USCCA Review [2021] – Is This Insurance Worth It?

The United States Concealed Carry Association (USCCA) is one of the most talked-about concealed carry insurances on the market that provides a variety of benefits for gun owners who practice concealed carry. The most significant advantage of getting a membership with USCCA is the liability insurance and criminal defense protection covered by the organization. 

Although it isn’t a real “carry concealed insurance”, USCCA offers legal protection for self-defense scenarios involving handguns and or other weapons, whether you’re on your own property or practicing open or concealed carry in public. 

Other than protecting you with your legal defense costs, USCCA also provides many other resources for CCW education and firearm training to help you before, during, and after a self-defense scenario. 

While the insurance for concealed carry services provided by USCCA includes generous amounts of coverage and limits that are easily understandable by many, deciding whether the legal protection coverage from this organization is fully dependent on your own preference. 

In any case, in today’s guide, we will be providing an in-depth USCCA review that will include the details and coverages included plus their pricing. Hopefully, these reviews will help to have a better understanding on gun rights and make your decision a whole lot easier.

The Coverages and Legal Protections from USCCA

USCCA membership covers two main categories of protection and they are liability protection from a civil suit and criminal defense protection for when you are charged with a crime. USCCA also provides legal guidance on the right way to resolve the situation for both types of scenarios.

In terms of coverages and legal protection, you should know by now that not all CCW insurance offers are the same. With so many different options between CCW insurance providers, we understand that it may be tough to get a clear picture of what they offer. To help you out, here are the coverages and protection you can expect if you join USCCA.  

Civil Defense and Liability Coverage

Although you fired off your gun in self-defense, you may also be tied up in legal proceedings and will need to defend yourself against lawsuits from the people you shot, their family members, or others. Whether you win or not, legal proceedings can get very expensive very quickly and this is where USCCA steps in helping you out. 

USCCA will help you pay for the costs of a lawyer to defend you in court, plus any fees you are required to pay as a result of the lawsuit. The legal protection from USCCA covers any incident that’s a result of you acting in self-defense, whether it involves a gun, another weapon, or no weapons at all. Additionally, you’re also protected in the case of liability for when your gun gets lost or stolen. 

However, the coverage quantity is not unlimited and it varies by plan level with a range of $250,000 to $2,000,000. Another thing to note is that you don’t get to pick your own lawyer for civil defense cases as USCCA will assign you a lawyer that is approved by the organization. 

Criminal Defense Protection

As mentioned above, even if you were to believe that you fired off your gun for justified self-defense purposes, others may not see it that way and you might still be prosecuted. As a member of the organization, USCCA provides you with criminal defense protection of up to $2,000,000 depending on your policy that includes the cost of a criminal defense, including lawyer’s fees, investigation, and court fees. 

In cases where you’ve been convicted or plead guilty, USCCA will cease all payments but you also won’t be held responsible for reimbursing the company for any money they’re already paid for, including for a defense attorney. Also, unlike civil defense suits, you get to choose your own lawyer or have one recommended by the USCCA as your representative in your criminal defense case. 

Up Front Money

For financial assistance with legal fees, that require up front payment, fortunately, USCCA is able to make sure payments for you so that you won’t have to fork out your own money first in order to be reimbursed later. 

Bail Bonds

Other than that, the criminal defense protection under USCCA also covers up to $50,000 of bail and bond fees to get you out of prison until your trial.

Per Diem

If you’re prosecuted and stuck in court for trial, it is likely that you won’t be able to continue working. A court trial can last for weeks and even months, this can put a serious strain on your finances. Knowing this, it is important to find a CCW insurance company that offers per diem which is a daily allowance while you’re in trial. While some CCW insurance options do not offer anything, USCCA pays an impressive $750 per day to lighten the financial load on you and your family. 

Training and Resources

It is often more important to avoid a fight than it is to win a fight, and this is especially true when it comes to a gunfight. Fortunately, USCCA CCW insurance provides its members with a good library of training and resources to help you avoid fights and what to do if you do get into one. 

