Flywire and Allianz Global Assistance today announced a new partnership that mutually benefits higher education institutions and their students by managing and protecting college students' tuition payments. The new partnership combines Flywire's turnkey, end-to-end solution for managing tuition receivables, powered by OnPlanU, with the ability for families to purchase the GradGuard Tuition Protection Plan* from Allianz Global Assistance, as an extension of paying their tuition bill electronically. The Tuition Protection Plan can protect families' education investment in case a student is forced to withdraw mid-term due to a covered illness, injury or other covered reason, such as the death of a tuition payor.
With rising tuition, a growing college funding gap, and increasing concerns about student withdrawals, college students face a lot of hurdles to stay in the classroom and graduate on schedule. Student withdrawals are costly to schools and their families. Eight in 10 families say the financial repercussions of withdrawing could be severe, with an expected loss to be about $10,000, according to the 2018 College Confidence Index by Ipsos and Allianz Global Assistance.1
Flywire's OnPlanU platform removes unnecessary cost and complexity out of the payment and receivables process while reducing the chance of withdrawals due to outstanding accounts. The Tuition Protection Plan offers families a safety net with up to 100% tuition reimbursement in case of unexpected student withdrawals for a covered reason.
"College is typically the second biggest investment a family makes, but many people don't realize the financial impact of a withdrawal in the absence of tuition insurance. Most families are stretching their finances to pay for four years, so adding even one more semester can put college attainment at risk," said Joe Mason, Chief Marketing Officer, Americas, Allianz Partners.
Flywire's OnPlanU provides innovative receivables management solutions for colleges and universities. The solution's mobile-first technology enables 24/7 access to a focused suite of services that raises the bar for ebilling, domestic and international epayments, and payment plan services. OnPlanU provides a highly advanced student financial services platform, exceptional customer service, and commitment to improving student satisfaction—while saving institutions time and money.
"As the gap between available financial aid and tuition costs grows, students and schools find themselves struggling with tuition management. OnPlanU helps bridge that gap by offering tailored payment plans that students can afford. Our partnership with Allianz now provides students and their families peace of mind knowing that they can be reimbursed for their tuition costs in case of an unforeseen covered event that forces the student to withdraw during a term. We are proud to be able to enhance the student financial experience with this important offering," said David King, VP of Engineering, Flywire and co-founder of OnPlanU.
With its January 2018 acquisition of OnPlanU, Flywire became the first in the industry to offer an end-to-end solution for domestic and international students with capabilities including invoicing, secure payment processing, consumer engagement, recurring payments, automated payment plans, payment tracking, reconciliation, and past due payments.
In 2016 Allianz Global Assistance partnered with GradGuard to develop the Tuition Protection Plan. Together they're making it easy for schools to be transparent about costs and disclose their refund policies to each student while providing convenient options to enroll in a modern form of tuition protection. Allianz Global Assistance and GradGuard have established themselves as market leaders in tuition protection programs offered by colleges, universities and technology partners.
James Madison University will be one of the first universities to partner with OnPlanU and Allianz Global Assistance to offer their students the Tuition Protection Plan through the OnPlanU portal. "When a student has to withdrawal unexpectedly, it's a stressful and uncertain time for the family. It is important to us that families at James Madison University have an easy and affordable way to protect their education investment," said Linda Combs, Director, University Business Office at James Madison University. "Giving families the opportunity to purchase tuition insurance while they are paying their tuition bill just makes sense."
Source: https://www.universitybusiness.com/news/flywire-and-allianz-global-assistance-announce-partnership