She Was Stranded Three Miles From Texas. Her Insurer Said, “We Can’t Help You.”
By Christopher Lee Lucas | Retired U.S. Air Force Major, Department of Defense Civilian, 30-Year USAA Member
A military spouse was stranded for five days in Matamoros, Mexico — three miles from the Texas border and within her insurer’s advertised roadside assistance coverage zone — after USAA told her, “We can’t help you.” Carmen Lucas, a Matamoros native and wife of a retired Air Force Major, called USAA’s roadside assistance line on August 5, 2024, when the family’s 2016 Volvo XC90 broke down during a visit to her hometown. USAA markets roadside assistance “within 75 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border.” Carmen was within three. No tow truck was dispatched. No vendor was referred. No alternative was offered.
The experience is now the subject of a publicly filed lawsuit — Lucas v. United Services Automobile Association, Cause No. 2026CI03304, Bexar County District Court, 131st Judicial District, Texas — filed February 12, 2026. The petition, available through the Bexar County District Clerk, details allegations of breach of contract, bad faith claims handling, and violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Carmen has filed her own statutory notifications under Texas consumer protection law.
The case raises a question USAA has not answered despite repeated written and verbal requests: If a vehicle breaks down three miles inside Mexico — squarely within the coverage zone USAA advertises — where does USAA tow it? The answer, based on publicly available information, appears to be: nowhere. USAA’s roadside assistance subcontractor, Cross Country Motor Club (an Agero subsidiary), explicitly limits its service territory to the 50 United States, D.C., and Canada. Their published terms make no mention of Mexico. Recovery services do exist in the Matamoros-Brownsville corridor — the Lucas family ultimately recovered the vehicle by contacting the U.S. Consulate, which provided the name of a private vendor. The family hired the vendor directly and paid $1,600 out of pocket. The capability USAA was being paid to provide was one phone call away. USAA did not have that phone number.
The Promise vs. The Phone Call
USAA tells military families, “We know what it means to serve.” Their tagline promises, “What you’re made of, we’re made for.” On their own careers page, they describe this as “more than a slogan.”
Carmen believed that. Over thirty years of membership and a full military career, our family believed that.
Carmen is a Matamoros native who built a life in the United States supporting her husband’s Air Force career, raising a family, navigating the complexities of military life — the moves, the deployments, the separations. She is an immigrant success story in every sense of the phrase. And when her vehicle broke down in her own hometown, three miles from Texas, the company her family trusted and paid premiums to for three decades told her: “We can’t help you.”
She spent five days stranded. Not because help didn’t exist — but because the company she was paying for that help had no vendor, no protocol, and no plan to deliver it where they said they would. A single phone call to the U.S. Consulate produced the name of a private recovery vendor who could do the job. We hired them and paid $1,600 out of our own pocket for a service USAA was already collecting premiums to provide.
A Pattern, Not an Isolated Incident
Carmen is not the first military family member to experience this gap between USAA’s marketing and its operational reality at the border.
In 2021, veteran Adam Kittinger — a 25-year USAA member who served in the Marine Corps, Army, and Air Force — contacted USAA before driving into Mexico. According to published news reports, he was told he was “good to go.” When his vehicle was involved in an accident roughly 897 miles from the border, his claim was denied. USAA reportedly engaged with his case only after he contacted a news outlet.
Consumer complaint platforms document additional patterns. A nearly 30-year USAA member reported that the company “lost” her daughter’s roadside assistance request, leaving a 21-year-old stranded alone for over four hours. The agent’s suggestion: call 911.
These experiences describe something that extends beyond any one family. They raise questions about what military families stationed at border installations — from San Diego to El Paso to Brownsville — are actually receiving when they pay for roadside assistance coverage that is marketed as extending into Mexico.
Why Carmen Still Has No Voice
I filed the lawsuit pro se — representing myself, without an attorney. Not by choice. In San Antonio, where USAA is headquartered and employs thousands, the conflicts of interest involved in suing USAA are pervasive. Finding local counsel who handles non-injury contract and consumer protection litigation without a USAA-related conflict has proven extraordinarily difficult.
Carmen has her own claims. She is the named insured. She is the one who was actually stranded. She is the one who called for help and was turned away. But the same conflict-of-interest barriers that forced me to represent myself have, so far, left her without legal representation.
Under Texas law, I cannot represent Carmen — only myself. So the person at the center of this story, the one who lived it, currently depends on public awareness to ensure her experience is heard. A policyholder who paid her premiums, relied on advertised services in good faith, and was told “we can’t help you” — in a legal market where holding her own insurer accountable requires resources her insurer’s market dominance makes nearly impossible to obtain.
A Note to Military Families Along the Border
This article is not legal advice, and I am not making accusations beyond what is set forth in a publicly filed petition. The legal process will determine the outcome.
But I would encourage every servicemember, veteran, and military spouse — especially those stationed at or near border installations — to take one step today:
Call your insurer and ask this specific question: “If my vehicle breaks down in Mexico within your advertised coverage area, what happens? Who do you dispatch? What is the process?” Get the answer in writing.
If they cannot answer clearly, you have important information about the actual value of what you are paying for. Do not assume marketing language reflects operational capability. An advertised coverage zone is only as good as the vendor network and dispatch protocols behind it.
And keep records of everything. If you ever need to file a claim, your documentation is your strongest advocate — especially if you find yourself navigating the process alone.
Why Write This
I spent 20 years in the United States Air Force. I serve as a Department of Defense civilian supporting national security. I have held a TS/SCI security clearance throughout my career. I do not write this for sympathy.
I write this because Carmen’s story deserves to be told by someone — since the system has not yet provided her with her own voice. I write this because the gap between what is marketed to military families and what is delivered when they need it most is a consumer protection issue that extends beyond one household. And I write this because sunlight remains the best disinfectant.
The petition is public record. The facts will speak for themselves.
To Journalists and Media
If you cover consumer protection, military/veteran affairs, insurance practices, or U.S.-Mexico border issues, I welcome the opportunity to connect. Carmen’s story has particular relevance for Spanish-language media — she is a Matamoros native whose experience speaks directly to the binational community along the Texas-Mexico border.
Contact: cl@cllucas.com | Available after 3:00 PM CST at (318) 230-2704
All statements in this article reference publicly filed court documents or the author’s firsthand experience. The matter is pending before the Bexar County District Court, 131st Judicial District, Texas.
#USAA #MilitaryFamilies #ConsumerProtection #Insurance #Veterans #TexasLaw #BorderCommunities #AccessToJustice #MilitarySpouse #ProSe
