discounts it offers through our secret-shopping process, which we list below:
- Bundle and save: Save on your premium when you bundle USAA’s car and home insurance policies.
- Claims-free discount: After owning your policy for five years without a claim, you can save up to 15% on your premium.
- Connected home discount: USAA will give a discount on your home insurance policy if you have smart home devices that detect leaks, smoke, or other potential hazards.
- Good student discount: USAA provides a discount on your car insurance if you have a student driver on your policy who maintains good grades.
- Military on-base discount: USAA will provide up to a 15% discount on your auto premium if you live on a military base and garage your car there.
- Multi-vehicle discount: Save on your auto insurance premium if you add coverage to two or more vehicles.
- Protected home discount: USAA provides a 5% discount on your home insurance premium if your home has an alarm system installed.
- Storage Discount: You can save on your car insurance monthly premium if you put your car in storage.
Our Preferred Home Warranty Provider: American Home Shield
Since USAA doesn’t offer a home warranty, an option we recommend is American Home Shield (AHS). AHS is our top pick out of the 13 home warranty companies we’ve reviewed. We provide more details on AHS and its plan offerings and costs below.
Average Monthly Cost: $62
Service Fee: $100–$125
Workmanship Guarantee: 30 days
Coverage Overview
- Has three coverage plans that include protection for major appliances and systems
- Offers two service call fees that customize your monthly premium
- Covers up to $4,000 per repair or replacement for home appliances
Keep in Mind
- Has higher monthly premiums than other brands
- Has a shorter workmanship guarantee, which may not suit homes with older items
Our Review
American Home Shield is an industry leader in the home warranty space because of its comprehensive protection plans and adjustable service call fees. The company covers many appliances and home systems inside your home, such as air conditioners, electrical systems, refrigerators, and stovetops. We like that it provides one of the highest payouts per item in the industry. For example, AHS will pay up to $4,000 per covered appliance in its ShieldPlatinum plan.
However, AHS’s extensive coverage costs more per month than the more affordable home warranties we’ve reviewed. The company also offers a 30-day workmanship guarantee, which means it may not be a good fit if you have items that experience frequent breakdowns.
Plan Details and Cost
American Home Shield offers three coverage plans, each with different levels of home protection and costs. You can adjust your plan cost by choosing a $100 or $125 service call fee. AHS charges a higher plan premium if you select the $100 fee, and vice versa.
- ShieldSilver ($30–$40 monthly): This plan only covers major systems, such as heating and cooling units, plumbing systems, and water heaters.
- ShieldGold ($50–$60 monthly): This plan covers all items listed in the ShieldSilver plus home appliances, including built-in microwaves and clothes washers.
- ShieldPlatinum ($80–$90 monthly): This plan covers everything in ShieldGold and increases its appliance limit to $4,000 per appliance.
Add-ons
Alongside its standard coverage plans, American Home Shield offers the following add-ons:
- Electronics protection plan
- Guest unit
- Pool or spa
- Septic pump
- Well pump
Other Top Home Warranty Providers To Consider
The table below compares the other top home warranty companies we’ve reviewed based on key metrics, such as monthly costs, service fees—or per-use charges for service visits— and BBB ratings. We determined our star ratings by scoring each company using our in-depth rating methodology. Keep in mind that provider pricing can vary based on where you live, your home size, and the plan you select.
| Company | Logo | Our Rating | Monthly Plan Cost | Service Fee Cost | BBB Rating* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
American Home ShieldGet Quote |  | $36–$100 | $100–$125 | B | |
Choice Home WarrantyGet Quote |  | $60–$68 | $100 | B | |
First American Home WarrantyGet Quote |  | $77–$130 | $100–$125 | B | |
Elite Home WarrantyGet Quote |  | $47–$60 | $70 ($150 for after hours and weekends) | B | |
AFC Home WarrantyGet Quote |  | $44–$82 | $75–$125 | B | |
Liberty Home GuardGet Quote |  | $60–$68 | $65–$125 | NR | |
Cinch Home ServicesGet Quote |  | $54–$68 | $100–$150 | B+ |
*BBB ratings are accurate as of January 2025.
