Social Finance Inc., a fast-growing online lender that focuses on high-earning millennials, is broadening its offerings to include life insurance.
The startup, known as SoFi, will join with Protective Life Corp., a unit of Japan's Dai-ichi Life Holdings Inc., to provide up to $1 million in term-life insurance to its clients, according to a statement from both companies Monday. The application will be fully online and won't require a medical exam for a majority of people under 40, they said.
"This is a first in the industry: coverage in minutes without a medical exam in many cases, and at incredibly competitive prices," Andrea Blankmeyer, vice president of finance at San Francisco-based SoFi, said in the statement.
SoFi has long had ambitions beyond lending. Begun in 2011 by classmates from Stanford University's business school, the company developed a popular way for graduates of top-tier universities to refinance student debt. The venture has since branched out into mortgages, personal loans and wealth management.
In September, Bloomberg reported that the company was also looking to offer life insurance by the end of the year. Policies will be issued by Protective. The companies didn't disclose terms of their arrangement.