USCCA vs CCW Safe: Which is the Best CCW Insurance?
USCCA and CCW Safe used to be ranked as our top two CCW insurance options. However, since USCCA changed their coverage/plan they dropped to #4 and CCW Safe is the clear winner.
If you’d like to learn about how USCCA and CCW Safe compare to each other, read on.
In this USCCA vs CCW Safe comparison, we’re going to compare the coverage and features of these two concealed carry insurance providers to help you decide which one might be right for you.
USCCA – CCW Insurance
- Final Grade : A
- MSRP : $27-$44 /mo
CCW Safe Insurance
- Final Grade : A+
- MSRP : $18-$44 /mo
USCCA vs CCW Safe – Which is the Best?
First, congrats for narrowing the decision down to these two companies. USCCA offers a lot of resources and CCW Safe offers the best legal protection.
We know this decision is a bit difficult because I was recently in your shoes – I had narrowed my self defense legal protection coverage down to either USCCA and CCW Safe and even I, an actual firearms attorney, found that it wasn’t easy to compare these two under USCCA’s old plan/coverage. This is exactly why we knew that we needed to write this article comparing the two options – hopefully it makes it easier for you to decide. However, now that the USCCA changed what they offer for legal protection, CCW Safe is the clear winner for us.
Second, neither CCW Safe nor USCCA are actually “insurance.” This is an important legal distinction. Instead, they are both legal defense coverage plans.
The difference may not mean much to you, but as a firearms attorney, I want to be very careful and clear in my explanations. However, for the sake of simplicity and because the terms are so commonly used, I’ll refer to these as “ccw insurance” or concealed carry insurance” even though you’ll know better.
Ok, with that out of the way, I bet you’re wondering…. Which is best? Which should you get?
Well, I’ve got some bad news: I can’t possibly tell you which concealed carry insurance option is best for you and your situation. Heck, I can’t even tell you if you should get ccw insurance in the first place.
I know you want an easy answer but if anyone, including myself, gives you one – you should be suspicious because everyone’s particular situation, budget, and risk tolerance is unique.
What I can do is compare USCCA and CCW Safe’s coverage options, discuss their pros and cons, and give you the information you need to make the decision on concealed carry insurance for yourself.
Also, and especially if you don’t want to read the full deep-dive into this USCCA vs. CCW Safe review, I can tell you that I chose to purchase CCW Safe for myself and my family.
Regardless of which one fits your needs best, we like both companies and they each are ranked in the top two spots of our Best CCW Insurance Comparison.
Let’s first look at a summary of each self defense insurance options with pros and cons before we dive into a comparison of each of their features and pricing.
USCCA: Our Take
The USCCA is the big-dog in the self defense legal protection space. They claim the largest number of members, they have the biggest organization, and a ton of training resources.
And, although they are the most expensive option available, members get a lot of training resources and support for the money. But, with their recent change in their plan/coverage, they are not the best value for leagl protection.
Things we love about USSCA: Tons of training and resources, highest daily “per diem” amount (more on that below) and they satisfy all three of our “must-have requirements.”
Things we’d change if we could: The total defense coverage dollar amounts are limited, they now treat these limits that they’ll pay to protect you as “confidential,” they reserve the right to make you pay back everything if you get a guilty verdict (where others offer support for an appeal), and a few other issues we found in their new policy .
Check out how they compare to CCW Safe in our full break-down below.
USCCA Pros and Cons
- Great Training
- Highest Daily Per Diem
- Can Choose Your Own Lawyer
- Might Have to Pay Everything Back
- Highest Cost
- Capped Coverage
CCW Safe: Our Take
CCW Safe, although smaller, provides the best legal coverage in our opinion. Their defense coverage amounts are unlimited and they are a legal “dream-team.”
Although not the most expensive, they are at the higher end of cost.
Things we love about CCW Safe: Unlimited coverage amounts, excellent expert resources, and they meet all three of our “must haves” (but, your attorney does need to be approved).
Things we’d change if we could: Although a per diem is paid, it is the lowest of the companies that pay.
