Native name | United Services Automobile Association |
---|---|
Company type | Private. Reciprocal inter-insurance exchange |
Industry | |
Founded | June 20, 1922 |
Headquarters | San Antonio, Texas United States |
Number of locations | 5 financial centers |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people |
|
Products | |
Revenue | US$35.617 billion (2019) [1] |
$4.006 billion (2019) [1] | |
AUM | $128 billion (2015) [2] |
Total assets | $200 billion (2020) [3] |
Total equity | $35.327 billion (2019) [1] |
Members | 13 million (2020) [4] |
Number of employees | 36,000 (2020) [5] |
Capital ratio | 13.27% |
Rating | A.M. Best Company A++ (Superior, highest of 16 possible ratings) Moody's Investors Service Aaa (Exceptional, highest of 21 possible ratings) Contents
|
Website | www |
The United Services Automobile Association (USAA) is an American financial services company providing insurance and banking products exclusively to members of the military, veterans, and their families. [6] It was founded in 1922 in San Antonio, Texas, by a group of 25 U.S. Army officers as a mechanism for mutual self-insurance when they were unable to secure auto insurance because of the perception that they, as military officers, were a high-risk group. [7] [8]
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. 96 in the 2020 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue [9] 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. [10] At the end of 2020, it had more than 13 million members. [11]
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 25 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 as general manager and secretary-treasurer. Hinds provided stability and remained in the position until his death in 1941. [12]
USAA is headquartered in northwest San Antonio, occupying a 286-acre (116 ha) former horse farm. [13] [14]
USAA is a pioneer of the concept of direct marketing; 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. [15]
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. [16]
In 2015, USAA employed more than 32,000 people at its offices throughout the world. [17]
On July 26, 2019, the Charles Schwab Corporation announced it would acquire USAA's investment management and brokerage accounts for $1.8 billion. [18] The deal with Charles Schwab closed on May 26, 2020. [19]
USAA offers a range of personal property and casualty (P&C) insurance, including automobile insurance, homeowner insurance, renters' insurance, as well as umbrella and personal property insurance. In addition to P&C insurance, USAA provides whole life insurance, term life insurance, and annuities. 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. [20]
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 iPhone and iPad and mobile devices with Google's Android operating system. [21]
Major banking competitors include Bank of America-Military Bank, Pentagon Federal Credit Union, and Navy Federal Credit Union. [22]
USAA members are referred to its strategic partners, Charles Schwab Corporation and Victory Capital for other investment services such as brokerage and trading, mutual funds and ETFs. [23] [24] [25]
USAA's mission statement indicates its focus to serve its niche market, 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. [26] [27]
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. [26] 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 discharge from the military. [27]
Led by USAA Chairman of the Board Vice Admiral James M. Zortman (Ret.), [28] 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 a veteran of the armed forces. [28]
USAA former CEOs include retired Air Force brigadier general Robert F. McDermott. 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. [29] He was succeeded as CEO by retired Air Force General Robert T. Herres. [30] It was under Herres that USAA expanded its services to enlisted members of the military and developed Internet based financial services. [31] 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. [32]
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. [33] 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'." [34]
Besides its headquarters in San Antonio, USAA has a second major office in Phoenix. USAA also has offices in Chesapeake, Virginia; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Plano, Texas; and Tampa, Florida. Internationally, USAA has offices in London and Frankfurt. [35] [36] [37] The company has numerous office buildings in the Phoenix 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 office located at 25700 N Norterra Pkwy in north Phoenix that will eventually house 1,100 employees primarily software developers. [38] [39]
On May 27, 2021, USAA announced that it will be adding an additional 750 employees to its 100-employee base in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company will be leasing 90,000 square feet (8,400 m2) of space in a new building in South End called The Square. Company employees started moving in at the end of 2021. In June 2022, 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 they originally agreed to lease of the 10 story building. [40] [41]
On March 17, 2022, The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced $140 million "civil money penalty" against USAA Federal Savings Bank for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act. [42]
Citigroup Inc. or Citi is an American multinational investment bank and financial services corporation incorporated in Delaware and headquartered in New York City. The company was formed by the merger of Citicorp, the bank holding company for Citibank, and Travelers in 1998; Travelers was spun off from the company in 2002.
The Government Employees Insurance Company is a private American auto insurance company with headquarters in Chevy Chase, Maryland. In addition to auto insurance, GEICO provides motorcycle, ATV, RV, boat, snowmobile, travel, pet, event, homeowner, renter, and jewelry insurance options. It is the second largest auto insurer in the United States, after State Farm. GEICO is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, which provides coverage for more than 24 million motor vehicles owned by more than 15 million policy holders as of 2017. GEICO writes private passenger automobile insurance in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. The insurance agency sells policies through local agents, called GEICO Field Representatives, over the phone directly to the consumer via licensed insurance agents, and through their website. Its mascot is a gold dust day gecko with a Cockney accent, voiced by English actor Jake Wood. GEICO is well known in popular culture for its advertising, having made numerous commercials intended to entertain viewers.
