United Services Automobile Association Insurance Company

United Services Automobile Association Insurance Company
9800 Fredericksburg Road
San Antonio, TX 78288
800-531-8722

Included in the Fortune 500 companies, United Services Automobile Association (USAA) provides insurance as well as banking and investing for individuals and families which serve, or has served in the military of the United States. In 2009, it noted that it has 7.4 million members

Although it is recognized as one of the Fortune 500 companies, it should be noted that USAA is not a corporation. Its mother company, United Services Automobile Association is an inter-insurance exchange. As such, it is made up of current and former military officers and NCOs who have carried out property and casualty policies with USAA. With this, they are insured simultaneously by each other and as a group.

This insurance company was established in 1992 by a group of army officers in the USA in order to protect each other when they weren’t able to provide security for their automobiles, since they were perceived as a high-risk group. Since then, USAA has developed to serve various members of the Armed Forces, and those who honorable served in the United States Armed Forces.

USAA is also one of the direct marketing pioneers, and most of its businesses are done through the internet or telephone, and instead of using agents, it used employees. In the early 1960s, most of its transactions were done through mail, but as time went by (starting in the latter part of 1960s), it created a shift from mail to sales which were phone-based.

In the year 1978, a toll-free number was launched, and in 1999, through its established website, it started its internet sales and service. USAA provides a wide range of personal property and casualty insurance, which includes vehicle, homeowner, renters, valuable personal property, and umbrella insurance policies. Aside from that, it extends to providing policies for whole and term life insurance and annuities.

During its first establishment, USAA was called the United States Army Automobile Association. Its name was changed to what it is now when members of other military services became membership-eligible. It opened its offices in Frankfurt, Germany and London, England.

Presently, USAA has its headquarters in San Antonio, Texas, and occupies 286 acres in a single-occupancy, large office building. This insurance company started offering homeowners’ and life insurance policies in the 190s, and banking services and brokerage in the 1980s.

AM Best, a group which measures the financial strength of those in the insurance-providing industry, has rated and affirmed its highest possible financial strength rating of A++ or Superior.

This only means that it is an insurance company which has the superior and more than excellent capability to meet its financial obligations to its various policyholders.

AM Best’s rating follow Standard & Poor’s “Extremely Strong” rating for the said insurance company. These rankings from very-much respected agencies, keep USAA in a small, and elite group of companies that has achieved the highest marks.

AM Best stated that what enabled USAA to develop a sustainable and competitive advantage is its low cost structure, a retention of customers which is high, and effective utilization of technology and capability to carry out professional customer service.