CCW Safe Pros and Cons
- Unlimited Defense Budgets
- Can Choose Own Lawyer
- Excellent Resources
- Legal “Dream Team”
- Higher-End Cost
- Attorney Must Be Approved
USCCA vs CCW Safe: Pricing
It’s fairly difficult to compare these two on pricing because they each offer multiple plans with different coverage and costs and the USCCA no longer publishes their coverage amounts and their higher priced plans don’t offer any better legal coverage than their lowest priced plan.
However we can make a few generalizations about the cost comparison of USCCA and CCW Safe.
USCCA is relatively the most expensive option but it comes with a TON of features for the cost but lower coverage amounts (and other issues).
| Frequency | USCCA | CCW Safe |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly | $29-49 | $18-44 |
| Annual | $300-504 | $179-519 |
CCW Safe is not as expensive and it has higher coverage but not as many extra features like online training resources.
If your budget or legal protection are the main factors for your determination, CCW Safe is the better option.
Winner: CCW Safe
However, as you can likely already tell, looking at cost alone, without taking into consideration exactly what you get for the cost, isn’t super helpful. So, let’s explore more.
USCCA vs CCW Safe: Legal Defense Coverage
| Feature | USCCA | CCW Safe |
|---|---|---|
| Max Criminal Defense | $250,000 | Unlimited |
| Max Civil Defense | $2,000,000 | Unlimited |
This one is fairly straight forward: when it comes to legal defense coverage for both criminal and civil trials, CCW Safe wins with unlimited coverage.
However, even though the USCCA limits coverage and now keeps their limits private, the amounts they offer are still significant and may be enough for most instances.
Winner: CCW Safe
In addition to legal defense, there are many other areas of coverage that both companies offer and which should be considered…
USCCA vs CCW Safe: Features
| Feature | USCCA | CCW Safe |
|---|---|---|
| Pick Own Attorney | Yes | Yes |
| Money Up Front? | Yes | Yes |
| Per Diem | $750 | $250 |
| Psychological Support | $6000 | $6000 |
| Up Front Bail Bonding | $50,000/$500,000 | $100,000/$1,000,000 |
There are three “must have” features that I advise you look for in CCW Insurance. Thankfully, both USCCA and CCW Safe have these features (but not all companies do).
I recommend that you only pick a company that:
- Allows you to pick your own attorney,
- Gives you the money up front, and
- Offers a daily “per diem” while in trial
For a deeper discussion of these elements, feel free to check out 3 CCW Insurance Must Haves. We’ll compare these main 3 and also some more features here.
Picking your own attorney: Both USCCA and CCW Safe allow you to pick your own attorney. However, CCW Safe requires that they approve your attorney. This isn’t 100% free choice but I do understand their desire to ensure that you have competent counsel.
Money up front: Both companies give you the money up front – this is important. If you have enough money to cover these costs yourself (a few hundred thousand up to around a million dollars), I question why you’re looking at CCW insurance.
Daily “per diem” rate: While in trial, you’re not going to be able to work and earn money for you or your family. Getting a daily amount can go a long way – especially if you’re in trial for months.
Both USCCA and CCW Safe offer a daily per diem (not all companies do) but the USCCA’s rate is the highest available.
Bail: The USCCA’s highest plan offers up to $500k in bail bond coverage whereas CCW Safe’s lowest plan starts at $500k of coverage and goes up to $1 million.
Winner: USCCA
Let’s look at one final category…
USCCA vs CCW Safe: Extra Resources
I’ll oversimplify this in an attempt to make a meaningful distinction (this is a very hard area to compare these because it is so subjective).
If you’re new to firearms and/or concealed carry, then the training and resources from USCCA might be the best option for you. They offer a great library of online training and resources, including newsletters and a magazine, that cover the basics as well as some more advanced topics that can help you determine what you’ll do in a self defense situation.
If you’re more interested in legal self defense scenarios and learning from who we think is the best resource for legal self defense, Attorney Andrew Branca, then CCW Safe’s extra resources might be best for you.
Again, this is a tough call. But, most new shooters would do well with USCCA’s resources whereas I like to see the deep-dive into self defense shootings from CCW Safe.
Winner: Tie
USCCA and CCW Safe Comparison Conclusion
The choice between which option to get (or even whether to get CCW insurance) is yours alone.
