Chambervelt Rooselain & Cie

What Chambervelt Rooselain & Cie does

Chambervelt, Rooselain & Cie (CR&Cie) is an independent financial advisory firm serving English-speaking expatriates in Germany. Founded in 2005 and operating as a brand under ZVO GmbH (a German private limited company headquartered in Hemsbach), the firm specializes in four interlocking service areas: insurance brokerage, pension planning, investment advisory, and mortgage brokering. Its customer base is primarily individual expat households navigating the German financial system, with a secondary, smaller segment of companies employing expat workers. The founder, Patrick Oliver Ott, holds credentials from Harvard in international taxation and public administration and is widely recognized in the expat community under the alias 'Starshollow' on the Toytown Germany forum, where he has authored over 6,000 posts.

The firm's core offering is high-touch, advisor-led financial guidance, not a proprietary technology platform. CR&Cie arranges products from over 150 insurance companies and has access to over 450 partner banks for mortgage financing, enabling cross-carrier comparison that single-carrier agents cannot match. The primary revenue stream is commission income from insurance brokers and lending partners, supplemented by a smaller, fee-based subscription revenue stream from a digital insurance folder service package launched to organize and manage client documentation. Distribution is exclusively direct — consultations delivered in person, by phone, WhatsApp, or video — with lead generation driven by word-of-mouth, the Toytown Germany forum presence, and content marketing through the company blog. The firm holds a regulated insurance broker license (§34d Abs. 1 GewO, registration D-8CLJ-5IVYU-79) and is registered with the Karlsruhe Chamber of Commerce and Industry Rhein-Neckar.

Operationally, CR&Cie is a small advisory boutique with 1–10 employees and a leadership team consisting of founder Patrick Ott, health insurance specialist Martina Martinez (3,000+ consultations since 2006), and managing director Rene Fuchs of parent ZVO GmbH. The firm maintains referral partnerships with tax specialists, lawyers, and real estate brokers to extend service coverage without internal headcount expansion. No external funding rounds, acquisitions, or geographic expansion have been disclosed, and the company operates exclusively in the German market.

Name

Chambervelt Rooselain & Cie

Legal name

ZVO GmbH

Website

https://crcie.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Chambervelt, Rooselain & Cie (CR&Cie) is an independent financial advisory firm founded in 2005 that serves English-speaking expatriates in Germany with insurance brokerage, pension planning, investment advisory, and mortgage brokering across 150+ insurers and 450+ partner banks.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Insurance Brokerage & Financial Advisory

NAICS

Insurance Agencies and Brokerages (52421), Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers (522310), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Insurance Agents, Brokers & Service (6411), Loan Brokers (6163), Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYFSAEADAJ

Specialty Insurance Brokerage (Marine, Aviation, Cyber, Professional Lines)

Financial & Insurance/Financial Advisory, Brokerage & Intermediation/Insurance Brokerage & Risk Advisory

SECONDARYFSAEAEAE

Reverse Mortgage Brokerage

Financial & Insurance/Financial Advisory, Brokerage & Intermediation/Mortgage Brokerage & Loan Intermediation

Keywords

• Insurance brokerage
• Financial advisory services
• Expat financial planning
• Mortgage brokerage
• Pension consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Karlsruhe

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Insurance Broker Commissions: Receives commissions from insurance companies for arranging insurance contracts. Broker represents customer interests and arranges coverage from the market.
2. Fee-Based Extended Services: Digital insurance folder service with ongoing management. Fee-based advisory services for comprehensive financial planning.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Chambervelt, Rooselain & Cie is an independent insurance broker and financial advisory firm that helps English-speaking expatriates in Germany navigate insurance, pension, investment, and mortgage decisions. The firm represents clients across a broad product panel (150+ insurance companies and 450+ partner banks), delivering advisor-led holistic guidance, claims handling, ongoing policy management, and fee-based extended services including a digital insurance folder.

