Insurtech Getsafe acquires a pupil mortgage platform to satisfy its future shoppers upstream

European insurtech firm Getsafe has acquired deineStudienfinanzierung, an aptly named German digital platform for pupil loans that was showcased on the native model of “Shark Tank” in 2019.

That is Getsafe’s second acquisition in a number of months, after it nabbed the German portfolio of ailing French insurtech firm Luko, thereby rising its consumer base to over 550,000 clients. However this time, the Heidelberg-based firm is buying greater than shoppers.

Whereas phrases of the deal weren’t disclosed, TechCrunch has completely discovered from Getsafe CEO Christian Wiens that deineStudienfinanzierung will proceed working as a standalone enterprise and that every one of its crew — “about 10 people” — will proceed to be employed after the acquisition.

In follow, deineStudienfinanzierung will carry on serving to college students apply on-line for publicly sponsored loans supplied by its partner, German state financial institution KfW. This has been the startup’s core focus ever because it pivoted away from additionally facilitating grant purposes; all in all, it has assisted some 200,000 college students in receiving over €1 billion in research financing since its creation.

If this quantities to lower than €5,000 per pupil, it’s as a result of demand for pupil loans in Germany is completely different from what chances are you’ll know, Wiens defined.

“Pupil loans are the second hottest type of exterior pupil financing in Germany after [grants]. Not like within the U.S., universities in Germany are largely tuition-free, which implies that pupil loans are usually used to cowl dwelling bills. Subsequently, the common pupil mortgage quantity is way decrease in Germany than within the U.S.

COVID boosted demand for pupil loans as a result of many college students couldn’t carry out their facet jobs as a result of lockdowns (e.g., working in bars and eating places). Many misplaced their major supply of earnings in a single day and needed to flip to other ways to cowl their dwelling bills. The financing quantity has returned to earlier ranges since.”

Similar to Getsafe didn’t invent insurance coverage, deineStudienfinanzierung didn’t invent pupil loans. As a substitute, each are bringing a digital-first method that goals to attach extra organically with younger folks.

Overlapping targets

Regardless of plans to maintain issues separate, Getsafe may be very a lot hoping that there will likely be synergies between the 2 companies that transcend their shared imaginative and prescient. “With deineStudienfinanzierung, we are now a relevant fintech player for students,” Wiens stated.

For Getsafe, this is a chance to get acquainted with its future shoppers earlier than they even consider speaking to a dealer. On common, it takes about two years for college students who get hold of a mortgage on deineStudienfinanzierung to safe their first job — and Getsafe is right here for it.

In a rustic the place Contents or Renters insurance coverage shouldn’t be a obligatory product, getting into the job market is a extra widespread set off for getting insurance coverage than renting an condominium, Wiens stated. “We realized that to become their insurer of choice, we must think one step ahead.”

Getsafe CEO thinks that deineStudienfinanzierung’s customers could also be much more delicate to monetary threat than the common first-time worker. “When you take out a loan and start repaying it after you start your first job, you are more conscious of the fact that you rely on your income. So this becomes a natural trigger to consider, for example, income protection insurance.” (This is likely one of the insurance policies that Getsafe provides, alongside contents and private legal responsibility insurance coverage.)

When requested whether or not insurance coverage was a greater match for deineStudienfinanzierung to leverage its consumer base than banking, its founder, Bastian Krautwald, replied affirmatively.

“The issue with banking is that most customers already have a bank account from an early age. By the time customers apply for a student loan, the barriers to switch are quite high. However, with insurance, it is different. It is not uncommon for young people to deal with insurance for the first time in their mid-twenties,” Krautwald instructed TechCrunch.

This was a loaded query: Krautwald additionally co-founded Wajve, later known as OWWN, a banking product focused at deineStudienfinanzierung’s clients and target market. However the fintech providing never made it out of its testing phase, with OWWN as a substitute partnering up with neobank N26 to safe a particular discount for its beta customers and people on its ready record.

What’s subsequent

OWWN, Wajve and deineStudienfinanzierung didn’t solely share a CEO; they shared a guardian firm, FiRec GmbH, which raised €5 million in funding from buyers together with EQT Ventures, 468 Capital and finleap, in addition to German enterprise angels. Getsafe has now acquired FiRec in its entirety, whereas Krautwald will stay in his function as CEO of deineStudienfinanzierung.

“We expect deineStudienfinanzierung to grow solidly and profitably as a standalone business this year,” Wiens stated. “However, short-term revenue targets are not our primary goal, as this acquisition has mainly strategic value to us to better understand and access our target customers when they graduate.”

Will there be extra strategic acquisitions in Getsafe’s close to future? “We are currently not actively looking for targets, but with two acquisitions under our belt, we are ready to explore and pursue opportunities quickly when they arise,” Wiens stated.

We received’t maintain our breath for it, however we’ll hold nearer observe of one other trace that Getsafe gave in its press launch: that it’s seeking to “expand further to serve even more European markets” than the 4 international locations the place it already operates.