USAA is expanding its in-person services after years of focusing on online services.
That started at its San Antonio headquarters on Aug. 5, when the bank and insurance company brought back in-person insurance services after a decade-long hiatus.
“Not every member wants to be on the phone and be digital,” said USAA Bank President Michael Moran said on Aug. 5.
USAA’s new strategy, dubbed “One USAA,” will combine in-person insurance and banking services under one roof.
Randy Termeer, USAA’s property and casualty insurance president, said its members can now meet with the company’s staff to ask questions, update their insurance policies or buy new ones. USAA had long offered in-person banking services at its headquarters near Fredericksburg Road and U.S. Interstate 10, but stopped in-person insurance services 10 years ago.
Termeer said member demand drove the move to bring back those in-person services. USAA soft-launched in-person insurance services before their Aug. 5 grand opening and saw a positive response from the community, he added.
“They see us as one company, not an insurance and banking company,” Moran said.
USAA reported losses in 2022, though the company has grown its net worth since then. In the last five years, customers have raised issues with fees and insurance policies that have resulted in multimillion-dollar settlements.
Now, USAA is trying to build stronger bonds with its members and joining other banks in an industry-wide push for more in-person services. Unlike most financial service companies, USAA combines insurance and banking.
“This ‘One USAA’ model will be expanded to all branch locations by year end, and we are actively exploring new opportunities to reach our military members,” Moran said in an email.
USAA offers insurance and banking services to members of the armed forces, who can pass that membership on to their children and already has in-person facilities near the U.S. Air Force, Naval and Military Academies.
Moran said those branches will have insurance and banking services in-person by the end of 2026. But the company, which has for so long focused on online banking, might not stop there.
“We want to deploy strategically where our members are concentrated and where there’s a demand for our services,” Termeer said.
The in-person services are also meant to connect with members and potential members early, Moran said. Moran said building a relationship early in members’ financial lives could help keep them with the company long-term.
“Being that trusted partner for our members early on and continuing to deliver on that trust throughout their financial journeys will deepen those relationships,” Moran added in an email.
Younger people, particularly young drivers, can be more expensive to insure. When asked about adding younger members to the company’s insurance risk pool, Moran said building financial security for those members would benefit USAA membership as a whole.