Exclusions to USCCA Coverages

As with most forms of insurance coverage, there are several scenarios where USCCA’s liability and criminal defense protection will not apply. For those looking for concealed carry insurance, it is important that you read the policy yourself and get a good understanding of what is and isn’t covered. Here are a few key scenarios that are not covered by USCCA:

When you are convicted. Of course, every self-defense incident may not necessarily be considered as a crime, and the conclusion is only made once a judge or jury has made a ruling. However, if you do end up being convicted of a crime, USCCA will cease all payments. The policy also states that the organization will pay any necessary bills immediately and you do not need to reimburse or repay any money that you or your lawyer have received from USCCA. 

When it is not a self-defense scenario. You need to understand that the CCW insurance by USCCA only covers self-defense situations. Other scenarios like criminal acts and accidents such as a misfire while hunting will not be protected by USCCA. 

When the incident is a result of war or civil uprising or if it was part of your official duties at your job. USCCA’s concealed carry insurance does not include any scenarios while you’re on duty, even if it was in self-protection. 

If you move to New York (NY), NJ, WA. The local governments for these three states have recently banned the sales of “CCW insurance” programs. However, just because you cannot buy them if you live there does not mean it doesn’t work if you’re visiting the state. This is also a limitation for all CCW insurance services right now and it is not only applicable to USCCA. 

Unlimited Legal Coverage. Unlike other CCW insurance companies like CCW Safe, USCCA has limits to the amount of coverage they provide for civil and criminal legal defense. Although the coverage is capped, the insurance company offers many other perks and benefits to make them a viable option. 

You need to remember that the above scenarios are only a few of the exceptions applied to uscca CCW insurance. We strongly recommend you take a good look at the policy in detail yourself to fully understand when you are and are not protected by the concealed carry association.

Other Benefits and Perks of a USCCA Membership

Other than offering good self-defense insurance, which includes legal fees, attorney retainer, up front payments, and a good attorney network, USCCA members also receive a variety of other pros for signing up with the company. The additional perks include educational and training materials for concealed carry weapons (CCWs), training videos, a large video library, several training opportunities, knowledge on home defense fundamentals, a subscription to USCCA’s Concealed Carry Magazine and newsletter, free entry to USCCA’s annual conference and concealed carry expo. 

While these perks are largely ancillary to the main coverages offered by USCCA insurance, we find it difficult to name a downside to receive them and view them as a valuable resource to gun owners looking to expand their skill set. On top of the perks we discussed above, a USCCA membership even offers better value with these additional features:

Money-Back Guarantee

You get to take the insurance for a 100% risk-free test-drive for 365 days that you can cancel anytime. 

Online Training Library

USCCA offers a growing digital library of videos, checklists, and guides for gun owners to sharpen their skills, build muscle memory, and fortify their homes. 

Industry-Leading Magazine

USCCA Members get to enjoy eight annual issues of Concealed Carry Magazine that are jam-packed with plenty of training drills, true self-defense stories, and firearm gear.

Exclusive Member Perks

With USCCA membership, you get exclusive member-only offers on all USCCA training and discounts for holsters, apparel, and more from their industry partners. 

Reliable Round-the-Clock Customer Service

The company’s Wisconsin-based Customer Engagement Team is always ready to assist members via email, chat, or social media. 

Connect with Other Protectors

USCCA lets members connect with millions of other responsible protectors online and at the annual Concealed Carry Expo. 

All the Membership Levels of USCCA

USCCA offers four levels of membership and coverage that you can select from. Obviously, the higher levels will provide larger dollar limits on the coverages, but with a higher subscription plan per month. One thing to note is that all levels of membership have the same categories of coverage, only differ in the limit amount. This means that you don’t have to worry about missing any of the above protections with a cheaper plan. 

