Tenn. & Miss. USAA Class Action Settlement

In recent legal news, USAA has agreed to a class action settlement to resolve allegations that they underpaid homeowners insurance claims.

The plaintiffs in the USAA class action settlement include policyholders with homeowners residential property insurance who made a structural loss claim for a Tennessee or Mississippi property. The claim resulted in an actual cash value payment from which nonmaterial depreciation was withheld.

If policyholders would have received an actual cash value payment, but did not due to the withholding of nonmaterial depreciation that caused the loss to drop below deductible levels, they are also included. Information about applicable time periods is available in the “Who’s Eligible” section below.

Plaintiffs in the USAA class action lawsuit claimed the insurance company wrongfully deducted depreciation of labor costs when adjusting homeowners’ insurance claims. As a result, policyholders were allegedly paid less than they were owed.

When the plaintiffs and other policyholders filed claims for property damage, USAA reportedly calculated the actual cash value payments as “the amount it would cost to repair or replace covered property, at the time of loss or damage, with material of like kind and quality, subject to a deduction for deterioration, depreciation and obsolescence.”

Unfortunately, these payments were allegedly lower than they should have been, as USAA withheld depreciation of labor costs.

“When calculating Plaintiff’s ACV benefits owed under the Policy, USAA withheld the costs of labor necessary to repair or replace Plaintiff’s properties, even though labor does not depreciate in value over time. USAA depreciated costs associated with non-materials, i.e., labor, throughout its ACV calculations,” the USAA class action lawsuit claims.

USAA has not admitted any wrongdoing but has agreed to resolve the claims against them in a class action settlement.

The USAA class action settlement provides reimbursement for individuals who haven’t had withheld depreciation returned to them. Tennessee Class Members will receive 100% reimbursement and Mississippi Class Members will receive 80% reimbursement. All payments will include 5% interest.

Even Class Members who had withheld nonmaterial depreciation later repaid will receive 5% interest for the time that they were not reimbursed.

In order to receive payment from the USAA class action settlement, Class Members must file a valid claim form by Oct. 19, 2020. Claim forms require a policy number, claim number, and other insurance information.

The deadline for exclusion and objection is Aug. 3, 2020. The final approval hearing for the USAA class action settlement is scheduled for Sept. 4, 2020.

Who’s Eligible

USAA policyholders with a homeowners residential property insurance property who made a structural loss claim for a Tennessee or Mississippi property which resulted in an actual cash value payment from which nonmaterial depreciation was withheld.

If policyholders would have received an actual cash value payment, but did not due to the withholding of nonmaterial depreciation causing the loss to drop below deductible levels, they are also included.

Different Class periods apply depending on which state and what type of policy a policyholder had, as follows:

• For Tennessee USAA General Indemnity Company policyholders: structural loss claims with dates of loss after May 1, 2017 but excluding claims arising from new or renewed policies issued after July 1, 2017.
• For Tennessee USAA Casualty Insurance Company policyholders: structural loss claims with dates of loss after Oct. 28, 2017 but excluding claims arising from new or renewed policies issued after July 1, 2017.
• For Tennessee United Services Automobile Association and Garrison Property and Casualty Insurance Company policyholders: structural loss claims with dates of loss after Jan. 7, 2018 but excluding claims arising from new or renewed policies issued after July 1, 2017.
• For Mississippi USAA General Indemnity Company and United Services Automobile Association policyholders: structural loss claims with dates of loss after Aug. 21, 2016 but excluding claims arising from new or renewed policies issued after Nov. 1, 2017.
• For Mississippi USAA Casualty Insurance Company and Garrison Property and Casualty Insurance Company policyholders: structural loss claims with dates of loss after Jan. 7, 2017 but excluding claims arising from new or renewed policies issued after Nov. 1, 2017.

Potential Award

Reimbursement of estimated nonmaterial depreciation which was withheld.

Tennessee Class Members will receive 100% reimbursement. Mississippi Class Members will receive 80% reimbursement. All payments will include 5% interest.

Class Members who had withheld nonmaterial depreciation later repaid will receive 5% interest for the time that they were not reimbursed.

Proof of Purchase

Policy number, claim number, and other insurance information.

Claim Form

CLICK HERE TO FILE A CLAIM »

NOTE: If you do not qualify for this settlement do NOT file a claim.

Remember: you are submitting your claim under penalty of perjury. You are also harming other eligible Class Members by submitting a fraudulent claim. If you’re unsure if you qualify, please read the FAQ section of the Settlement Administrator’s website to ensure you meet all standards (Top Class Actions is not a Settlement Administrator). If you don’t qualify for this settlement, check out our database of other open class action settlements you may be eligible for.

Claim Form Deadline

10/19/2020

Case Name

Koester, et al., v. USAA General Indemnity Company, et al., Case No. 2:19-cv-02283-SHL, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee

Final Hearing

9/4/2020

Settlement Website

KoesterSettlement.com

Claims Administrator

Koester Settlement Administrator – 6945
c/o Rust Consulting
PO Box 44
Minneapolis, MN 55440-0044
1-855-263-3445

Class Counsel

Erik D. Peterson
MEHR, FAIRBANKS & PETERSON TRIAL LAWYERS PLLC

J. Brandon McWherter
Jonathan L Bobbit
MCWHERTER SCOTT BOBBITT PLC

T. Joseph Snodgrass
LARSON KING LLP

Defense Counsel

Mark A. Johnson
Andrea Wiltrout
BAKER & HOSTETLER

George “Buck” T. Lewis
Nicole Berkowitz
BAKER DONELSON

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