The Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) has fined San Antonio-based financial services firm USAA $140,000 over claims it unfairly handled automobile claims.
The company, which serves military members and their families, also reviewed its data and issued payments on 158 claims investigated by the state, totaling $88,241, within two months of the review, OIC officials said.
“We take our role as a consumer protection agency seriously,” Washington state Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer said in a statement. “These orders, and the actions we’ve taken against insurers for failing to meet their obligations to policyholders when processing their claims, are a testament to that work.”
Officials with USAA, one of San Antonio’s largest private employers, were unavailable for immediate comment on the state penalty.
The OIC began looking into USAA’s auto insurance business after receiving 445 complaints involving the company between 2019 and 2024, agency officials said. After reviewing 125 complaints filed between January 2023 and April 2024, investigators reportedly found at least one potential violation of state rules in 31 of those complaints.
USAA confirmed 19 of the violations, OIC officials said. Those included delays in responding to consumers, failures to investigate claims within state-required deadlines and refusals to pay claims without first conducting a reasonable investigation.
As a result of the state inquiry, USAA reviewed its own data and issued payments on 158 claims within two months, OIC officials said. USAA also reported that it corrected procedures to avoid future problems.
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