Unlike most forms of insurance, USCCA membership does not charge different rates to different people based on demographic information like your age and where you live. The only determining factor of how much you pay is the level of coverage limits you want from the USCCA insurance. Not only that, but you can even add your spouse or wife and dependent minors who live with you into the coverage for additional fees.

USCCA Self Defense Shield Protection Level: Silver

  • Total Coverage Amount: $300,000
  • Monthly Price: $13
  • Annual Price: $147
  • Civil Suit and Damages: $250,000
  • Criminal Protection( Up Front Attorney Retainer): $50,000
  • Up Front Bail Bond Funding: $2,500 / $25,000
  • Compensation while in Civil Court (per Diem): $250/day
  • Personal Hardship Coverage: $2,000
  • Psychological Support: $2,000

The silver membership is not listed on its website and the only way to purchase it is for you to enquire and call the company directly. 

Self Defense Shield Protection Level: Gold

  • Total Coverage Amount: $600,000
  • Monthly Price: $22
  • Annual Price: $247
  • Civil Suit and Damages: $500,000
  • Criminal Protection( Up Front Attorney Retainer): $100,000
  • Up Front Bail Bond Funding: $5,000 / $50,000
  • Compensation while in Court (per Diem): $350/day
  • Personal Hardship Coverage: $3,000
  • Psychological Support: $3,000

USCCA Self Defense Shield Protection Level: Platinum

  • Total Coverage Amount: $1,500,000
  • Monthly Price: $30
  • Annual Price: $347
  • Civil Suit and Damages: $1,000,000
  • Criminal Protection( Up Front Attorney Retainer): $150,000
  • Up Front Bail Bond Funding: $25,000 / $250,000
  • Compensation while in Court (per Diem): $500/day
  • Personal Difficulty Coverage: $4,000
  • Psychological Support: $4,000

Self Defense Shield Protection Level: Elite

  • Total Coverage Amount: $2,000,000
  • Monthly Price: $47
  • Annual Price: $497
  • Civil Suit and Damages: $2,000,000
  • Criminal Protection( Up Front Attorney Retainer): $250,000
  • Up Front Bail Bond Funding: $50,000 / $500,000
  • Compensation while in Civil Court (per Diem): $750/day
  • Personal Difficulty Coverage: $6,000
  • Psychological Help: $6,000

The Truthful Reviews of USCCA

It is undeniable that USCCA offers great legal coverage with so many extra resources, guide, literature, articles, news, and magazines, making it a no-brainer CCW insurance choice for many. Although there are plenty of other good options available on the market, USCCA has earned the top spot in our hearts for good reasons. 

For any concealed carry insurance option, we highly recommend for gun owners to take a look into three basic requirements: 

  1. The ability to choose your own attorney
  2. Up-front money payment
  3. Daily allowance to offset time off work

Fortunately, USCCA has covered all three requirements above which we will be discussing below.

What We Love About USCCA

The fact that USCCA lets you pick your own attorney is a big deal considering many options for CCW insurance only allow you to use an attorney of their choosing. However, we have not used them so we aren’t able to give an informed decision on the quality of the legal representation provided by these companies. 

However, the idea that a client does not have the ability to change attorneys if they don’t like the one they have now or are at the risk of the attorney acting in the interest of the company instead of the client is worrying. Again, we are not saying that this is necessarily the case but situations like this do exist and there is cause for concern. Hence, it is always recommended to get a CCW insurance that gives you the choice of your own attorney. Fortunately, USCCA allows this and it is also one of the reasons they’re our top choice. 

Another factor that we have considered to be important to us is the company’s ability to provide upfront money. While reimbursement might sound just as good as getting the required sum upfront, you also need to remember that most people simply do not have the extra hundreds of thousands of dollars available on hand. 

Thus, if you’re paying for legal coverage that will help with legal fees and pay for your attorney – please make sure that they will also provide cash upfront for you to settle off any fees immediately instead of having to dig high and low and possibly borrowing money from loved ones to cover the cost first. 

