Does USAA Offer Liability Insurance?
USAA offers liability insurance in all 50 states, but only to military members, veterans, and their families.
Written by Cameron Thiessen
Reviewed by Amy Bobinger
Table of Contents
- Does USAA offer liability insurance?
- Do you need more than liability insurance?
- Cost of USAA liability insurance
- The bottom line
- FAQs
Load full table of contents
USAA offers liability insurance for drivers, homeowners, renters, and businesses, but there are strict criteria for who is eligible to get USAA insurance. Only current military members, veterans, and their families are eligible. Average costs are about $31 per month.
Liability insurance
is usually the base-level form of car insurance
that you need in order to drive your vehicle in the US. Let’s look at how USAA compares to other auto insurance providers and explore a few ways that you can lower your premium rates.Does USAA offer liability insurance?
Yes, USAA offers liability insurance for things like bodily injury liability,
personal liability
, and home insurance liability
, to name just a few. In this article, we’ll be focusing on car insurance liability coverage, which is usually broken down into two distinct parts:- Bodily injury liability insurance:Bodily injury (BI) coveragecovers medical damages for other drivers and passengers if you cause an accident. This includes hospital bills, pain and suffering, and lost wages.
- Property damage liability insurance:Property damage (PD) coveragedeals with damage you cause to someone’s property, rather than their person. For example, if you cause a vehicle accident, your PD coverage would pay for repairs needed for the other driver’s car.
Your USAA insurance agent can go through the specifics of how your liability insurance functions in the state that you live in, but you can also check your policy provisions yourself.
In most states, you need to purchase both forms of liability insurance. However, there are some exceptions to this rule. For example, only PD liability is required by law in
Florida
, and some New Hampshire
and Virginia
drivers qualify to drive without any liability insurance. In every other case, your USAA auto insurance policy needs to meet the minimum insurance requirements pertaining to your state.There are strict requirements regarding who is eligible for a USAA insurance policy. Here’s who’s eligible:
- Current military members
- Veterans
- Cadets and midshipmen at US service academies
- Family of military/veterans, including children, spouses, widows/widowers, and former spouses who are not remarried
RECOMMENDED
Compare auto insurance policies
No spam or unwanted phone calls · No long forms
Do you need more than liability insurance?
Many states, including
California
and Texas
, only require liability insurance. Other states now also require you to purchase things like uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage
, medical payments coverage
. or personal injury protection (PIP)
.Here are some other reasons why you might need additional auto insurance on top of liability coverage:
- Your state requires more than just liability insurance. You can look up what your state’s insurance requirements arehere.
- You’re leasing or financing your vehicle. It’s quite common for lenders to require full-coverage insurance, which includescollision coverageandcomprehensive coveragein addition to basic liability insurance.
- Risk factors. If you use your vehicle for gig work like Uber or DoorDash, live in a high crime area, or drive a particularly valuable vehicle, additional coverage might be necessary.
- No health insurance. If you don’t have health insurance, you might consider additional forms of auto insurance coverage such as MedPay and PIP. These cover medical expenses for you and the passengers in your vehicle after a car accident and can allow you to bypass high health insurance deductibles.
Cost of USAA liability insurance
The average cost of a minimum coverage annual liability insurance premium through USAA is between $370 and $1,500.
If that seems like a wide range of prices, that’s because it is. Liability insurance from USAA—or pretty much any car insurance provider—is priced on an individual basis, and dependent on a list of different variables. Coverage limits, minimum insurance requirements in your state, and various assessed risk factors related to your driving profile will affect your prices. These include age,
gender
, location, credit score
, vehicle type, and driving record.Here’s a comparison of minimum coverage costs between USAA and other major insurance companies:
Insurance company | Average annual cost of minimum coverage | Average monthly cost of minimum coverage |
|---|---|---|
USAA | $371 | $31 |
Allstate | $558 | $47 |
GEICO | $365 | $30 |
Nationwide | $549 | $46 |
Progressive | $542 | $45 |
State Farm | $456 | $38 |
Keep in mind that these averages don’t factor in your driving profile. It’s a good idea to get an idea of how much you’ll need to pay for liability insurance by shopping around with at least three different insurers. Some companies will offer you lower car insurance rates than others.
The bottom line
USAA is often the cheapest liability insurance option for eligible drivers, and its policies usually come with added benefits unique to USAA. Check out our full
review of USAA insurance
for more information on the different types of coverage offered to military members, veterans, and their families.“I was looking for a liability insurance plan for my truck until I can afford more coverage.Jerrymade it simple to shop around for the best deal for me. Thank you!” —Jake L.
Let Jerry find your price in only 45 seconds
No spam · No long forms · No fees
FAQs
What is the difference between liability and full coverage insurance?
Liability insurance is usually the primary form of coverage included with “basic” car insurance policies—most states require you to purchase liability insurance in order to drive your car. Its purpose is to pay for damages that you cause. Full coverage includes additional forms of coverage, most notably collision and comprehensive coverage, which help pay for damages to your own vehicle, even if you were at fault in an accident.
Is liability insurance required by law?
Yes. New Hampshire and Virginia are the only states that allow certain exceptions for drivers to be eligible to drive without liability insurance.
Does liability insurance have a deductible?
No, liability car insurance won’t have a deductible—deductibles are specific to collision and comprehensive forms of coverage.
4.7
