Answer Financial in Sallie Mae Partnership

The Student Loan Marketing Assn. said it will begin offering its customers an array of insurance plans next month, in a partnership with Answer Financial Inc.’s licensed insurance agency. The joint venture with Los Angeles-based Answer Financial is the first of its kind for Reston, Va.-based Sallie Mae, a unit of SLM Holding Corp. Starting in mid-October, Sallie Mae customers will be able to shop among 85 vendors for auto, home, life and renters’ insurance policies, annuities, prepaid legal services and home warranty plans. Sallie Mae will receive an unspecified fee from Answer Financial for each sale to one of its customers. The around-the-clock service, overseen by American Financial’s Insurance Answer Center, will be available through either the Internet (https://www.answercenter.com) or salaried brokers on the telephone. Sallie Mae buys federally guaranteed student loans from lenders and packages them into securities for investors. It owns and manages student loans for more than 5 million borrowers.