Hopefully, our comparison of the top two concealed carry insurance companies helps you make up your mind.
But, if you’re still stuck, remember this: we’ve had plenty of great feedback from both companies, they are both reputable organizations, and they each provide good coverage – we wouldn’t second-guess your decision to go with either one.
Before you make up your mind, go check out the details of each:
It was tough for me to pick between USCCA and CCW Safe under the USCCA’s old plan, but I purchased CCW Safe for myself. Now that the USCCA has changed what they offer, CCW Safe is an even easier decision for me.
Which one did you pick – and are you happy with your choice? Let us know in the comments below.
USCCA vs CCW Safe Report Cards
USCCA – CCW Insurance
Cost
Although it is at the higher end, you are getting a lot of features.
A-Coverage
The coverage amount has always been “capped” but now the actual limits are “confidential.”
CFeatures
TONS of extra features for training, not for legal coverage.
BValue
A decent value for training, not for legal coverage.
CFinal Grade: B-
CCW Safe Insurance
Cost
The price is competitive with the higher-end CCW insurance options and you’re getting arguably the best legal coverage.
ACoverage
Best in class legal coverage from a legal “dream team” and excellent experts.
A+Features
They provide or “must have” requirements in addition to valuable deep-dive legal analysis of real self-defense use cases.
AValue
Although there’s minimal extras, you’re getting the some of the best possible legal coverage for the price.
A+Final Grade: A+
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About Ryan Cleckner
Ryan is a former special operations sniper (1/75 Ranger) and current firearms attorney, firearms industry executive, university lecturer, and bestselling author of the Long Range Shooting Handbook.
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Hello! Can you please create an updated article on USCCA VS CCW SAFE: WHICH IS THE BEST CCW INSURANCE? This info is dated and USCCA has changed their program
As a side note, many people have an “umbrella policy” in conjunction with their homeowners liability policy. Most of these policies exclude liability that results from an intentional act. Shooting an attacker is an intentional act so it is not covered. However, some companies do offer liability coverage for an act of provable self defense. Most do not, but some do. See the “exclusions” section of your policy document.
I am a bit confused and I hope you can clarify. I just move to TN, applied for my CCW, and before I carry I want to get coverage. I was researching both USCCA and CCCESafe when I rant across your article. Unfortunately, when I look at the website for these two plans, I see things that do not match what you have written. Everything mentioned here is for both company’s top-tiered plans.
First, USCCA. They show, “No Limit Defense Expenses – Defense Expenses Incurred in the Defense of a Civil or Criminal Proceeding or Investigation are Paid in Addition to the Limit of Liability for Covered Occurrences”, which would match CCWSafe. However, in this article, you have listed $250,000 as a limit for Criminal Defense and $2 Million for Civil Defense for USCCA.
Second, CCWSafe. provides $1 Million in civil liability coverage and checking today, it looks like USCCA offers $2 Million. I thought CCWSafe was unlimited here as well when I was looking into this over 2 years ago, but I could be remembering wrong or they have changed recently.
My question is, wouldn’t what I have written above place USCCA as the better option over CCWSafe. You as an attorney might have a better perspective than me and I could be missing something, so any clarificatio would be greatly appreciated.
Max-
I agree with your analysis as well. I am A USCCA Elite member – the videos are great – but most really talk about practice, practice, practice – but nonetheless it gives notable examples of how to train. As the new limits were installed, I renewed my USCCA membership. CCWsafe and US law exclude family incidents USCCA does not. Most gun crimes happen from people you know. If you invite them in CCWsafe will not cover you – this excludes service workers (HVAC, plumbers etc) but friends and acquaintances you are on your own. Something to think about.
I love CCW Safe, but I also appreciate USCCA’s free resources like the Permit Reciprocity Map. I recently travelled from my home in Florida to Georgia and it was good to know I wouldn’t be breaking Georgia laws.
I chose CCW Safe because they covered all costs upfront, and I couldn’t see where USCCA or others did. I may have missed it, or it may have changed, but I was under the impression the others were reimbursement programs. USCCA also hammered the heck out of me with marketing emails, which I find annoying. Once a week is ok, but not three a day.
