USAA refused me homeowners insurance because they found a five year old credit card debt of mine that they had written off (5 years ago).
I have been (and currently am) a USAA member for 40 years and have had active auto insurnce with them all that time.
The cc debt is apparently $6,000.
They stated that I cannot get another (different kind of) policy with them until that debt is cleared.
I asked for a payoff amunt. They said all (total due).
This feels like some kind of discriminatory debtor blackmain to me?
My question is, "Is this legal?" (I can get homeowners elwhere.)

You would have to check with your state Insurance Dept to make sure, but I would suspect it is legal. Unless the state has rules about when they can cancel a policy, they would have the right to make renewing you contingent on your clearing up any debt with them.

That helped.
Ithink it is dumb for them tom turn downm my money and businmess.

Usaa does suck! I am a member and they have this feature called deposit@home, where you can deposit checks online with a scanner, but the only way you are eligible to do so is if you have a credit card or a loan through them. We have niether. You are right about them being dumb about turing away your money. They are a bank, it seems like they would be more than willing to take it, no matter what.

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Originally Posted by donzzz77

USAA refused me homeowners insurance because they found a five year old credit card debt of mine that they had written off (5 years ago).
I have been (and currently am) a USAA member for 40 years and have had active auto insurnce with them all that time.
The cc debt is apparently $6,000.
They stated that I cannot get another (different kind of) policy with them until that debt is cleared.
I asked for a payoff amunt. They said all (total due).
This feels like some kind of discriminatory debtor blackmain to me?
my question is, "Is this legal?" (I can get homeowners elwhere.)

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Insurance companies have rated people, good risk, bad risk, since the inception of insurance. You are considered a bad risk due to your unpaid debt.

Insurance companies pull credit reports all the time before they write policies. People are turned down all the time because of credit problems.

You owed them money. You didn't pay it. They are questioning your ethics and don't want to write your insurance. They are entitled to do so.

People post all the time that an insurance company won't write because they either have a dog or a certain breed dog. There are been lawsuits over whether this is discriminatory or not. It's not - it's up to the insurance company to decide who they are going to "write," as long as the policy is always the same.

If you are the only person who owes them money and were refused insurance and can prove it then, yes, you have a case. But I have no idea how you can possibly get this information.

And the fact that they wrote it off doesn't mean someone else isn't now going to try to collect it.

And if they wrote you in the interim - somehow you slipped through the cracks or they changed your policy. I do notice there is or was another judgment against you, a lien against property. Perhaps the entire credit history is the problem here, not just this one unpaid creditor.

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Originally Posted by holly_penyo

usaa does suck! i am a member and they have this feature called deposit@home, where you can deposit checks online with a scanner, but the only way you are eligible to do so is if you have a credit card or a loan through them. we have niether. you are right about them being dumb about turing away your money. they are a bank, it seems like they would be more than willing to take it, no matter what.

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They write policies based on many risk factors. If you don't pay your bills, you are considered a risk which they do not wish to assume. Nothing unusual about that and many insurance companies actually surcharge policy holders based on their credit history.

If you are unhappy, why don't you move your account? If enough people complain maybe they'll change their policy.

Many insurance companies are using credit more and more for rating people. The more unpaid debt often shows a larger chance of insurance fraud esp in home owners insurance.

Oten they will rate you higher (pay more) but they do not have to insurae you. And to be honest to make it worst, now that you have been refused insurance by one company other companies may be aware of that and make it even harder for the next company.

Thanks.