United Services Automobile Association (USAA) is a Fortune 500 financial services
company focused on providing banking, investing, and insurance to people and families
that serve, or served, in the United States military and other selected
federal agencies.
USAA was founded in 1922 by a group of U.S. Army
officers to self-insure each other when they were unable to secure auto insurance
due to the perception that they were a high-risk group. USAA has since expanded
to serve officers, NCOs, enlisted, and their families with a full range of
property & casualty insurance, banking, life insurance, investment and financial
planning products and services.
USAA does not sell or provide service
for its insurance and other products through agents. Instead the company was
one of the pioneers of direct marketing and most of its business is conducted
over the Internet or telephone. A toll-free number was launched in 1978, and Internet
support launched in 1999 via USAA.COM.
The organization was
originally called the United States Army Automobile Association. In 1924, the name
was changed to United Services Automobile Association, when members of other
military services became eligible for membership. The company opened offices
in Frankfurt, Germany and London, England, early in its history.
USAA
is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, occupying 286 acres (a former horse farm)
with one of the largest single-occupancy buildings in the United States, rivaling
the Sears Tower and The Pentagon.
The organization started offering
homeowner's and life insurance in the 1960s, and brokerage and banking
services in the 1980s.
In 1996, eligibility was extended to enlisted
personnel.
Visit there Website > USAA |
