First off, this isn’t about me, advertising, or trying to get attention. It’s about who USAA says it’s here to serve: service members, veterans, and their families.

I’ve seen firsthand what happens when a family’s support system gets tested, when a spouse is wounded, killed, or deployed, and the one left at home has to do it all. They’re being mom and dad, the handyman, the taxi driver, the one taking kids to practice, paying bills, and keeping the house running.

To expect that person to crawl under their house, into an attic, or around every wall and pipe every 13 days looking for a hidden leak is not reasonable. Most leaks in homes, especially those built on slabs or with crawl spaces, are exactly that: hidden. They’re behind cabinets, showers, vanities, under floors, or inside walls where no one would ever see them until damage surfaces.

We pay higher premiums to USAA because we trust them to take care of us when something goes wrong. They’ve raised deductibles to 2 percent for wind and hail, and yet I’ve personally seen multiple claims denied over the phone without anyone ever showing up to inspect the damage.

Even more concerning, USAA has changed the wording in their policies, removing key language that used to protect members from being denied when a leak was hidden or unknown. These aren’t industry-wide templates. They’re USAA’s own proprietary policy forms, which means those changes were deliberate.

So while other carriers may have similar issues, this one hits harder because of who USAA claims to be, an organization built to protect those who protect others. Many of its members are out training, deployed, or away from home for weeks or months at a time. The very people they claim to honor are the ones most at risk under these new policies.

We, the undersigned service members, veterans, military families, USAA members, and supporters, respectfully call on USAA leadership to review and restore clear protection for losses involving hidden or unknown water damage, to evaluate current claim-handling standards to ensure they align with USAA’s founding mission and the principle of serving those who serve, and to communicate openly with members about any significant policy revisions that may affect coverage expectations.

This isn’t about one bad claim or one bad adjuster. It’s about accountability and restoring fairness to the people who deserve it most, the service members, veterans, and families who believed USAA would stand by them the way they’ve stood by this country.