USAA INSURANCE COMPANY

 

This article is a continuation of TOP BEST LIFE, AUTO, HOME AND HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANIES IN UNITED STATES and USAA is rated 19th.

All you need to know about United Services Automobile Association (USAA).

USAA is an insurance company that helps all military branches and their families have access to cheap auto rates, no-monthly service fee banking, and retirement options.

The United Services Automobile Association (USAA) is a Fortune 500 diversified financial services group with offices in San Antonio. Its subsidiaries provide banking, investing, and insurance to individuals and families who serve in or have previously served in the United States Armed Forces. It had more than 13 million subscribers at the end of 2020.

A group of 25 U.S. Army officers established USAA in San Antonio in 1922 as a means of mutual self-insurance after they were unable to get auto insurance due to the perception that they were a high-risk group due to their status as military officers. Since then, USAA has grown to provide former, current, officers, enlisted, and their families with banking and insurance services. The company appears on Fortune's 2021 Blue Ribbon list of companies, placing No. 355 on the Fortune Global 500, No. 94 on the Fortune 500, No. 55 on the 100 Best Companies to Work For, and No. 96 on the 2020 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.

HISTORY OF USAA

Initially, the group was known as the United States Army Automobile Association. When commissioned officers from other U.S. military forces were allowed to join, the organization's name was changed to United Services Automobile Association in 1924. Twenty-five United States Army officers met on June 20, 1922, at the Gunter Hotel in San Antonio, Texas, to discuss the need for dependable and affordable auto insurance. This meeting served as the foundation for the company's formation. Despite early success, the company's long-term future was endangered by a conflict between rival factions for control by the late 1920s. Conflicting members came to an agreement to pick an outside leader, which led to the 1928 appointment of Major General Ernest Hinds as general manager and secretary-treasurer. Hinds offered consistency and held the role until his death in 1941. 

In northwest San Antonio, USAA has its corporate headquarters on a 286-acre (116 ha) former horse farm.

The majority of USAA's business is performed over the phone or the Internet by workers rather than agents, making it a pioneer in the field of direct marketing. The majority of its business was done via mail up until the 1960s. USAA started making the switch from mail-based to phone-based sales and service in the late 1960s. In June 1999, it introduced Internet sales and service on their website, following the debut of a toll-free line in 1978. 

The company began providing banking services in the 1980s, brokerage and investment management services in the 1970s, and homeowner's and life insurance in the 1960s.

In 1952, the business established its first office outside of Texas in Frankfurt, West Germany, and in 1962 it established an office in London.

Between September 2009 and August 2013, USAA offered restricted membership to civilians. This membership gave access to life insurance, the majority of USAA's bank deposit products, and investment options. Due to eligibility requirements, auto and property insurance coverage were excluded for non-military members. 

More than 32,000 individuals were employed by USAA in 2015 at its locations around the globe.

The Charles Schwab Corporation stated on July 26, 2019, that it would pay $1.8 billion to acquire USAA's investment management and brokerage accounts.

On May 26, 2020, the Charles Schwab agreement came to an end.

WHAT TYPE OF BUSINESS DOES USAA DO? 

Insurance for property, liability, and life

The personal property and casualty (P&C) insurance options provided by USAA include renters' insurance, auto insurance, home insurance, umbrella insurance, and personal property insurance. In addition to P&C insurance, USAA also offers annuities, whole life insurance, and term life insurance. Although not unique in the market, USAA's life insurance policies stand out from the majority of alternatives since they do not contain a war-exclusion provision. 

Banking

USAA Federal Savings Bank offers banking services. Founded on December 30, 1983, the bank. In its 2015 Annual Report to Members, USAA stated that it had more than 6.3 million accounts and held over $62.549 billion in deposits. 

The San Antonio bank lobby is the only full-service banking branch for USAA Federal Savings Bank. However, there are financial centers in other locations, frequently close to military bases, that offer guidance and support in order to access any services provided by USAA in addition to opening those accounts online.

Access to banking services is available in person, via mail, by phone, and online. Members of USAA Federal Savings Bank have the option of depositing checks into their accounts utilizing mobile applications on Apple iPhone and iPad devices as well as mobile devices running the Android operating system. 

Navy Federal Credit Union, Pentagon Federal Credit Union, and Bank of America-Military Bank are three significant rivals in the banking industry.

Investing and budgeting for the future 

Members of USAA can access Education 529 Plans, however for additional investment services including brokerage and trading, mutual funds, and ETFs, members are referred to USAA's key partners Charles Schwab Corporation and Victory Capital Management.

WHAT IS THE TARGET MARKET OF USAA? 

The mission statement of USAA makes clear that the company is focused on serving its target market, which consists of U.S. military personnel and their immediate families. To do this, the group has consistently targeted U.S. military personnel in its marketing efforts. Officers and enlisted personnel, including those on active duty, in the National Guard and Reserve, officer candidates in commissioning programs (Academy, ROTC, OCS/OTS), and all former members of the aforementioned categories who have retired or been discharged honorably, are eligible for USAA membership.  Children of USAA members are also able to buy P&C insurance products from USAA, and former USAA members are free to rejoin at any time.

The only federally sworn officials who could join USAA in the past were U.S. military officers, and only those descendants could get insurance via USAA-CIC. No matter if an officer was on active duty or in retirement, they might join at any moment. Members of the National Guard and Reserves were allowed to join in 1973, and enlisted members of the military services were added to the list of eligible individuals in 1996. Due to the sizeable number of people who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces in an enlisted capacity, USAA decided to restrict the determination of eligibility to those who were either currently on active duty or had recently separated. Military commanders were then subject to the same deadline for determining eligibility. All active-duty and retired members of the armed forces, as well as all veterans who separated after 1996, are now eligible to join USAA. Federal law enforcement agents might enlist with USAA for a brief period of time. Anyone who has ever served honorably in the US Military is now eligible for coverage thanks to USAA's expansion of its eligibility rules in November 2009.

WHAT IS THE LOCATION OF USAA?

USAA maintains a second significant office, in addition to its headquarters, in Phoenix. Additionally, USAA maintains offices in Tampa, Florida; Plano, Texas; Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Chesapeake, Virginia. In other countries, USAA has locations in Frankfurt and London. In the Phoenix region, the corporation has a large number of office buildings. On a 400-acre, multi-use site in north Phoenix developed in 2017, their largest office buildings house 4,500 employees. In May 2019, USAA established a new facility in Phoenix, this one in north Phoenix at 25700 N Norterra Pkwy, which would eventually employ 1,100 people, mostly software engineers. 

On May 27, 2021, USAA announced that it would be expanding its Charlotte, North Carolina, workforce by 750 people. Currently, there are 100 employees there. The Square, a new building in South End, will house the corporation in a 90,000 square foot (8,400 m2) facility. At the end of 2021, company personnel began relocating. For $97 million, USAA acquired The Square from developer Beacon Partners in June 2002. The company currently occupies two of the six floors of the ten storey building that they had initially committed to lease, housing 500 people.

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