The Luso-American Financial is the leading Portuguese fraternal benefit life insurance society in the United States. It Is the successor of the Benevolent Society of California which was founded in 1868 in San Francisco and of the União Portuguesa Continental founded in 1917 in Oakland. In 1957, these two leading societies were consolidated under the name of the United National Life Insurance Society with its fraternal division formed under the name “Luso-American” (LUSO). The Luso-American Education Foundation (LAEF) was formed in 1963 to foster, sponsor and perpetuate the Portuguese language and culture in the United States in part by providing scholarships and educational grants to students. Nearly 35 years later in 1991, the company’s name was changed to the Luso-American Financial to match its’ fraternal identity which also pays tribute to those early immigrants to America who were known as “Luso-Americans” because they were nearly all from mainland Portugal, which in ancient times was referred to as “Lusitania”. In 2002, the Portuguese Continental Union of the USA (PCU) headquartered in Massachusetts, merged with and into Luso-American Financial. Nearly six years later in 2008, the Sociedade Portuguesa Rainha Santa Isabel (SPRSI) also joined the Luso family, then forming the largest Portuguese fraternal benefit society in the world. As a non-profit tax-exempt fraternal benefit society, our Branches, the Luso-American Fraternal, PCU, SPRSI and LAEF are charged with the responsibility of promoting the civic, cultural, educational, social and fraternal activities of the Society. Luso-American long ago recognized the importance of family And as a result created a “20-30’s Associates” department and a thriving “Youth” department to meet the needs of our children and young adults as future stewards of our Society. Our councils or lodges hold regular meetings and events to help preserve our Portuguese language, culture and heritage.
