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The United Services Automobile Association (USAA) is a
San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...
-based
Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...
diversified
financial services Financial services are the Service (economics), economic services provided by the finance industry, which encompasses a broad range of businesses that manage money, including credit unions, banks, credit-card companies, insurance companies, acco ...
group of companies including a
Texas Department of Insurance The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) regulates insurers and other companies that conduct insurance business in Texas, and assists Texas-based insurance consumers. TDI was founded in 1876 as the Department of Insurance, Statistics and History. ...
-regulated
reciprocal inter-insurance exchange A reciprocal inter-insurance exchange or simply a reciprocal is an unincorporated association in which subscribers exchange insurance policies to pool and spread risk. For consumers, reciprocal exchanges often offer similar policies to those offere ...
and subsidiaries offering banking, investing, and insurance to people and families who serve, or served, in the
United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...
. At the end of 2020, it had more than 13 million members. USAA was founded in 1922 in San Antonio by a group of 25 U.S. Army officers as a mechanism for mutual
self-insurance Self-insurance is a situation in which a person or business that is liable for some risk does not take out any third-party insurance, but rather chooses to bear the risk itself. In the United States the concept applies especially to self-funded hea ...
when they were unable to secure auto insurance because of the perception that they, as military officers, were a high-risk group. USAA has since expanded to offer banking and insurance services to past and present members of the Armed Forces, officers and enlisted, and their families. The company ranked No. 96th in the 2020 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue and appeared 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 World’s Most Admired Companies.


History

The organization was originally called the United States Army Automobile Association. In 1924, the name was changed to United Services Automobile Association, when commissioned officers of other U.S. military services became eligible for membership. The company was formed based on a meeting of twenty-five United States Army Officers on June 20, 1922, at the Gunter Hotel in San Antonio, Texas, to discuss the procurement of reliable and economical auto insurance. Despite initial success, by the late 1920s a dispute between competing factions for control of the company threatened its long term viability. The issue was resolved when feuding members agreed to hire a leader from outside, resulting in the 1928 appointment of Major General
Ernest Hinds Ernest Hinds (August 18, 1864 - June 17, 1941) was a career officer in the United States Army. A veteran of the Spanish–American War, Philippine–American War, and World War I, he attained the rank of major general and was notable for his ser ...
as general manager and secretary-treasurer. Hinds provided stability and remained in the position until his 1941 death. USAA is headquartered in northwest San Antonio, occupying a former horse farm. USAA is a pioneer of the concept of
direct marketing Direct marketing is a form of communicating an offer, where organizations communicate directly to a pre-selected customer and supply a method for a direct response. Among practitioners, it is also known as ''direct response marketing''. B ...
; most of its business is conducted over the Internet or telephone using employees instead of agents. Until the 1960s, the bulk of its business was conducted via mail. In the late 1960s, USAA began a transition from mail to phone-based sales and service. It launched a toll-free number in 1978, and Internet sales and service in June 1999 via its website. The organization started offering homeowner's and
life insurance Life insurance (or life assurance, especially in the Commonwealth of Nations) is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer or assurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death ...
in the 1960s,
broker A broker is a person or firm who arranges transactions between a buyer and a seller for a commission when the deal is executed. A broker who also acts as a seller or as a buyer becomes a principal party to the deal. Neither role should be confu ...
age and investment management services in the 1970s, and
bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...
ing services in the 1980s. The company opened its first office outside Texas in
Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
,
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
, in 1952, followed by the opening of the
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
office in 1962. USAA offered restricted membership to civilians between September 2009 and August 2013. This membership provided access to USAA's investment products, most bank deposit products, and life insurance. Auto and property insurance policies were not included for non-military members due to eligibility restrictions. In 2015, USAA employed more than 32,000 people at its offices throughout the world. On July 26, 2019, the
Charles Schwab Corporation The Charles Schwab Corporation is an American multinational financial services company. It offers banking, commercial banking, investing and related services including consulting, and wealth management advisory services to both retail and instit ...
announced it would acquire USAA's investment management and brokerage accounts for $1.8 billion. The deal with Charles Schwab closed on May 26, 2020.