I have learned so much from CCW Safe’s podcasts, I like the team, their experience and their focus on alternatives and de-escalation, not automatically going for the gun, but being willing to talk or walk away if possible.
When Uscca member ship cost went up and they broke their promise that I was grandfathered in and they would never increase my silver plan cos. I began looking at ccw safe and others. I chose ccw safe since their coverage was more comprehensive and monthly membership cost was better than what I was paying for the silver benefits at new cost uscca raise it to. USCCA shot themselves in the foot.
I didn’t realize that happened. That’s a bummer.
If you fire an AR15 at an intruder inside your home, the bullet will likely pass through the intruder, through your wall/s, cross your yard, and pass through your neighbor’s walls – likely causing additional injuries or death. I highly doubt any insurance would cover you in the case of such negligence, because you will be violating one of the basic rules of gun safety: “Always be certain of your target, and what is behind it.”
You need to plan on using a shotgun or handgun to defend your home. A high-powered rifle is never a good home-defense weapon.
I’m not sure where you get your understanding of ballistics – we disagree on what an AR15 will do (especially with appropriate ammunition) nor would I agree that one of the smallest center-fire rifle cartridges is “high powered.”
@Ryan
Agreed….
My 338 Lapua is High Powered. Not sure I’ll have the 3 1/2 minutes needed to set up my Sniper Rifle for a home defense shot though. Unless they change the laws about shooting someone in the back at 2500 yards fleeing my house… 😉
I’ll stick with my Glock 21 Gen 1 with Black Talons for home defense… 🙂
Ryan, You may want to re-visit this one. I received an email today notifying me that the coverage has changed for USCCA. Now legal defense amounts for USCCA is uncapped/unlimited. I send you a copy of my email should you like to review it. Just let me know where to send it. Here is a portion of the email I received:
As of 11/01/2021, members will have access to revised benefits including a $2,000,000 annual liability limit, $100,000 limit for the cost of bail bond expenses, up to $10,000 for incidental expenses, up to $750 per day for actual loss of earnings, and…
…no limit defense expenses.
Well, I guess I have the simple solution. I have both. Not that I really want to spend that much money. I began with USCCA a number of years ago (6 years?). Later, I ran across CCW Safe, also signed up for it because of the very affordable rate at the time. I’m with our church’s security team, and later discovered I would have to upgrade my CCW Safe membership to the Ultimate Plan as the basic plans would not cover an incident with my church security involvement. As mentioned in the comparison, there are certain plusses with each, and, a few caveats with each as mentioned in the comments. I kept the USCCA membership because of CCW Safe’s certain mentioned exclusions, USCCA’s higher per diem than CCW Safe, and USCCA’s publications and online training resources. I’ve kept the CCW Safe membership because of their unlimited coverage as well as their ability to provide an approved defense attorney or provide a listing of approved attorneys (not having to worry about who is an appropriate local attorney at the moment of when I might really need one). Our local business, family and estate lawyers are probably not experienced in self defense cases. On my last renewal with CCW Safe, I mentioned that I also have coverage with USCCA – asked if they cooperate in that manner. I was told they would work with USCCA. I’ve never had to use the defense service of either company, fortunately.
You left out that CCW Safe absolutely will not help you if you ex-spouse tries to murder you and you must defend yourself. Although USCCA has pathetic limits $250,000 is better than$0.
Ive emailed them on this. Its to avoid hard to prove setup and ambush cases. It says family or others you invite into your home. That did concern me but they explained it in a way that makes sense. If you invite a handiman into your home and he becomes a bad actor then they will cover you even though he was allowed by the homeowner to enter. If a family member shoots up a backyard bar b q then they will cover that because the case there is clear with multiple witnesses. If an ex breaks and enters your home and you have to defend, they will cover that. What they won’t cover is a he said she said between two people that knew eachother alone in a home together.
Neither statement is correct any longer. Ccw Safe covers family members attacking you now as of 2023 and USCCA has unlimited legal defense expenses as of 2023. The bar ismoving for both.