Note: NR, or “No Rating,” indicates that the BBB has not issued a rating due to an ongoing review or update to a company’s profile.
Customer Reviews: Reddit, Trustpilot, and More
Our research shows that customers have mixed feelings about USAA. Its average customer ratings on the Better Business Bureau and Trustpilot are unfavorable, and most reviews complain about unhelpful customer service.
On Reddit, we also found mixed reviews. A few Reddit users reported being satisfied with the efficient claims process of USAA and user-friendly online services. However, we also found some users experienced poor customer service from USAA’s representatives. Here are two reviews we found from Reddit users who own a USAA policy:
“Their online portal is really easy to use. When I had State Farm, it drove me absolutely nuts how much mail they would send me (vs. electronically).” —jimmiec907 via Reddit, 2024
“USAA is terrible. Customer service is non-existent and rude. The claims department doesn’t want to do more than the bare minimum.” —No-Store823 via Reddit, 2024
FAQs About USAA and Home Warranties
Does USAA have a good home warranty program?
Currently, USAA doesn’t offer a home warranty program as part of its financial or insurance services. However, our team reviewed 13 home warranty companies available nationwide and found that American Home Shield and Choice Home Warranty offer the best home protection at competitive prices.
How much does a home warranty cost?
A home warranty costs an average of $55 per month, according to our 2025 survey of 2,000 homeowners who own a home warranty. The amount you pay for a home warranty plan depends on the company you choose, the size and location of your home, and the plan options you select.
Does USAA cover home repairs?
Yes, USAA will cover the cost of repairs to your home up to your policy’s coverage limit for your specific issue. However, the issue must be a covered item or peril—such as vandalism to your property. Otherwise, USAA will deny coverage.
What does a home warranty cover?
Depending on the provider, a home warranty covers major appliances and home systems, such as refrigerators, dishwashers, electrical systems, and plumbing. Home warranties will cover up to a certain amount to repair or replace these common home items. In some cases, you may need a home inspection before finalizing a home warranty contract to validate coverage for the items in your plan.
How We Evaluated Home Warranty Providers
We use a detailed rating methodology to objectively score each home warranty company we review. We conduct research by speaking with company representatives, requesting quotes, analyzing sample contracts, and running focus groups and homeowner surveys.
We use this information to score each provider in six comparison categories that we think are most important when choosing a home warranty. We rate each provider across 23 factors within those categories. Each factor is assigned a point value based on its importance to a homeowner, totaling 100 points. We convert the final scores to a 5-star rating.
Here’s a breakdown of our weighted factors:
- Coverage (35%): This category looked at how comprehensive each provider’s coverage was, including whether they covered unique items. Companies that covered the most items and had higher annual limits received the highest scores. We docked points from providers that imposed long waiting periods or had depreciation policies that decreased your payouts for aging items.
- Cost (20%): We looked at average monthly prices and service call fees. We gave the most points to companies that offer pricing at or below the industry average and don’t impose any surcharges or extra fees.
- Trustworthiness (15%): To gauge reputation and reliability, we reviewed customer ratings across sites like the Better Business Bureau and Trustpilot as well as companies’ responses to complaints. We also checked for National Home Service Contract Association (NHSCA) membership. Providers with the highest ratings and longest workmanship guarantees received higher scores. We deduced points for any ongoing legal issues.
- Plan transparency (10%): We read terms, policies, and disclosures in provided contracts and on each company’s website. Providers with transparent contract details and policies received more points.
- Customer support (10%): Companies with multiple claims filing options, fast response times, and accessible customer support scored well in this category.
- Flexibility (10%): We awarded more points to providers offering more plan options, larger add-on catalogs, the ability to choose your own technician, and customer-friendly cancellation policies.