USAA insurance company approves rental car, aprubtly stops paying

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Kim Milligan served about five years in the Navy, and like millions of military members, went with USAA for car insurance.

He ended up needing it.

Milligan was driving along Sunset Road in northwest Charlotte when he hit a utility pole.

"I took my eye off the road.  When I looked back up, there's a car in front of me, getting ready to make a left.  Only thing I could do is cut the wheel, hit the brakes and I went off into a ditch and I totaled my previous car," he said.

He called USAA.

His policy covers rental cars up to $30 per day up to 30 days.

But just six days into it, Milligan said someone with the USAA contacted him and said they wouldn't cover the rental anymore.

But they didn't say why.

"(I am) terribly upset.  It was like they weren't doing anything for me, so it felt like they were saying, 'Thanks for your service, but, for lack of a better term, too bad,'" Milligan said.

He didn't want to pay out of pocket, so he returned the rental.

Then he complained to USAA and to Action 9's Jason Stoogenke.

USAA officials admitted to making a mistake.

They sent Jason Stoogenke the following email:

"USAA is committed to providing best-in-class service to our members. In this instance, we inadvertently made an error and understand we did not live up to our own standard of member care on this claim. As soon as we recognized it, we corrected the error and resolved the matter to the satisfaction of our member."

"The moment I got a phone call from USAA, when they started turning tail, was when you guys contacted them," Milligan told Stoogenke.

USAA agreed to pay Milligan the money it would have spent had Milligan had the rental car for all 30 days.

Milligan said company reps promised him they'd "look into their training and their policies and everything else so it doesn't happen again."

If you have an insurance claim, be prepared if the company tells you "no."

Keep asking to talk to a supervisor and woek your way up the chain of communication.

If you still don't get results, tell the state's insurance commission, the Better Business Bureau, or Action 9.

Cox Media Group