Lines of business


Property, casualty, and life insurance

USAA offers a range of
personal property and casualty Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...
(P&C) insurance, including
automobile insurance Vehicle insurance (also known as car insurance, motor insurance, or auto insurance) is insurance for cars, trucks, motorcycles, and other road vehicles. Its primary use is to provide financial protection against physical damage or bodily injur ...
, homeowner insurance,
renters' insurance Renters' insurance, often called tenants' insurance, is an insurance policy that provides some of the benefits of homeowners' insurance, but does not include coverage for the dwelling, or structure, with the exception of small alterations that a ten ...
, as well as
umbrella An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is usually mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is designed to protect a person against rain or sunlight. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionally used ...
and personal property insurance. In addition to P&C insurance, USAA provides
whole life insurance Whole life insurance, or whole of life assurance (in the Commonwealth of Nations), sometimes called "straight life" or "ordinary life", is a life insurance policy which is guaranteed to remain in force for the insured's entire lifetime, provided ...
,
term life insurance Term life insurance or term assurance is life insurance that provides coverage at a fixed rate of payments for a limited period of time, the relevant term. After that period expires, coverage at the previous rate of premiums is no longer guarant ...
, and
annuities In investment, an annuity is a series of payments made at equal intervals.Kellison, Stephen G. (1970). ''The Theory of Interest''. Homewood, Illinois: Richard D. Irwin, Inc. p. 45 Examples of annuities are regular deposits to a savings account, mo ...
. USAA's life insurance policies, while not unique in the industry, are different from most offerings since they do not include a war-exclusion clause.


Banking

Banking services are provided by USAA Federal Savings Bank. The bank was established on December 30, 1983. According to USAA's 2015 Annual Report to Members, USAA held over $62.549 billion in deposits with more than 6.3 million accounts. USAA Federal Savings Bank's bank lobby located in San Antonio is its only full-service banking location. Other cities, however, hold financial centers, often near military bases, which provide advice and assistance in obtaining services of any kind offered by USAA, in addition to opening those accounts online. Banking services can be accessed in person, by mail, by phone, or through the internet. USAA Federal Savings Bank provides members with the ability to deposit checks to their accounts using mobile applications on the
Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
iPhone and
iPad The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, operating s ...
and mobile devices with Google's Android operating system. Major banking competitors include
Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank w ...
-Military Bank,
Pentagon Federal Credit Union Pentagon Federal Credit Union, widely known by its abbreviated name PenFed, is a United States federal credit union headquartered in McLean, Virginia, chartered and regulated under the authority of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). ...
, and
Navy Federal Credit Union Navy Federal Credit Union (or Navy Federal) is a global credit union headquartered in Vienna, Virginia, chartered and regulated under the authority of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). Navy Federal is the largest natural member (o ...
.


Investing and financial planning

USAA provides Education 529 Plans for its members, but members are referred to its strategic partners,
Charles Schwab Corporation The Charles Schwab Corporation is an American multinational financial services company. It offers banking, commercial banking, investing and related services including consulting, and wealth management advisory services to both retail and instit ...
and Victory Capital Management for other investment services such as brokerage and trading,
mutual funds A mutual fund is a professionally managed investment fund that pools money from many investors to purchase securities. The term is typically used in the United States, Canada, and India, while similar structures across the globe include the SICAV i ...
& ETFs.


Target market

USAA's mission statement indicates its focus to serve its
niche market A niche market is the subset of the market on which a specific product is focused. The market niche defines the product features aimed at satisfying specific market needs, as well as the price range, production quality and the demographics that it ...
, which consists of members of the U.S. military and their immediate families. To that end, the association has always marketed directly to members of the U.S. military. USAA membership is offered to officers and enlisted personnel, including those on active duty, those in the National Guard and Reserve, Officer candidates in commissioning programs (Academy, ROTC, OCS/OTS) and all those who have served in the aforementioned categories and who have retired or have been discharged honorably." Children of USAA members are also eligible to purchase USAA's P&C insurance products, and former members of USAA are allowed to resume membership at any time (without an age limit). Historically, only U.S. military officers (among certain other federally sworn officers) were eligible to join USAA, with descendants of USAA members able to purchase insurance from USAA-CIC. It did not matter if one was an active duty or retired officer; one could join at any time. In 1973, membership was opened to members of the National Guard and Reserves, and in 1996, eligibility was expanded to enlisted members of the armed services. As the number of persons who have served on active duty in an enlisted status in the U.S. Armed Forces is quite large, USAA chose to limit the establishment of eligibility to those who were currently on active duty or who had recently separated. The same time limit on establishment of eligibility was then applied to military officers. In 2008, USAA expanded membership eligibility to all military personnel and retirees, and all veterans who separated after 1996. For a short time, USAA also offered enrollment for federal law enforcement. In November 2009, USAA expanded eligibility requirements to offer coverage to anyone who has ever served honorably in the US Military. As of 2022, USAA has also extended membership to those who have a general under honorable discharge from the military.