Product overview

CR&Cie operates as an independent financial advisory firm for expats in Germany, offering a comprehensive suite of financial services. The core offerings include insurance brokerage (connecting clients with over 150 insurance companies), mortgage brokering (access to over 450 partner banks), investment advisory, and pension planning services. Additional offerings include digital forms and questionnaires for insurance management and fee-based service packages for document digitization. The company positions itself as a holistic financial advisor, combining insurance, pension, investment, and mortgage services under one roof with a focus on the expat community since 2005.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Insurance Broker Services Independent insurance brokerage for expats in Germany, arranging health, life, liability, property, dental, income protection, and other coverage from a panel of 150+ insurance companies. Includes advice, contract placement, claims handling, and ongoing policy management.
• Mortgage Broker Services Mortgage and real estate financing brokerage with access to 450+ partner banks, providing interest rate comparison, holistic financing concept design, paperwork assistance, and property due diligence support for expats seeking property in Germany.
• Investment Advisory Services Holistic investment advisory for expats, applying scientific investment strategies, portfolio management, and planning across shares, ETF and index funds, real estate investments, and retirement accounts.
• Pension Planning Services Comprehensive pension planning covering German tax-saving schemes (Rürup, Riester), company pension schemes, QROPS pension transfers for UK clients, and international offshore pension plans.
• Health Insurance Services Specialized advisory on the German healthcare system and health insurance selection for expats, covering public health insurance, private health insurance, international health insurance, expat-specific cover, and TK (Techniker Krankenkasse) enrollment.
• Service Packages (Digital Insurance Folder) Fee-based extended service package that digitalizes all of a client's existing insurance documents into an organized digital insurance folder accessible from any device, providing ongoing document management and review.

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 10,000 Expats trust CR&Cie
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• 450+ Partner BankscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCR&Cie has access to over 450 German and international banks for real estate financing and mortgage services. This extensive network allows them to offer clients the best interest rates and provide long-term security for property purchases.
• 150+ Insurance CompaniescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAs an independent broker, CR&Cie offers insurance products from more than 150 insurance companies, providing clients with genuine choice and the ability to select the most suitable coverage from the market.
• Tax Specialists NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCR&Cie has an excellent network of tax specialists for Expats who can be recommended to clients when tax-related advice beyond financial planning is needed.
• Real Estate Brokers NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with real estate brokers to provide comprehensive property purchasing assistance for expats seeking mortgage financing.
• Lawyers NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork of recommended lawyers available for referral to clients when legal advice is needed in conjunction with financial planning matters.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• CHECK24 Vergleichsportal: Largest German price-comparison portal, with deep offerings in insurance, mortgages and financial products. Represents the price-driven, digital incumbent that CR&Cie differentiates against via personal, expat-specific advisory.
• Verivox: Major German online comparison portal for energy, telecom, insurance and financial products. Competitor to CR&Cie on insurance and investment brokerage via a fully digital, self-service comparison experience.
• MLP SE: Large listed German financial advisory and insurance brokerage with a multi-advisor MLP model across insurance, pensions, investments and mortgages. Comparable in product breadth but far broader in customer base, including expat-relevant segments via MLP Finanzberatung.

Emerging players

• Clark: Digital insurance manager and broker that aggregates and optimizes insurance policies via an app. Partial overlap with CR&Cie's insurance advisory and digital insurance folder service.
• Getsafe: German insurtech offering fully digital insurance advisory and brokerage via an app. Emerging alternative to CR&Cie's manual advisory model, especially for digitally native expats.

Direct peers

• Finanzcheck.de: Online comparison and brokerage portal for loans, insurance and financial products in Germany. Competes with CR&Cie's mortgage/insurance intermediation through a self-serve digital model rather than personal advisory.
• Dr. Klein Privatkunden AG: One of Germany's largest independent mortgage broker networks, distributing products from a broad bank panel. Directly overlaps with CR&Cie's mortgage brokerage franchise across 450+ banks.
• Ottonova: Digital private health insurer specifically targeting expats and international professionals in Germany. Directly competes with CR&Cie's health insurance advisory by selling its own policies through a digital-first model.

Regional players

• Telis Finanz AG: Independent German insurance and financial product broker with broad insurer access, historically strong in Bavaria. Comparable to CR&Cie in independent brokerage model but without expat specialization.

Others

• Allianz Beratungs- und Vertriebs-AG: Captive distribution arm of Allianz Germany, combining tied insurance agents and broker operations. Adjacent to CR&Cie's insurance brokerage in offering but tied to a single carrier, illustrating the captive model CR&Cie positions against.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/crcie3

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Chambervelt Rooselain & Cie