The Transamerica Corporation is an American holding company for various life insurance companies and investment firms operating primarily in the United States, offering life and supplemental health insurance, investments, and retirement services. The company has major offices located in Baltimore, Maryland; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Denver, Colorado; Canton, Massachusetts; Harrison, New York; Knoxville, Tennessee; Plano, Texas; St. Paul, Minnesota and St. Petersburg, Florida. Additional affiliated offices are located throughout the United States. In 1999, it became an independent subsidiary of multinational company Aegon.
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 institutional clients. It has over 400 branches, primarily in financial centers in the United States and the United Kingdom. It ranks tenth on the list of largest banks in the United States by assets. As of December 31, 2022, it had $7.05 trillion in client assets, 33.8 million active brokerage accounts, 2.4 million corporate retirement plan participants, and 1.7 million banking accounts. It also offers a donor advised fund for clients seeking to donate securities. It was founded in San Francisco, California, and is headquartered in Westlake, Texas.
Navy Federal Credit Union is an American 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 credit union in the United States, both in asset size and in membership. As of November 2023, Navy Federal had US$168.4 billion in assets and has 13.3 million members.
Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, also known as BCBS, BCBSA, or The Blues, is a United States-based federation with 34 independent and locally-operated BCBSA companies that provide health insurance in the United States to more than 115 million people as of 2022.
Brigadier General Robert Francis McDermott 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 of Modern Military Education" for his contributions to that field.
Northern Trust Corporation is an American financial services company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois that caters to corporations, institutional investors, and ultra high net worth individuals. Northern Trust is one of the largest banking institutions in the United States and one of the oldest banks in continuous operation. As of June 30, 2022, it had $1.7 trillion in assets under management and $17 trillion in assets under custody. Northern Trust Corporation is incorporated in Delaware.
Robert Tralles Herres was a United States Air Force officer who served as the first vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
YPO is an American-based worldwide leadership community of chief executives with more than 34,000 global members in more than 142 countries.
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). PenFed is the nation's third largest federal credit union, with assets of $25 billion and more than 1.8 million members as of July 2018.
Armed Forces Insurance (AFI) is a reciprocal insurance exchange that provides property and casualty insurance to military professionals throughout the United States and overseas. AFI is headquartered in Leavenworth, Kansas, approximately 20 miles northwest of Kansas City, Missouri.
United Services of America Federal Credit Union was a credit union headquartered in San Diego, California, chartered and regulated under the authority of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) of the U.S. federal government.
Jeffrey Linde "Jeff" McWaters is an American businessman and former member of the Senate of Virginia as a Republican. He represented the 8th district, which includes a portion of Virginia Beach. He was first elected in a special election in January 2010, and re-elected the following year. He left office after the 2015 elections, serving six years.
Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union (RBFCU) is a credit union headquartered in Live Oak, Texas, chartered and regulated under the authority of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). RBFCU serves more than 850,000 members from a network of full-service branch locations in Texas, and has more than $14.77 billion in assets as of May 2022. It is the largest credit union in Texas and the 11th largest credit union in the United States, based on total assets.
SoFi Technologies, Inc. is an American online personal finance company and online bank. Based in San Francisco, SoFi provides financial products including student loan refinancing, mortgages, personal loans, credit card, investing, and banking through both mobile app and desktop interfaces.
Wealthfront Inc. is an automated investment service firm based in Palo Alto, California, founded by Andy Rachleff and Dan Carroll in 2008. As of November 2023, Wealthfront had $50 billion AUM across 700,000 accounts.
Rogue Credit Union, formerly Rogue Federal Credit Union, is an American Oregon State chartered credit union and financial holding company headquartered in Medford, Oregon, United States. As of 2022, the credit union's assets are $3.70 billion USD. Rogue Credit Union's branch network serves Southwest Oregon counties of Coos, Curry, Douglas, Jackson, Josephine, Malheur and Klamath County, as well as Payette County in Idaho and Del Norte County, California.
Bell Bank is a privately owned bank headquartered in Fargo, North Dakota, with assets of $13 billion. Bell Bank, which employs more than 1,900 people, has 27 full-service banking locations in North Dakota, Minnesota and Arizona, and mortgage locations in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Kansas, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, North Dakota, Tennessee and Wisconsin. State Bankshares is Bell Bank's parent company.
Worldwide Assurance for Employees of Public Agencies, Inc., widely known by its abbreviated name WAEPA, is a United States' nonprofit 501(c)(9) VEBA association headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, that provides life insurance and financial service benefits to federal civilian employees. Before WAEPA, civilian employees had limited life insurance options until the Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance Act of 1954 provided group life insurance by the U.S. Government. WAEPA's insurance products are underwritten by the New York Life Insurance Company. The association has more than 50,000 members from every civilian agency of the Federal government.