Originally Posted by
347snake01
They were started because military personnel (I believe military pilots in particular) couldn't get insurance because they were in too high a risk category, so a group of officers banded together to insure themselves and fellow aviators, later officers.
I was about to shake my fist and yell at clouds about how they were Army officers...but of course in that time there was an Army Air Corps and it looks like when they set up shop they did so at Kelly Field. Also, in half the photos of the founders on the old corporate website, they're rocking wings, so hey, guess I learned something new today.
But it doesn't appear they specifically restricted themselves to aviators at first, just that most of them were. In fact, within two year's they'd expanded to the Navy and Marine Corps in an attempt to offset losses.
History of USAA – FundingUniverse