Leadership

USAA president and CEO Stuart Parker retired on February 1, 2020, and USAA chose a replacement from within: Wayne Peacock, the company's president of property and casualty insurance. Wayne Peacock is currently the CEO of USAA. Led by USAA Chairman of the Board Vice Admiral James M. Zortman (Ret.), USAA's board of directors named Wayne Peacock CEO-elect in January 2020 to succeed former CEO Stuart Parker. Peacock became CEO in February 2020 and is the first USAA CEO who is not veteran of the armed forces. He has been with USAA since 1988, serving in various leadership positions including President of the Property and Casualty Insurance Group. USAA former CEOs include retired Air Force
brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
Robert F. McDermott Brigadier General Robert Francis McDermott (July 31, 1920 – August 28, 2006) was the first permanent Dean of the Faculty at the United States Air Force Academy, and later served as Chairman and CEO of USAA. He is often referred to as the "Father ...
. The USAA office building in San Antonio was constructed under his tenure, and McDermott was behind USAA's shift from service-by-mail to service-by-phone. He was succeeded as CEO by retired Air Force General
Robert T. Herres Robert Tralles Herres (December 1, 1932 – July 24, 2008) was a United States Air Force officer who served as the first vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Early life and education Herres was born on December 1, 1932, in Denver, where h ...
. It was under Herres that USAA expanded its services to enlisted members of the military and developed
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
based financial services. Following General Herres as CEO was Robert G. Davis, a former Army officer who came to USAA with experience in a variety of financial services companies. Davis is said to have changed the culture at USAA; during his time at USAA, membership, assets and net worth grew significantly. His tenure, however, was not without controversy. Davis oversaw USAA's first layoffs and by some reports had a confrontational style of leadership. Davis had indicated to USAA employees that he intended to continue to lead USAA until 2010, however, he retired in December 2007. The nature of his retirement seems to have been precipitous, as USAA CEO Josue Robles has stated that upon assuming the role of CEO, "I thought I was just going to be a temporary CEO and (the board) said, 'Guess what? The permanent CEO is you'."


Locations

Besides its headquarters in San Antonio, USAA has a second major office in
Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
. USAA also has offices in
Chesapeake, Virginia Chesapeake is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,422, it is the second-most populous independent city in Virginia, tenth-largest in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 90th ...
;
Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...
;
Plano, Texas Plano ( ) is a city in Collin County, Texas, Collin County and Denton County, Texas, United States. It had a population of 285,494 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a principal city of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Hist ...
; and
Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...
. Internationally, USAA has offices in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and
Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
. The company has numerous office buildings in the
Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
area. Their largest office buildings are on a 400-acre multi-use north Phoenix campus built in 2017, these buildings contain 4,500 workers. In May 2019 USAA opened another
Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
office located at 25700 N Norterra Pkwy in north Phoenix that will eventually house 1,100 employees primarily software developers. On May 27, 2021, USAA announced that it will be adding an additional 750 employees to its 100-employee base in
Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
. The company will be leasing of space in a new building in South End called The Square. Company employees started moving in at the end of 2021. In June 2002 USAA purchased The Square from developer Beacon Partners for $97 million. Currently the company has 500 employees in the building and they occupy 2 out of the 6 floors their originally agreed to lease of the 10 story building.


See also

*
List of largest banks in the United States The following table lists the 100 largest bank holding companies in the United States ranked by total assets of June 30, 2022 per the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council; their market capitalization is also shown. This list does not ...


References


External links

* {{Authority control Banks based in Texas Companies based in San Antonio American companies established in 1922 Financial services companies established in 1922 Banks established in 1983 Online financial services companies of the United States Insurance companies based in Texas Life insurance companies of the United States Privately held companies based in Texas 1922 establishments in Texas Auto insurance in the United States