As mentioned in our USCCA review above, the third requirement on our list is for the CCW insurance company to offer a daily per diem, which is a daily amount of money or allowance that the company pays you while you’re in trial. This is crucial as you need to remember that your trial might last several months and you won’t be able to go out and work during this time. 

Although the per diem does not replace your income, it will certainly help with mortgage and your family’s daily expenses. Fortunately, USCCA offers the highest per diem rate of any option we’ve seen with up to $750/day. 

Noting that USCCA has met all three basic requirements, the insurance provider really shines much brighter than the rest with all the extras they offer. Not only is USCCA interested in covering your legal costs after a self-defense gun use, but the company has also invested a lot of time and effort into providing you enough materials and knowledge to educate you on how to avoid or survive gunfights and how to beetle handle yourself immediately after an incident. 

USCCA has even included simple instructions for you to remember at the back of their membership card, such as calling 911 first and then make a phone call to the association. The card even has a set of instructions on how you should deal with police officers and law enforcement. 

Upon notifying the company, USCCA’s Critical Response Team will spring into action on your behalf as they facilitate things such as your bail and bond and will arrange for the closest contact in their attorney network to you. If you have an attorney listed on your membership, the Critical Response Team will reach out to them on your behalf. 

The company’s Critical Response Team Member functions similarly to your Case Manager and will continue to facilitate you up to the limits of your level of membership and coverage. 

Other than that, USCCA also has a library of online training and member resources that are super useful to armed citizens. The company lets you know your rights and responsibilities as a gun owner. One good example is their free series of “What Would You Do?” videos where they discuss different scenarios and cover some of your best options. 

While USCCA is clearly our favorite CCW insurance provider, there are a couple of things that can be improved for a much better experience.

What We Don’t Love About USCCA

One obvious con is that USCCA does not offer unlimited legal coverage for both criminal and civil cases. Unlike other competitors, the company has a capped civil defense coverage at 2 million dollars and criminal defense at $250k. 

However, other companies that offer unlimited coverage amounts also do not let you pick your own attorney and either no per diem coverage or they offer a lesser quota compared to USCCA.

Another thing is that USCCA is also one of the most expensive choices we know of. But the difference in cost is not very significant and you certainly get a lot more than just legal coverage. 

The Comparison with the Competitors of USCCA

USCCA vs. NRA Carry Guard

NRA Carry Guard is USCCA’s most significant competitor and it is available through the National Rifle Association. What sets USCCA and NRA Carry Guard apart from other companies offering similar coverages, is that they’re both backed by reputable insurance companies and have set dollar-amount coverage limits. 

NRA Carry Guard insurance has been backed by Chubb and Lockton Specialty. However, both companies have cut ties with NRA in the early 2018 and are no longer providing insurance to the organization. Although there are still customers purchasing coverage through Carry Guard, it is not clear if there is still any insurance company backing NRA Carry Guard. With this in mind, we encourage those considering this type of insurance to go with USCCA. 

Even if you ignore the concerns over Carry Guard’s reliability, the comparison below obviously shows that USCCA offers a much better value with a more affordable fee across the board. 

USCCA

  • Total Coverage: $300,000 to $2,250,000
  • Annual Cost: $147 – $497
  • Coverage per $ Spent per year: $2,040.81 – $4,527.16

NRA Carry Guard

  • Total Coverage: $300,000 to $1,750,000
  • Annual Cost: $174.33 – $508.72
  • Coverage per $ Spent per year: $1,721 – $3,440

USCCA vs. Other CCW Insurance

Other than NSA Carry Guard, we have also done a quick comparison with other concealed carry insurance options available. Not only is USCCA the largest with over 300,000 members, but the company also meets all 3 of our “must-haves” criteria for a CCW insurance. 

