The United Services Automobile Association ( USAA ) is a Fortune 500 diversified financial services company based in Texas including reciprocal inter-insurance exchanges and a Texas subsidiary regulated by the Insurance Department offering banking, investment and insurance to people and families who serve, or serve, in the United States military. By the end of 2017, there are 12.4 million members.
USAA was founded in 1922 in San Antonio, Texas, by a group of 25 US Army officers as a mechanism for joint insurance when they were unable to secure car insurance because of the perception that they, as military officers, were a risk group. USAA has since expanded to offer banking and insurance services to members of the Armed Forces, officers and enlisted, as well as their immediate family in the past and present.
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History
This organization was originally called the United States Army Automobile Association . In 1924, its name was changed to United Services Automobile Association , when officers assigned from other US military service qualify to become a member. The company opened offices in Frankfurt, Germany, and London, England, at the beginning of its history. The company was formed based on a meeting of twenty-five US Army Officers on June 22, 1922 at Hotel Gunter to discuss the provision of reliable and economical car insurance.
USAA is headquartered in northwest San Antonio, Texas, occupying 286 hectares (116 acres) (former horse farms).
USAA is the pioneer of the concept of direct marketing; most of the business is done over the Internet or by phone using employees, not agents. Until the 1960s, most of his business was done by mail. In the late 1960s, USAA began the transition from sales and email-based services to phones. The toll-free number was launched in 1978, and Internet sales and services were launched in 1999 through its website.
The organization began offering home and soul insurance in the 1960s, and investment management services and brokers in the 1970s, and banking services in the 1980s.
USAA offers limited membership to civilians between September 2009 and August 2013. This membership provides access to USAA's investment products, most bank deposit products, and life insurance. Car insurance policies and property are not included for non-military members due to a requirement restriction.
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Business line
Property, casualties, and life insurance
USAA offers a variety of property insurance and personal casualties (P & amp; C), including car insurance, homeowners insurance, tenant insurance, as well as umbrellas and personal property insurance. In addition to P & amp; C, USAA provides life insurance for life, term life insurance, and annuity. The USAA life insurance policy, while not entirely unique in industry, differs from most offers because it does not include a war-exception 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 holds more than $ 62.549 billion in deposits with more than 6.3 million accounts.
The lobby of the USAA Federal Savings Bank bank located in San Antonio is the only full-service banking location. Other cities, however, have financial centers, often near military bases, providing advice and assistance in obtaining services of any kind offered by USAA, in addition to opening those accounts online.
Banking services can be accessed directly, by mail, by telephone, or via the internet. USAA Federal Savings Bank gives members the ability to deposit checks into their accounts using mobile apps on Apple iPhone and iPad, mobile devices with Google's Android operating system, and Microsoft Windows Phone.
Major banking competitors include the American-Military Bank, the Pentagon Federal Credit Union, and the Federal Union Credit Union.
Investment and financial planning
USAA provides brokerage services and no-load mutual funds. Mutual funds established by other companies and may be purchased and held by USAA (or IMCO) investment account.
Target market
USAA's mission statement points to its focus on serving its market niche, composed of members of the US military and their close relatives. To that end, the association is always marketed directly to members of the US military. USAA membership is offered to officers and enlisted personnel, including those in active duty, those in the National Guard and Reserves, Candidate candidates in the commissioning program (Academy, ROTC, OCS/OTS) and all those who have served in the mentioned category and who have been retired or have been dismissed with respect. USAA children are also eligible to purchase P & amp; USAA, and former USAA members are allowed to continue membership at any time (no age limit).
Eligibility can be determined using the website; however, the site does not contain a comprehensive feasibility statement. USAA has, in the past, published eligible lists of other individuals including FBI and Secret Service special agents, agents of various military investigation services (NCIS, OSI, CI and CID), US Overseas Service Officers and officers from various small agencies others. Recently, USAA has sharpened its focus on military personnel. Thus, people who work for certain non-military agencies who were accommodated in the past may find that they no longer qualify.
Historically, only US military officers (among other specially sworn federal officers) were eligible to join USAA, with a descendant of USAA members who could purchase insurance from USAA-CIC. It does not matter if someone is an active or retired officer; someone can join anytime. In 1973, membership was opened for members of the National Guard and Reserves, and in 1996, feasibility expanded for armed enlisted members. Since the number of people who have been actively engaged in enrolled status in the US Armed Forces is quite large, USAA has chosen to limit the eligibility of those who are currently on active duty or who have recently split up. The same deadline for eligibility is then applied to military officers. In 2008, USAA increased membership eligibility for all military and retired personnel, and all veterans separated after 1996. In November 2009, USAA expanded the eligibility requirements to offer coverage to anyone who has ever served with honor in the US Military.
