Just saw a $3 “installment fee” on my auto insurance bill for December. It feels unfair to charge extra just because I can’t pay for 6 months all at once. I’m disabled, so saving that much at one time isn’t even an option for me. Anyone else annoyed by this?
Pretty much all insurance companies have a fee like this. I think for USAA it only happens if you don’t use their auto-pay option.
Rin said:
Pretty much all insurance companies have a fee like this. I think for USAA it only happens if you don’t use their auto-pay option.
I’ve been with them for 15 years, and this is the first time I’ve seen it. I always pay using my bank’s BillPay system.
@Drue
That might be the reason. USAA usually doesn’t charge the fee if you set up auto-pay directly through them. Looks like they’re pushing people toward auto-pay now.
I have auto-pay set up for my insurance, but I usually pay early with my credit card to get cash back before the auto-pay kicks in.
I don’t see the fee on mine, and I pay monthly too. Their website says the $3 fee is only for people not using auto-pay. Maybe check if you can switch to auto-pay? If you’re already on it, call them and ask what’s going on.
@Ozzy
I pay every month through my bank’s BillPay service.
Drue said:
@Ozzy
I pay every month through my bank’s BillPay service.
That’s probably why. Most companies have had fees like this for years.
Drue said:
@Ozzy
I pay every month through my bank’s BillPay service.
You could switch to auto-pay and let USAA pull the payment from your account. That would stop the fee.
Drue said:
@Ozzy
I pay every month through my bank’s BillPay service.
You could switch to auto-pay and let USAA pull the payment from your account. That would stop the fee.
I can’t do that because I’ve disabled ACH debits on my account. My only options are BillPay, charging my Amex, or mailing a check.
You can avoid the fee by setting up an automatic payment plan to pay monthly. It makes sense to pay monthly anyway since there’s no discount for paying in full. Auto-pay might even give you a small discount on your policy.
@Finley
Looks like the person who posted this just wants to stick with their bank’s BillPay for some reason.
They could’ve just raised premiums for everyone instead. This way it’s more like a reward for people who pay ahead.
This type of fee has been around forever with other companies. Maybe it went away for a while, but it’s not new.
USAA has its problems, but this isn’t really one of them. Paying insurance monthly instead of in a lump sum is a relatively new option. Just set up auto-pay. You can even use a cash-back credit card if you don’t want it coming from your bank account.
They announced this change a few months ago on invoices and through other notices. That’s when I switched to auto-pay.
Most insurance companies charge installment fees, and it’s why paying in full sometimes costs less. This isn’t a new thing—USAA is just doing what others already have.
If you still get paper statements, they charge a fee for that too. Switching to electronic statements is the way to avoid it.
Guess someone’s gotta pay for Peacock’s bonus perks, huh?
This is pretty standard. Other insurance companies have done this for years, so it’s nothing surprising.