One issue I see with CCW Safe is that they exclude family members and people invited into your home from their coverage. Something worth considering since many self-defense cases involve someone you are related to or know. I can’t imagine having someone over or a family member that I’d be worried about, but statistics still matter.
Very true.
Thanks for the kind mention, Ryan!
When I choose either of these options and then look for a lawyer….how does that work..do I inform them of my coverage? Do I pay a fee to retain them? How do I know I have picked the right lawyers?
You’ll have to work with whichever company you choose.
I’ve used NOLO.com. An independent attorney listing and rating site by actual clients of attorneys.
I just bought my handgun and a rifle. I am considering to buy coverage. Will both companies cover just concealed weapon? If I use a AR15 in my house to shoot a intruder, will they cover me? Thanks.
Which of these covers use of any weapon?
CIvil liability is very important, ask most lawyers. After the criminal proceedings then there is a good chance the civil case will follow. USCCA will provide assistance for this at no extra cost as compared to CCW Safe. I did not see this mentioned in the article.
It’s right at the top of the article where the two are compared. USCCA limits the amount they’ll pay for civil liability whereas it is unlimited with CCW Safe.
Hi Ryan, respectfully, I think you are mistaken in the way you have interpreted the CIVIL liability coverage of each company. From my understanding, CCW Safe offers unlimited coverage in civil defense only. If you want civil liability, you need to pay an additional $220/yr. for $1M of coverage. USCCA offers you a cap of $2M for civil defense and liability combined. So, in USCCA’s case, if you spent $250K in civil defense, you would have $1.75M left over for liability in case you are sued. In CCW Safe’s case, your civil defense is unlimited, but your liability is capped at $1M. Both scenarios considered, I would choose to have CCW Safe’s unlimited defense coverage and $1M limited liability. I would hope that with an unlimited defense budget, any suit against you would be discharged or at least cost way below the $1M coverage limit.
Thanks for your great article. It is the major reference point for my research and my ultimate decision to go with CCW Safe.
I see that with CCWSafe that civil defense costs are covered but civil liability isn’t unless you more than double your costs. Am I understanding this correctly. Isn’t the civil liability pretty important? Do you think it’s worth the extra cost?
My USCCA Elite membership is up at the end of November
Even before reading your article I was considering switching to CCW Safe because there is no cap on coverage for criminal defense.
I really appreciate your honest comparison.
My hope is that I never have to use my weapon in self defense, but if I do, I don’t want to regret my choice in coverage.
Thanks
I’m glad to hear that we might have helped!
You pose a tough choice.
Let us know what you decide.
Loved your review. I’m currently a member of USCCA but I’ve begun to wonder if it was the best choice. Your no nonsense analysis is what everyone needs to see. I can’t help but wonder, however, how to go about finding the best defense attorney. I’ve spent a great amount of time researching and found reviews for the same lawyer can vary 180 degrees. As I see it, you don’t know until it’s too late.
Typical me did my own analysis between the two and chose CCW SAFE. Good to know great minds think alike.
Talked to CCW Safe and you are not covered in any circumstance if you are under the influence of alcohol or even prescribed medications. Even if you are in your own house during a home invasion incident.
I wish I would have known more about CCW I am a uscca member and I was involved in a self defense situation and they did not have a good choice of attorneys only two they weren’t involved in my case at all didn’t check on me I ended up getting charged with two counts of aggravated assault 3rd degree felony’s my attorney put up no defense my trial lasted 3days and I was found guilty and uscca will not pay for my appeal I’m facing up to 2 years in prison I’ve never been in trouble before and I still have to pay my monthly premium in case I get sued my the guy who attacked me and my service dog I’m a disabled guy and a vetren and uscca screwed me over I lost everything I had including my home they never reimbursed me for anything and I can’t even get the people who are in charge to call me back I recommend that no one use the uscca it could cost you your freedom and your 2nd amendment rights
CCW has to approve attorney. At what point? Will they preapprove an attorney before I join, in writing?
I expect the approval is based on hourly rate only, I doubt they care if the attorney is competent.
Based on what we’ve seen/heard, they are only looking at the attorney’s competence.
Yeah did a lot of research before I made my final decision and I been with CCW Safe for a couple of years now. I’m still getting the $499 rate even though they went up