Car insurance and property and some banking services require customers to meet the eligibility criteria for membership. USAA's investment products as well as deposit-only banking services are available to non-members.
Legal structure
One of the characteristics that allow USAA to operate differently from most other Fortune 500 companies is that it is not a company. The United Nations Automobile Association is an inter-insurance exchange, the formation provided for under the Texas Insurance Code. This insurance exchange consists of military officers and former members of the military and NCO who have taken P & amp; C with USAA; so they are simultaneously insured with each other and, as a group, own USAA's own assets.
Typically, in the event of a catastrophe that threatens the solvency of the exchange, each member may be fully liable for all losses of all other members. However, the Texas Insurance Code adds a provision (Section 942.152) which stipulates that an inter-insurance exchange may, by customer agreement, limit member liability to premiums or premium deposits paid by customers to USAA.
Other insurance services are provided by a variety of wholly owned subsidiaries. Adult children from USAA members and US military junior enlisted personnel form a group known in USAA as an insured "partner" through a subsidiary called USAA-Casualty Insurance Company (USAA-CIC). USAA-CIC is not an insurance exchange but a Delaware Insurance Corporation. This is a subtle but important nuance about the return of earnings - described below. Non-standard-risk drivers are insured by subsidiaries such as USAA County Mutual Insurance Company or USAA-General Indemnity Company. USAA also insures members in Europe through its subsidiary, USAA Limited. It is not uncommon for US-based insurance companies to provide P & amp; C international, but the USAA did so because so many military families were stationed abroad.
Returns the earnings to the insured
Since there are no shareholders, profits are retained for financial strength or returned to members. Refunds are made through a Customer Account, commonly known as a distribution. Every year a portion of USAA's profits are retained as "unassigned," the remainder is allocated to the Customer Account of each member using the formula based on the amount of premium paid by that member as well as the member's member's Account balance. The allocation of capital to the Member's Member Account occurs at the beginning of the calendar year. At the end of the calendar year, a portion of the member's Customer Account is distributed to members via electronic checks or electronic funds transfers. Members with more than 40 years of membership also receive a special "senior bonus" annual distribution of 10% of Member Customer's account balances. Entire Customer Accounts belong to members, but not fully distributed until approximately 6 months after members no longer have P & amps policies C USAA. In 2015, USAA returned $ 1.666 billion to its members.
Those who are not eligible to join USAA but who are eligible to purchase insurance from a USAA subsidiary, such as USAA-CIC, may receive dividends as stated by USAA.
Leadership
Led by USAA Chairman General Lester Lyles, USAF (Ret.), USAA Board of Directors named Stuart Parker CEO was elected in August 2014 to replace ex-CEO Joe Robles after retiring in February 2015. Parker became CEO in March 2015 and former USAF officer. He has been with USAA since 1998, serving in various leadership positions including Chief Operating Officer (COO) and CFO. Carl Liebert replaces Parker as COO after serving as President of USAA Capital Corporation. Carl Liebert is a former US Navy officer, and joined the USAA management team in 2013.
USAA underwent a lot of growth under its former CEO, retired Air Force Brigadier General Robert F. McDermott. The USAA building was built under his tenure and McDermott was behind USAA's change of service-by-mail to service-by-phone. He was replaced as CEO by Air Force Generals General Robert Herres. Under Herr, USAA extends its services to registered military members and develops Internet-based financial services. Following General Herres as CEO was Robert G. Davis, a former Army officer who came to USAA with experience in various financial services companies. Davis is said to have changed the culture in USAA; during its time in the USAA, membership, net assets and wealth grew significantly, and customer satisfaction dropped dramatically.
His tenure, however, was not without controversy. Davis oversees USAA's first dismissal and by some reports has a confrontational leadership style. Davis has indicated to USAA employees that he intends to continue leading USAA until 2010, however, he retired in December 2007. The nature of his pension seems to have been steep, as USAA CEO Josue Robles has stated that after taking over the role of CEO, "I think I am just will become a temporary CEO and (the board) say, 'Guess what? The permanent CEO is you'. "
On Glassdoor.com, claims managers report satisfaction on 3.5 on a scale of 1-5.
Other information
USAA employs over 32,000 people in its offices around the world.
In addition to its headquarters in San Antonio, USAA has its second major office in Phoenix, Arizona, and other operations in Colorado Springs, Colorado; Norfolk, Virginia; Tampa, Florida; Highland Falls, New York; London, England; Frankfurt, Germany; and Plano, Texas.
See also
- Comparison of online brokers
- List of US insurance companies
References
External links
- Official website
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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