USCCA

  • Monthly cost: $22 – $47
  • Criminal Defense Max: $250,000
  • Civil Defense Max: $2,000,000
  • Pick Your Own Attorney?: Yes
  • Up Front Money: Yes
  • Per Diem Max: $750

Second Call Defense

  • Monthly cost: $10 – $35
  • Criminal Defense Max: $100,000
  • Civil Defense Max: $1,250,000
  • Pick Your Own Attorney?: Yes
  • Up Front Money: Yes
  • Per Diem Max: $500

CCW Safe

  • Monthly cost: $16 – $42
  • Criminal Defense Max: Unlimited
  • Civil Defense Max: Unlimited
  • Pick Your Own Attorney?: Yes
  • Up Front Money: Yes
  • Per Diem Max: $250

ACLDN

  • Monthly cost: $12
  • Criminal Defense Max: Unlimited
  • Civil Defense Max: Unlimited
  • Pick Your Own Attorney?: Yes
  • Up Front Money: Yes
  • Per Diem Max: N/A

U.S. Law Shield (Read full US Law Shield versus USCCA here)

  • Monthly cost: $11
  • Criminal Defense Max: Unlimited
  • Civil Max: Unlimited
  • Pick Your Own Attorney?: No
  • Up Front Money: Yes
  • Per Diem Max: N/A

Our Final Thoughts

Among the companies that provide firearm, weapon, or self-defense insurance, USCCA seems to be a solid choice. The insurance company provides a substantial level of liability and defense coverage at a reasonable cost. Unlike some gun insurance companies that require you to pay the bill first, USCAA will pay off any fees or bills you encounter during the trial immediately. 

Another thing we love about USCCA is that its offerings and limits for the coverage provided are clear and easy to understand. This makes it easy for you to know exactly what is and what isn’t covered by your policy. 

Unlike car insurance where services from different providers are almost identical, the kinds of legal protection you get from an incident involving a weapon vary from different service options. 

Furthermore, USCCA’s benefits are backed by United Specialty Insurance Company, which is a reputable insurer with excellent financial stability. This means that there is a very little risk where your claims will not be paid due to a lack of financial means or bankruptcy, giving you peace of mind. 

Overall, if you’re considering getting a gun liability insurance, USCCA appears to be one of the best available on the market. Not only is it backed by a reputable insurer, but its offerings and customer service is highly rated. 

Frequently Asked Questions

You can give this section a try if you still have doubts after reading all the USCCA reviews.

Q: What does “CCW” stand for?

CCW term stands for “Carry a Concealed Weapon”.

Q: Is CCW insurance required by the United States law?

No, CCW insurance is not required by US law. CCW insurance is an optional legal coverage for those who carry a concealed firearm and want some protection.

Q: Do homeowner insurance cover gun accidents?

Yes, homeowners’ insurance does cover guns as personal property including several liability issues including accidental discharge. But the standard homeowners’ policy does not cover any intentional firing of the firearm and this is where adding firearm and concealed weapons coverage will be important. 

Q: Is USCCA legit?

Yes, USCCA insurance is perfectly legitimate and is also one of the best CCW insurances you can get now. Not only that but USCCA is even backed by a reputable insurance company, the United Specialty Insurance Company, meaning you can trust that it won’t run out of funds so quickly. 

Q: How much does it cost to join USCCA?

How much it costs to join USCCA depends on which membership you opt for. You’ll need to pay $247 per year for Gold memberships, $347 annually for Platinum membership, and $497 per year for Elite membership. 

Q: Who is the founder of USCCA?

Tim Schmidt is the president and founder of USCCA. 

Q: How many members does USCCA have?

USCCA has more than 300,000 members today and continues to grow thanks to its flagship publication of the Concealed Carry Magazine and exclusive membership benefits. 

Q: What is the best concealed carry insurance?

The best concealed carry insurance includes USCCA, ACLDN, U.S. Law Shield, NRA Carry Guard, and CCW Safe. 

Q: Can I go to jail if I shoot someone in self-protection?

Yes, you will go to jail if you shoot someone and will continue to remain in jail until it has been proven in the Court of Law that the shooting happened in self-protection.

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